Alexander Hamilton (1) (1755–1804)
Author of The Federalist Papers
For other authors named Alexander Hamilton, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757 on the West Indian Island of Nevis. His mother died in 1769, around the same time his father went bankrupt. Hamilton joined a counting house in St. Croix where he excelled at accounting. From 1772 until 1774, he attended a grammar school in show more Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and went on to study at King's College. Hamilton entered the Revolutionary movement in 1774 at a public gathering in New York City with a speech urging the calling of a general meeting of the colonies. That same year, he anonymously wrote two pamphlets entitled, A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies and The Farmer Refuted. When the Revolutionary War began, Hamilton joined the army and became a Captain of artillery, where he served with distinction in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Trenton and Princeton. He was introduced to George Washington by General Nathaniel Greene with a recommendation for advancement. Washington made Hamilton his aide-de-camp and personal secretary. He resigned in 1781 after a dispute with the General, but remained in the army and commanded a New York regiment of light infantry in the Battle of Yorktown. Hamilton left the army at the end of the war, and began studying law in Albany, New York. He served in the Continental Congress in 1782-83, before returning to practice law, becoming one of the most prominent lawyers in New York City. In 1786, Hamilton participated in the Annapolis Convention and drafted the resolution that led to assembling the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He then helped to secure the ratification of the Constitution of New York with the help of John Jay and James Madison, who together wrote the collection of 85 essays which would become known as The Federalist. Hamilton wrote at least 51 of the essays. In 1789, Washington appointed him the first Secretary of the Treasury, a position at which he excelled at and gained a vast influence in domestic and foreign issues, having convinced Washington to adopt a neutral policy when war broke out in Europe in 1793. In 1794, Hamilton wrote the instructions for a diplomatic mission which would lead to the signing of Jay's Treaty. He returned to his law practice in 1795. President John Adams appointed Hamilton Inspector General of the Army at the urging of Washington. He was very much involved with the politics of the country though, and focused his attentions on the presidential race of 1800. Hamilton did not like Aaron Burr and went out of his way to make sure that he did not attain a nomination. Similarly, when Burr ran for mayor of New York, Hamilton set about to ruin his chances for that position as well. Burr provoked an argument with Hamilton to force him to duel. Hamilton accepted and the two met on July 11, 1804 at Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton was shot and mortally wounded and died on July 12, 1804. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Via Wikimedia Commons
Works by Alexander Hamilton
The Great Books of the Western World, Vol. 43: American State Papers, The Federalist, and J. S. Mill (1776) 390 copies
The Pacificus-Helvidius Debates of 1793-1794: Toward the Completion of the American Founding (2007) 49 copies
Selections from the Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States (Crofts Classics) (1949) 44 copies
The Federalist: The Essential Essays, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (The Bedford Series in History (2003) 20 copies
The Constitution of the United States of America and Other Founding Documents (Arcturus Ornate Classics) (2022) 12 copies
The Complete Works of Alexander Hamilton: The Federalist, The Continentalist, A Full Vindication, The Adams… (2011) 9 copies
The Federalist Papers and the Constitution of the United States: The Principles of the American Government (2016) 7 copies
The Works of Alexander Hamilton; Comprising His Correspondence, and His Political and Official Writings, Exclusive of… (2013) 5 copies
Adultery and Apology : observations on certain documents in the history of the United States for the Year 1796 (2017) 5 copies
Alexander Hamilton's Report on the Subject of Manufactures: Made in His Capacity of Secretary of the Treasury (2007) 5 copies
Alexander Hamilton: Selections representing his life, his thought, and his style (The American heritage series) (1957) 5 copies
The works of Alexander Hamilton: Comprising his most important official reports; an improved edition of the Federalist, (1969) 4 copies
Relatório Sobre as Manufaturas 3 copies
The Federalist Papers, including the Constitution of the United States: (New Edition) (2017) 3 copies
Founding Documents of the United States of America: The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of… (2021) 3 copies
American State Papers; The Federalist; On Liberty; Representative Government; Utilitarianism 2 copies
The Complete Works of Alexander Hamilton: Biography, The Federalist Papers, The Continentalist, A Full Vindication,… (2018) 2 copies
The Federalist Papers | U.S. Constitution: | All 85 Federalist Papers | The U.S. Constitution | The Bill of Rights |… (2020) 2 copies
A Few of Hamilton's Letters: Including His Description of the Great West Indian Hurricane of 1772 (1903) 2 copies
Letters of Pacificus written in justification of the president's proclamation of neutrality 2 copies
