alexander Hamilton
Some candidates are appeal to the base interests, economic insecurity, and frustration of the voters.
Alexander Hamilton worried about and warned of this possibility in 1787 in Federalist No.1:
Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants.
Washington & Hamilton: America’s Founding Partners
To make America the country of Hamilton - the guardian of liberty, enterprise and promise, we must first look backward.
The powerful partnership of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton was instrumental in winning the war of independence and the founding of the United States of America. Without these founding partners working together in harness, our country could have been smothered in its cradle.
“A Host Unto Himself”
Alexander Hamilton’s role in the founding of America was significant. In my opinion, on par with Jefferson, Madison, Adams and Franklin. I might add that this group was not a political elite like what existed in England but as Joseph Ellis points out in Founding Brothers, “would have languished in obscurity in England or France”.
Alexander Hamilton’s life is a quintessential story of American mobility, merit and ambition. He was an ardent nationalist and capitalist, a daring military leader and strategist, the principal author of The Federalist Papers, and one of the key architects of the American political and economic system. He represented that rare breed of leaders being both a thinker and a doer.
Hamilton’s beginnings were both humble and humiliating. Abandoned by his father and losing his mother to illness, he and his brother were largely alone in the world. His portable library became his most loyal companion. He was largely self-educated until a group of businessmen noticed his literary and business talents and sent him to what is now Columbia University in New York. His journey from the tiny island of Nevis in the British West Indies to St. Croix and subsequent emigration to colonial America is a testament to the need for us to remain open to immigration. Imagine not allowing someone with Hamilton’s gifts into America!
Mr. Hamilton’s rise was based on merit rather than connections to the crown. He caught the eye of General Washington as an impossibly young officer commanding an artillery unit and soon was invited to join General Washington’s “family” where he made himself indispensable. One of the themes threading through Hamilton’s career was his call for “energy in the executive.” This was his calling card throughout his life as well.
During the Constitutional Convention and the battle for ratification, he played an instrumental role as the leading author of The Federalist Papers and proved his mettle as a persuasive and agile New York politico. Then came the crown of his career as our nation’s first Treasury Secretary. You may think that the challenge of dealing with the current financial turbulence is unprecedented but you would be wrong.
Hamilton’s Role as the Father of American Government
As he took command of the Treasury Department and served as President Washington’s de facto chief of staff at the age of thirty-two years, the new nation’s finances were in complete disarray.
We were very fortunate to have had Hamilton, a man of bold ideas who stuck to his guns whom the financier of the American Revolution Robert Morris described as “a man of superior talents”.
To refer to America as in a financial crisis would be an understatement. There was no central bank, the war debt was enormous, each state had its own currency, there was little if any federal revenue and in the first place most states did not want much of a central government at all. Undaunted, Secretary Hamilton jumped into the breach with all cylinders firing. In short order, the wheels were in motion for a budget and tax system, a mint, a central bank and customs service, a coast guard and a strategy to make America a commercial empire on par with the glittering capitals of Europe.
Although 95% of Americans tilled the soil at this time, Secretary Hamilton envisioned an economic balance between agriculture and industry and his Report on Manufactures set forth a strategy to achieve this goal. This blueprint was controversial and challenged by cabinet rival and Anglophobe Thomas Jefferson who wanted America to remain largely an agrarian society.
Mr. Hamilton also added the third dimension of finance and understood its pivotal role in fueling and lubricating industrial growth outlined in his “Report on Public Credit.” The growing role of corporations, shareholders and management in America’s emerging economy was welcomed and fostered by his policies and personal involvement.
Mr. Hamilton’s goal of a more independent and self-reliant economy was sharpened by his wartime experience. He stated that “a free people” ought to “promote manufactories such as to render them independent of others for essential, particularly for military supplies.” Secretary Hamilton’s ability to dominate the first cabinet was due not only to his energy, creativity and decisiveness but because President Washington shared his vision for America. The president grasped the basic elements of the Hamiltonian plan while the treasury chief managed the complexities.
The speed at which his proposals moved forward staggered his critics as Jefferson proclaimed him to be “a host unto himself.” Just take a look at the initiatives of Secretary Hamilton’s during 1789-1784 that formed the very foundation and institutional underpinnings of the American economy.
America, bankrupt when Mr. Hamilton took command at Treasury, enjoyed the benefits of a credit rating equal to that of any European nation as he left his post.
