Was Alexander Hamilton A Success Or Failure

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Born in the British West Indies, Alexander Hamilton was a bright and talented young man. In 1772, he moved to the mainland to attended King’s College in New York City. Soon after, he quickly embarked on an extraordinary career. Between his arrival in America and his death, Alexander Hamilton contributed greatly to establish our governmental framework. He fought under George Washington in the Revolutionary war and was a member of the Continental Congress. He was an advocate for the ratification of the Constitution and established a prestigious law career. He then served as the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton was always one step ahead, his leadership skills and intelligence demonstrated to be valuable in his political path. …show more content…

Although the Articles of Confederation was perfect for a period of war, there were deep-set flaws in its establishment that would not be suitable for permanent stability. There was a lack of organization in the economy, which took an extensive fiscal toll on the states. The war against Britain left them in almost insurmountable debt. Soldiers who had fought in the war had not been paid and since the Articles didn’t have power to tax the states to generate revenue, so they were caught in an economic crisis. Hamilton believed that until the United States was able to construct a strong, stable, central government, they would not be able to solve their financial troubles and more. He even wrote and published a six-part series of essays called The Continentalist, where he expressed many of his opinions on the Articles of Confederation. Most of which were calling for a change in the system for the benefit of the country. He also spent a short period of time as a lawyer. During his law career, he defended many British loyalists; one case in particular is very significant. Rutgers v. Waddington was a case that involved British loyalists on which Alexander Hamilton was a lawyer that became an important case for the American justice system because it led to the development of the concept of the judicial review system. Although …show more content…

He wrote the charter for and was also an assisting founder of the Bank of New York, one of the first banks established in the United States under independence. One of his more notable ventures was his undying pursuit to ratify a new Constitution. He represented New York at the first Constitutional Convention in 1787. During the convention two main plans were proposed for government, the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan included a bicameral legislature along with an executive and judiciary that would be chosen by the national legislature. The New Jersey Plan called for a system comprised of a one-house legislature giving each state one vote. It gave Congress the power to raise revenue and established a Supreme Court with judges that were appointed for a life term. However when Hamilton attended the convention he went on to propose his own plan. He actually supported a system that was modeled similarly to the British. During the convention he advocated for his idea of a new form of government. Part of this plan included electing a leader who was given the power to govern as the president, two houses of Congress with elected representatives, a Judiciary comprised of 12 judges, and a governor who was elected as well. In his plan he stated that these positions would be served “during good behavior” meaning the elected term had no

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