- George Washington chose the talented Alexander Hamilton, who had served with him throughout the Revolutionary War, to take on the challenge of directing federal economic policy as the Secretary of Treasury. The first issue that Hamilton tackled as Washington's Secretary of Treasury concerned the problem of public credit. Governments at all levels had taken on so much debt during the Revolution. The commitment to pay them back was not taken very seriously. By the late 1780s, the value of such public securities had decreased to a small fraction of their face value. In other words, state IOU's — the money borrowed to finance the Revolution — was viewed as nearly worthless. Hamilton's vision for reshaping the American economy included a federal charter for a national financial institution. He proposed a Bank of the United States. Modeled along the lines of the Bank of England, a central bank would help make the new nation's economy dynamic through a more stable paper currency. The central bank faced significant opposition. Many feared it would fall under the influence of wealthy, urban northeasterners and speculators from overseas. In the end, with the support of George Washington, the bank was chartered with its first headquarters in Philadelphia. The third major area of Hamilton's economic plan aimed to make American manufacturers self-sufficient. The American economy had traditionally rested upon large-scale agricultural exports to pay for the import of British manufactured goods. Hamilton thought that this dependence on expensive foreign goods kept the American economy at a limited level, especially when compared to the rapid growth of early industrialization in Great Britain. Rather than accept this condition, Hamilton wanted the United States to adopt a mercantilist…
Every other founding father's story gets told, every other founding father gets to grow old yet Alexander Hamilton doesn’t get enough credit for all the credit he gave our nation. Alexander Hamilton deserves the legacy he always longed for.Hamilton had a difficult childhood in the Caribbean, his father left when he was only ten. This left Hamilton and his mother in destitution.Two years later Hamilton and his mother fell ill and tragically his mother passed away leaving him an orphan. Alexander knew he had to educate himself and rise up or else he would live a transient life in despair. To escape the impecunious conditions he wrote a book collection and with the income he garnered he purchased a ticket for a ship that was headed to New…
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison were three key individuals in the formation of a young and uncertain United States in which failure was more prevalent than success. The three men gathered together at a dinner table to discuss the problems surrounding the young nation. The problems they discussed were issues of the nation’s debt and the location its new capital. The issues of the nation’s debt was of the two center point in the discussion between the three men especially between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.…
For example, as the first Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton was essentially the founder of the U.S. financial system, which he is most known for. He had exceptional ideas about international trade and how the economy should work that were very impressive for his time. Many of these, such as a national bank as well as payment through taxes and bonds ultimately led him to take the lead in funding the nation’s debt,…
*Hamilton suggested Congress consider ways to “render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the experiences of the union”…
In Alexander Hamilton (2004), Ron Chernow tackles the errand of depicting America's most questionable Founding Father. The book gives an expansive perspective of the scene of early America, with unique accentuation on Hamilton's accomplishments and his relationship to certain Founders.Before understanding this book, my contemplations concurred with the prevalent picture of Hamilton as a splendid however tyrannical man who was as often as possible required in outrages or in clashes with different Founders. I heard that he pushed government, protectionism, mercantilism, a solid government, and a national bank. I additionally realized that he had something to do with the Constitution and thought of a portion of The Federalist Papers. I realized…
However, not everyone was satisfied with the 80 proposed amendments. Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasure, was given the task of rebuilding the economy. His plans would create a powerful federal government, while Washington supporting him but Thomas Jefferson, secretary of the state, opposed it. Hamilton’s first problem…
Alexander Hamilton is probably the most underrated founding father. Hamilton was an immigrant from the Caribbean who severed in the revolutionary war under George Washington. He would later become Washington’s secretary of treasury, and write Washington’s Farewell Address. Hamilton never stopped trying to improve and build upon our nation. He defended the Constitution, along with James Madison and John Jay, with the Federalist Papers writing in total fifty-one of the eighty-five essays which swayed many to the Federalist party. Hamilton also fought against Jefferson for his purposed financial plan, which we still use today.…
Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important people of the time, was the first Secretary of the Treasury. Utilizing federal power to modernize the nation, he convinced Congress to use an elastic interpretation of the Constitution to pass laws that Jefferson deemed unconstitutional. These laws included federal assumption of the state debts, creation of a national bank, and a system of taxes through a tariff on imports and a tax on whiskey. Hamilton was also the creator of the Federalist Party. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson was born to a wealthy family but was nonetheless an anti-federalist. He was sympathetic towards the poor people and advocated state’s rights.…
Intelligence, bravery, and leadership; sounds like every other founding father, and that’s true. George Washington used these traits in war, Thomas Jefferson used these attributes in documents, Benjamin Franklin used these features through his compatibility, and John Adams used these traits for words, but Alexander Hamilton used these characteristics for war, documents, compatibility, and words. He was captain of the company of artillery in war. He was also the main author of The Federalist Papers. He was the leader of the Federalists which were compatible to England. He also convinced Washington to be neutral during the French Revolution. I believe Alexander Hamilton is worthy enough to be called The Founding Father.…
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755, on the island of Nevis and was the illegitimate son of Rachel Faucett Lavien and James Hamilton. As a young child Hamilton worked for a merchant, he was later on sent to the American colonies to be educated. At only sixteen years old, young Hamilton was off on his own. “Hamilton at the time, was enrolled in King's College (now Columbia University) but due to the war with British his studies were cut short” (Enote.com). He played a big role during the war in 1755.“In 1775, after the first engagement of American troops with the British at Lexington and Concord, Hamilton and other King's College students joined a New York volunteer militia company called the Corsicans, later renamed or reformed as the Hearts of Oak”(Wikipedia). Due to Hamilton, being consistent which including him drilling with the company before the class and also, in the graveyard he was soon to be recommended for a promotion.…
At the Annapolis Convention, where people met to discuss matters not covered by the Articles of…
Do you know who is the face on our ten dollar bill? It is none other than Alexander Hamilton himself. Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers of The United States of America. He lived for 47 years from 1755 or 1757 to 1804. He is best known for co-writing the “Federalist Papers” with John Jay and James Madison. He was also the Secretary of Treasury. Hamilton had a very interesting background along with a great record of accomplishments, he is just like a modern day Donald J. Trump.…
After being given news of the battle of Lexington and Concord, Alexander Hamilton began to prepare for the war. With an old friend Robert Troup and other King's College men, Hamilton formed a volunteer musket drill unit and, with the assistance of some of his veteran professors, trained a group of young college boys to shoot and fight. Hamilton also began studying artillery with the help from his math professor. Alexander and his volunteers had their first military action on the night of August 23, 1775, when they helped capture twenty-one cannon at a British stockade on the tip of Manhattan Island in New York. The operation was not really dangerous, because the stockade was only protected by one warship, which could do little to stop the land-based raid. Hamilton achieved some measure…
Alexander Hamilton is with us every day, in our wallets, on the $10 bill. But he is with us in another sense, for more than any other Founder, he foresaw the America we live in now. Alexander Hamilton shaped the financial, political, and legal systems of the young United States. His ideas on racial equality and economic diversity were so far ahead of their time that it took America decades to catch up with them. He made the early republic work, and set the agenda for its future. We live in the world he made. From birth till death, Hamilton lives in the hearts of many to this day.…