Alexander Hamilton: American Visionary
The Bill of Rights Institute
Milwaukee, WI
August 24, 2010
Artemus Ward
Department of Political Science
Northern Illinois University
aeward@niu.edu
Hamilton as American Case Study
• Alexander Hamilton is largely
misunderstood and
underappreciated among the
American founders.
• Hamilton was so brilliant, so
outspoken, and so sure of himself
that he not only quickly rose to
prominence but he also
engendered the wrath of many
throughout his political career.
• Yet his story from child immigrant,
to Revolutionary War hero, to
political powerhouse and then to
disgraced public official and murder
victim is the quintessential
American story and is an essential
case study in understanding both
the promise and the pitfalls that
American society offers.
The Quintessential American Immigrant
• Hamilton was a self-made man in every sense of the word.
• He was born on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies,
the illegitimate son of a poor Scottish merchant and a woman
of French descent. His father deserted the family when
Hamilton was a baby and his mother died when he was 11.
• Through his own ambition and help from a local merchant he
travelled to America, studied at Columbia University in New
York city (then King’s College), and became active in the
revolutionary cause.
Revolutionary
War Hero
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In New York Hamilton publically
denounced British tyranny.
He formed an artillery company
which fell under the command of
General George Washington.
Washington asked him to join
his personal staff and promoted
him to the rank of lieutenant
colonel. Hamilton was 20 years
old.
Hamilton provided valuable
counsel to Washington but
lobbied hard for a field
command.
After quitting and being coaxed
back by Washington he finally
led a decisive attack against the
British at Yorktown and was
present when Lord Cornwallis
surrendered to the Americans,
effectively ending the war.
Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, by John Trumbull in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington DC.
October 19, 1871
General Cornwallis sent his second in command, General O’Hara, to offer his sword, which was received by
General Washington’s second, General Lincoln.
French on left; Americans on right.
George Washington in front of troops & flag on right.
Count de Rochambeau in front of troops on left. Alexander Hamilton standing third from right.
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Hamilton married into a prominent New York family,
began practicing law, and was chosen to represent
New York in continental affairs.
He teamed with James Madison in pressing for a
Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
At the Constitutional Convention he listened while
Madison’s Virginia Plan and Paterson’s rival New
Jersey Plan were presented. He then advocated his
own plan, praising the British system and using the
word “monarch” as where Madison had used the
term “executive.”
Hamilton favored: a strong central government with
an elected monarch and senate who would serve for
life but were subject to impeachment and removal.
His House of Representatives would be elected by
universal male suffrage every three years. He
recommended a Supreme Court of twelve justices,
which like his monarch and senate would serve for
life subject to impeachment and removal.
While Hamilton’s proposal was never considered by
the delegates, it had the effect of making Madison’s
Virginia Plan seem more moderate by comparison
(indeed some scholars have argued that this was
Hamilton’s true intent all along) and it was Madison’s
plan that was revised and adopted as the American
form of government.
Hamilton supported the compromise and was
appointed to the committee on style to draft the
finished document. Hamilton signed it and the names
of the states were written in his hand. All the other
delegates signed with the exception of the two other
New York delegates. As a result Hamilton’s signature
is the only one from New York.
Constitutional
Framer
Constitutional
Defender
• Hamilton set out to lobby for approval of the Constitution
through a series of anonymous articles first published in
newspapers and later as a bound volume known collectively as
The Federalist Papers.
• Hamilton supervised the entire Federalist project. He dreamed
up the idea, enlisted the participants (John Jay and James
Madison), wrote the overwhelming bulk of the essays (52 of 85),
and oversaw their publication.
• Using the pseudonym “Publius” Hamilton wrote on the
executive, the judiciary, some sections on the Senate, the
military, and taxation.
• To this day The Federalist Paper are a key primary source for
interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
The Federalist
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Some of Hamilton’s major contributions:
Federalist No. 70 presents Hamilton's case for a one-man chief
executive: “Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the
definition of good government.” He distinguished the President from a
king pointing out that the British king was hereditary, could not be
removed by impeachment, had an absolute veto over laws, and could
dissolve Parliament, declare war, make treaties, confer titles of
nobility and bestow church offices.