Henry Cabot Lodge summed up Hamilton’s remarkable accomplishments aptly: “We look in vain for a man who, in an equal space of time, has produced such direct and lasting effects upon our institutions and history.”
But for America, what’s much more important than Hamilton’s accomplishments are the values and principles that ran through his life of service. These include self-reliance, resilience and mobility, optimism, justice and balance. His record of accomplishment at a time of great uncertainty and turbulence has never again been equaled. It should also give us confidence as to just how much can be done in a time of crisis if decisive action is taken.
Jay Winik in his book “The Great Upheaval” described Hamilton as;
“….a force of nature, brilliant and tireless, thinking in rapid bursts and with broad sweeping strokes without peer.”
Daniel Webster summed up Hamilton’s accomplishments by stating that he:
“..smote the rock of the natural resources, and abundant streams gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of public credit, and it sprang to its feet. The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more sudden or more perfect than the financial system of the United States as it burst forth from the conception of Alexander Hamilton.”
In short, the partnership of Washington and Hamilton was absolutely critical to putting America on the path of economic growth and security. Upon Secretary Hamilton’s resignation in early 1795, President Washington honored him with these words:
“ In every relation which you have borne to me, I have found that my confidence in your talents, exertions and integrity has been well placed.”
When President Washington was called to his final summons just before Christmas in 1799, Mr. Hamilton responded in kind:
“He was an aegis (protector) very essential to me.”
Both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton were self-reliant men who took responsibility for their own lives but for their country’s as well. They took the initiative, were alert to opportunities, undaunted by huge challenges and had confidence in themselves and their country.
Let’s begin learning more about Hamilton’s remarkable journey, highlight his achievements and then apply his thinking to build a stronger and more confident America.
Alexander Hamilton worried about and warned of this possibility in 1787 in Federalist No.1:
Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants.
Washington & Hamilton: America’s Founding Partners
To make America the country of Hamilton - the guardian of liberty, enterprise and promise, we must first look backward.
The powerful partnership of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton was instrumental in winning the war of independence and the founding of the United States of America. Without these founding partners working together in harness, our country could have been smothered in its cradle.
“A Host Unto Himself”
Alexander Hamilton’s role in the founding of America was significant. In my opinion, on par with Jefferson, Madison, Adams and Franklin. I might add that this group was not a political elite like what existed in England but as Joseph Ellis points out in Founding Brothers, “would have languished in obscurity in England or France”.
Alexander Hamilton’s life is a quintessential story of American mobility, merit and ambition. He was an ardent nationalist and capitalist, a daring military leader and strategist, the principal author of The Federalist Papers, and one of the key architects of the American political and economic system. He represented that rare breed of leaders being both a thinker and a doer.
Hamilton’s beginnings were both humble and humiliating. Abandoned by his father and losing his mother to illness, he and his brother were largely alone in the world. His portable library became his most loyal companion. He was largely self-educated until a group of businessmen noticed his literary and business talents and sent him to what is now Columbia University in New York. His journey from the tiny island of Nevis in the British West Indies to St. Croix and subsequent emigration to colonial America is a testament to the need for us to remain open to immigration. Imagine not allowing someone with Hamilton’s gifts into America!
Mr. Hamilton’s rise was based on merit rather than connections to the crown. He caught the eye of General Washington as an impossibly young officer commanding an artillery unit and soon was invited to join General Washington’s “family” where he made himself indispensable. One of the themes threading through Hamilton’s career was his call for “energy in the executive.” This was his calling card throughout his life as well.
During the Constitutional Convention and the battle for ratification, he played an instrumental role as the leading author of The Federalist Papers and proved his mettle as a persuasive and agile New York politico. Then came the crown of his career as our nation’s first Treasury Secretary. You may think that the challenge of dealing with the current financial turbulence is unprecedented but you would be wrong.
Hamilton’s Role as the Father of American Government
As he took command of the Treasury Department and served as President Washington’s de facto chief of staff at the age of thirty-two years, the new nation’s finances were in complete disarray.
We were very fortunate to have had Hamilton, a man of bold ideas who stuck to his guns whom the financier of the American Revolution Robert Morris described as “a man of superior talents”.
