Perhaps Alexander Hamilton’s life best represents the quintessential American story of mobility, energy 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 at a young age, 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. Hamilton played a key role in engineering the Constitutional Convention where he called for “public strength and individual security”. During 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 America’s first, and in my opinion, our best Treasury Secretary.
It seems that Hamilton was convinced that he was sort of a Prime Minister; he often referred to “my administration.” This was based on his close relationship of trust with President Washington and this, in turn, was the root cause of the Jeffersonian - Hamiltonian conflict. Both harbored great ambition clothed in very different personalities and world outlooks. Hamilton was openly ambitious for himself and his country while Jefferson hid his ambition preferring to work behind the scenes. It is fortunate for America that in his short life, the “Little Lion” outfoxed the “Sphinx”.
You may think that the challenge of dealing with the current financial turbulence is unprecedented but you would be wrong. As Hamilton took command of the Treasury Department, the new nation’s finances were in disarray. 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 and in short order, the wheels were in motion for a budget and tax system, a mint, a national bank and customs service, a coast guard and a strategy to make America a commercial empire on par with the glittering capitals of Europe.
Mr. Hamilton’s goal of a more independent and self-reliant economy was sharpened by his revolutionary 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 following initiatives of Secretary Hamilton’s during 1789-1784 that formed the very foundation and institutional underpinnings of the American economy.
This 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.
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 at a young age, 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. Hamilton played a key role in engineering the Constitutional Convention where he called for “public strength and individual security”. During 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 America’s first, and in my opinion, our best Treasury Secretary.
It seems that Hamilton was convinced that he was sort of a Prime Minister; he often referred to “my administration.” This was based on his close relationship of trust with President Washington and this, in turn, was the root cause of the Jeffersonian - Hamiltonian conflict. Both harbored great ambition clothed in very different personalities and world outlooks. Hamilton was openly ambitious for himself and his country while Jefferson hid his ambition preferring to work behind the scenes. It is fortunate for America that in his short life, the “Little Lion” outfoxed the “Sphinx”.
You may think that the challenge of dealing with the current financial turbulence is unprecedented but you would be wrong. As Hamilton took command of the Treasury Department, the new nation’s finances were in disarray. 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 and in short order, the wheels were in motion for a budget and tax system, a mint, a national bank and customs service, a coast guard and a strategy to make America a commercial empire on par with the glittering capitals of Europe.
Mr. Hamilton’s goal of a more independent and self-reliant economy was sharpened by his revolutionary 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 following 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 the 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.
This 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.