In No. 78 Hamilton defends life tenure for the federal judges so that
they can protect minority rights and how the judiciary is the least
dangerous branch: “The judiciary…has no influence over either the
sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth
of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly
be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.”
No. 78, also lays the groundwork for the doctrine of judicial review by
federal courts of federal legislation or executive acts—a doctrine
espoused later by John Marshall in the most important legal case in
American history Marbury v. Madison (1803). Hamilton wrote: “no
legislative act…contrary to the constitution can be valid.”
In No. 84, Hamilton makes the case that there is no need to amend
the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights, insisting that the various
provisions in the proposed Constitution protecting liberty (such as
habeas corpus and trial by jury) amount to a bill of rights.
Of course Hamilton would ultimately lose this argument both in the
New York ratifying convention when he needed the votes of
antifederalists to secure ratification of the Constitution and in the first
session of the U.S. Congress when James Madison proposed a
series of Amendments most of which were subsequently passed and
ratified by the States and later become known as the Bill of Rights.
Secretary of the Treasury
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Anticipating ratification of the new Constitution, New Yorkers held a
huge boisterous rally and parade where Hamilton was lauded as a
hero. He had never been, nor would he ever again be, more popular.
Washington selected Hamilton to be the nation’s first Treasury
Secretary and he served from 1789-1795.
He set up a national financial system through a number of legislative
enactments including:
1) His First Report on Public Credit (Jan. 1790) where he
convinced Congress to assume state war debts. While Jefferson and
the antifederalists opposed the plan, Hamilton cut a deal with them
by promising to use his influence to place the new Capitol in the
South. They agreed and supported his plan for assumption.
2) In his Second Report on Public Credit (Dec. 1790) he called for
the creation of a national bank and defended its constitutionality
(under the implied powers doctrine and “Necessary and Proper”
Clause) to George Washington—against Thomas Jefferson’s strong
opposition. Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed with Hamilton’s
view in the landmark case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819).
3) In his Report on Manufacturers (Dec. 1791) he laid the
foundation for the American economic system. He argued that
government should regulate trade with moderate tariffs – not so
much as to discourage imports but enough to raise revenue to
support American manufacturing through subsidies. He said that
these policies would not only promote the growth of manufacturing
but provide diversified employment opportunities, promote
immigration into the new nation, and promote invention and
innovation for all sectors of the economy.
Hamilton was also able to get a tax on whiskey passed and when
Pennsylvania distillers refused to pay, Washington and Hamilton led
troops to the state to quash the growing Whiskey Rebellion (1794).
Party Leader
• But Hamilton was more than simply the Secretary of State, as
we understand that office today. Instead he was more akin to a
British Prime Minister, dominating the Cabinet and essentially
running the federal government under President Washington.
• Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and his followers opposed
Hamilton’s financial plans, which they viewed as centralizing too
much power in the hands of the national government to the
detriment of the states.
• The first political parties formed around these and other
disagreements and Hamilton (Federalist) and Jefferson
(Republican) became the de facto leaders of opposing political
factions.
The Reynolds Affair
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In 1791, while Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton became embroiled in a scandal when James and Maria
Reynolds conspired to blackmail him for money.
They targeted Hamilton because they had heard he was an unscrupulous official who had secretly made
tens of thousands of dollars speculating on securities—which was completely false.
Maria sought out Hamilton, seduced him, and the two began an affair. James then blackmailed Hamilton
for money, threatening to inform Hamilton’s wife if he wasn’t paid. Hamilton paid $1,000 (in installments as
he had little money) and then ended the affair. But James persisted and Hamilton continued to pay small
amounts for roughly one year.
The affair might never have become public had James Reynolds not been charged with defrauding the
U.S. government in another con—this time posing as executor of a supposedly deceased war veteran’s
estate.
Reynolds boasted to Hamilton’s political opponents—including Sen. James Monroe of Virginia—that he
had information that Hamilton was corrupt and had engaged in speculation while in office.
Monroe and his associates interviewed the Reynolds’s and their associates and prepared a draft letter to
deliver to President Washington outlining Hamilton’s alleged corruption. But first they confronted Hamilton.