To refer to America as in a financial crisis would be an understatement. There was no central bank, the war debt was enormous, each state had its own currency, there was little if any federal revenue and in the first place most states did not want much of a central government at all. Undaunted, Secretary Hamilton jumped into the breach with all cylinders firing. In short order, the wheels were in motion for a budget and tax system, a mint, a central bank and customs service, a coast guard and a strategy to make America a commercial empire on par with the glittering capitals of Europe.
Although 95% of Americans tilled the soil at this time, Secretary Hamilton envisioned an economic balance between agriculture and industry and his Report on Manufactures set forth a strategy to achieve this goal. This blueprint was controversial and challenged by cabinet rival and Anglophobe Thomas Jefferson who wanted America to remain largely an agrarian society.
Mr. Hamilton also added the third dimension of finance and understood its pivotal role in fueling and lubricating industrial growth outlined in his “Report on Public Credit.” The growing role of corporations, shareholders and management in America’s emerging economy was welcomed and fostered by his policies and personal involvement.
Mr. Hamilton’s goal of a more independent and self-reliant economy was sharpened by his wartime experience. He stated that “a free people” ought to “promote manufactories such as to render them independent of others for essential, particularly for military supplies.” Secretary Hamilton’s ability to dominate the first cabinet was due not only to his energy, creativity and decisiveness but because President Washington shared his vision for America. The president grasped the basic elements of the Hamiltonian plan while the treasury chief managed the complexities.
The speed at which his proposals moved forward staggered his critics as Jefferson proclaimed him to be “a host unto himself.” Just take a look at the initiatives of Secretary Hamilton’s during 1789-1784 that formed the very foundation and institutional underpinnings of the American economy.
- Submits to Congress his “Report on Public Credit,” which forms the basis for consolidating and managing the national debt and incorporates a plan to eliminate the nation’s public debt in thirty years.
- Negotiates, over a dinner with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the deal to move nation’s capital to the Potomac in exchange for support for Hamilton ’s debt policies.
- Receives authorization from Congress to create a service to enforce customs laws, which would become the Coast Guard.
- Submits report arguing for establishment of a central bank, leading to formation of the Bank of the United States.
- Delivers report calling for creation of a national mint and defining the U.S. dollar in quantities of gold and silver.
- Directs purchases of government securities to stabilize markets.
- Submits the “Report on Manufactures,” setting forth a strategy to transform the country into an industrial power.
- Manages a panic and crisis in Treasuries and bank scrip.
- Leads militia of 13,000 troops to Pennsylvania to suppress Whiskey Rebellion against federal liquor tax.
America, bankrupt when Mr. Hamilton took command at Treasury, enjoyed the benefits of a credit rating equal to that of any European nation as he left his post.
Henry Cabot Lodge summed up Hamilton’s remarkable accomplishments aptly: “We look in vain for a man who, in an equal space of time, has produced such direct and lasting effects upon our institutions and history.”
But for America, what’s much more important than Hamilton’s accomplishments are the values and principles that ran through his life of service. These include self-reliance, resilience and mobility, optimism, justice and balance. His record of accomplishment at a time of great uncertainty and turbulence has never again been equaled. It should also give us confidence as to just how much can be done in a time of crisis if decisive action is taken.
Jay Winik in his book “The Great Upheaval” described Hamilton as;
“….a force of nature, brilliant and tireless, thinking in rapid bursts and with broad sweeping strokes without peer.”
Daniel Webster summed up Hamilton’s accomplishments by stating that he:
“..smote the rock of the natural resources, and abundant streams gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of public credit, and it sprang to its feet. The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more sudden or more perfect than the financial system of the United States as it burst forth from the conception of Alexander Hamilton.”
In short, the partnership of Washington and Hamilton was absolutely critical to putting America on the path of economic growth and security. Upon Secretary Hamilton’s resignation in early 1795, President Washington honored him with these words:
“ In every relation which you have borne to me, I have found that my confidence in your talents, exertions and integrity has been well placed.”
When President Washington was called to his final summons just before Christmas in 1799, Mr. Hamilton responded in kind:
“He was an aegis (protector) very essential to me.”
Both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton were self-reliant men who took responsibility for their own lives but for their country’s as well. They took the initiative, were alert to opportunities, undaunted by huge challenges and had confidence in themselves and their country.
Let’s begin learning more about Hamilton’s remarkable journey, highlight his achievements and then apply his thinking to build a stronger and more confident America.