The Federalist Papers (Annotated): A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution 1 copy
The Pocket Federalist: A Selection of the Most Influential and Frequently Cited Federalist Papers (2021) 1 copy
The Social Contract (Books I-II); The Federalist Papers (Selections); The Federal Constitution 1 copy
The Biography of Alexander Hamilton (U.S. Heritage): with Conjectures About the New Constitution, The Federalist Papers… (2023) 1 copy
The Federalist Papers (w/Active Table of Contents and Chapter Navigation) [KINDLE EDTION] (2009) 1 copy
Paul Rever's Ride 1 copy
Le Fédéraliste 1 copy
A Collection of the Facts and Documents, Relative to the Death of Major-General Alexander Hamilton (1972) 1 copy
Observations On Certain Documents Contained In No. V And VI Of The History Of The United States For The Year 1776… (2009) 1 copy
The Works of Alexander Hamilton; Comprising His Correspondence, and His Political and Official Writings, Exclusive of… (2015) 1 copy
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson; representative selections, with introduction, bibliography 1 copy
The works of Alexander Hamilton: comprising his correspondence and his political and official writings, exclusive of… (2012) 1 copy
The Great Books Foundation Set One Volume Four Politics, The Federalists papers and The Wealth of Nations (1966) 1 copy
Associated Works
The Declaration of Independence / The Constitution of the United States (1776) — some editions — 1,898 copies
The Debate on the Constitution, Part One: September 1787 to February 1788 (1993) — Contributor — 829 copies
The Debate on the Constitution, Part Two: January 1788 to August 1788 (1993) — Contributor — 678 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 81 copies
Grolier Classics: Les Miserables, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, French Revolution, Divine Comedy (1955) 16 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Hamilton, Alexander
- Birthdate
- 1755-01-11
1757-01-11 - Date of death
- 1804-07-12
- Burial location
- Trinity Church Cemetery, New York, New York, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (birth)
USA - Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Cause of death
- killed in duel
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Christiansted, Virgin Islands, USA
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, USA - Education
- King's College
Columbia College (MA|1788) - Occupations
- United States Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795)
soldier (officer)
lawyer
clerk
politican
writer - Relationships
- Burr, Aaron (killed in duel)
Hamilton, James A. (son)
Hamilton, John C. (son)
Hamilton, Elizabeth Schuyler (wife) - Organizations
- U.S. Treasury
State Bar of New York (1782)
United States Congress
Bank of New York
Assemblyman, New York State Legislature - Awards and honors
- American Philosophical Society (1791)
- Short biography
- Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. His parents, a married Frenchwoman and a Scottish trader, lived together for a while after Hamilton was born. When Hamilton was a small child, his father abandoned the family, leaving them in poverty. He got his first job at age 11 as a clerk in an accounting firm. His employer, thinking Hamilton a promising boy, sent him to the British colony of America for an education when he was 15. In 1773, he arrived alone in New York City and enrolled in King's College (later Columbia University). He wrote his first political article to defend the cause of American self-rule from the British. He dropped out of school before graduating at the start of the Revolutionary War. He joined the New York militia and fought in the battles of Long Island, White Plains and Trenton.
In 1777, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army. During his early service in the army, he caught the attention of General George Washington, who made Hamilton his chief aide and adviser. Around this time, he married Elizabeth Schuyler, from an affluent New York family.
After studying law and passing the bar exam, in 1783 he set up a law practice in New York City. Hamilton believed that the Articles of Confederation, the new USA's first, informal constitution, was inadequate, and that a strong central government was the key to achieving true independence and freedom. In 1787, he served as a New York delegate to the Constitutional Convention; although he did not have a large role in writing the Constitution, he heavily influenced its eventual ratification by writing 51 of 85 persuasive essays in its favor under the collective title The Federalist (later known as The Federalist Papers), along with James Madison and John Jay. After George Washington was elected president of the USA in 1789, he appointed Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton stepped down in 1795, after helping establish a more centralized federal government and a stronger economy, but remained active in public and political affairs. It was in an argument over politics that Vice President Aaron Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel and killed him.
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Alexander Hamilton in Legacy Libraries (April 2016)
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Statistics
- Works
- 125
- Also by
- 17
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- Popularity
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- Rating
- 4.2
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- ISBNs
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