When Hamilton told them the entire story of the affair and produced all the correspondence between
himself and the Reynolds’s, Monroe and the others realized that Hamilton was innocent of any political
corruption, apologized for invading his privacy, and never sent the draft letter to Washington.
But Monroe leaked copies of the documents he had in his possession and soon Madison and Jefferson
knew with the latter choosing to believe that not only was Hamilton an adulterer but that he was also a
corrupt official and he felt that he had the documents to prove it.
Meanwhile Hamilton left Treasury prior to the 1796 presidential election – a sign many took to signal
Hamilton’s intention to run for the presidency, though he said it was necessary to return to private law
practice to earn money for his growing family.
For 4 ½ years the Reynolds affair had remained a well-kept secret confined to Republican rumor mills.
Then in the summer of 1796 a Republican operative published the story about Hamilton’s supposed
corruption using Monroe’s leaked documents as proof. Hamilton felt that he had no choice but to respond
and a year later he published his own detailed account including all correspondence. While it showed he
was innocent of public corruption, he fully admitted to being duped into the private affair and blackmail
scheme.
In the end, the scandal may very well have kept Hamilton from attempting to succeed Washington as
President.
General Hamilton and the
Franco-American War (1798-1800)
• After lobbying from former President George
Washington, President John Adams reluctantly
appointed Hamilton to head the first standing
Army in U.S. history during the “Quasi-War” with
France.
• Though the war was an undeclared battle that
essentially took place on the high seas, the U.S.
prepared for a possible land war.
• Hamilton was appointed Major-General and took
command of the troops from December 1799 to
June 1800.
• Ultimately, no land war materialized as Adams
negotiated with the French and hostilities ended
with the Treaty of Mortefontaine (1800).
Hamilton the Kingmaker:
The Disputed Election of 1800
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Through a quirk in the electoral process (later corrected by
the 12th Amendment) Jefferson and his running mate Aaron
Burr received the same number of electoral votes.
While he never actively tried to secure the presidency, Burr
allowed the voting between him and Jefferson to go on for 36
ballots in the House without ever indicating that the
electorate had clearly wanted Jefferson to be president.
Burr’s silence not only prolonged the process and
encouraged behind-the-scenes scheming by House
members, it ultimately convinced Jefferson that Burr could
never be trusted.
Hamilton threw the election to Jefferson and remarked that
Jefferson was “by far not so dangerous a man” who
possessed “solid pretensions to character.” “As to Burr there
is nothing in his favour. His private character is not defended
by his most partial friends. He is bankrupt beyond
redemption except by the plunder of his country. His public
principles have no other spring or aim than his own
aggrandizement…. If he can he will certainly disturb our
institutions to secure himself permanent power and with it
wealth. He is truly the Catiline of America.”
Note: Catliline was the treacherous and degenerate
character whose scheming nearly destroyed the Roman
Republic.
The Killing of Alexander Hamilton
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Burr was so upset at Hamilton calling him “despicable” at a dinner party that Burr
challenged him to a duel. Hamilton denied using the word. Burr demanded he
retract all criticisms Hamilton had made of him in the past 15 years. Hamilton
said that he could not and stood by his critiques which he felt were true.
Hamilton fired first, missing on purpose. Burr was startled and then fired back,
hitting Hamilton who later died from the wound.
Burr was vilified in the press, indicted for murder, and fled for Georgia.
Conclusion
• Alexander Hamilton’s extraordinary rise from meager
beginnings to the heights of military and political power
personify the best of the American dream—namely that in
America anyone can rise as far as their talents will take
them.
• Yet the scandal that helped keep his political ambitions in
check and his bitter rivalry with Aaron Burr that led to his
death demonstrate the other side of the American condition:
the higher you rise, the bigger target you become for others,
which could ultimately have disastrous results.
• In all, there is a Dickensian quality to his story: the young
hero escapes a tawdry life only to be lured back into it by a
pair of unscrupulous swindlers and a political sycophant.
References
• Bowen, Catherine Drinker, Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the
Constitutional Convention May to September 1787 (Boston: Back
Bay Books, 1966, 1986).
• Chernow, Ron, Alexander Hamilton (New York: Penguin, 2004).
• Ellis, Joseph J., Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
(New York: Knopf, 2000).
• Wood, Gordon, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders
Different (New York: Penguin, 2006).