Speech #3 - “The Forgotten Founding Father”
If someone were to ask a person to name the founding fathers off the top of their
head, most, if not all, answers would sound like this: That’s too easy! They are George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams…some may remember
James Madison and very few might remember John Jay. However, almost all answers do
not include Alexander Hamilton. And why is that? Why is it that Alexander Hamiton is
so easily forgotten or that he is barely talked about, when these other great men are
brought up? It is because he was different. And we are going to be understanding as well
as learning that very statement, by hearing his background, realizing his importance in
regards to framing the constitution, and taking a look at the kind of impact he made in
today’s society.
First, a little bit of background on Hamilton. He was born on January 11, in either
1755 or 1757 on the British Island called Nevis. According to the George Washington’s
Mount Vernon Library, a digital encyclopedia of Alexander Hamiton wrote that his
parents “were not married when he was born.” It also speaks about how his father
“abandoned the family in 1766,” and that his mother “died in 1768.” So, basically
Hamilton grew up as an orphan and did not really have those parental figures in his life
for too long. What was phenomenal about him growing up, was that there was an event
where a hurricane hit the island, and Hamilton, “published an eloquent letter” which
described what had happened. Continuing off the encyclopedia, locals from St. Croix,
“recognized Hamilton’s remarkable intelligence…and raised money to send him to
school in Britain’s North American colonies.” From that point on, he attended college,
founded a volunteer military company, and exuded great leadership skills. So much so,
that “Washington recognized Hamilton’s leadership abilities, as well as his extraordinary
talent for writing,” and Hamilton “was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel,” states
ushistory.org. He was just twenty years old at the time!
Which brings me to my next point. Many do not understand how important
Alexander Hamilton was, in terms of framing the Constitution. When we think of the
Constitution alone, we think of just rules or laws on a piece of paper that we have to
follow, or that give us a right to do certain things in life. But the reality is, that in order
for those words to have gotten onto that paper, a group of people had to have come up
with it first. And Alexander Hamilton was one of those people. According to the U.S.
Department of the Interior, it states that “Hamilton’s true legacy, however, is his work in
building and ensuring the success of the newly independent United States.” After serving
in the military, and being part of the success in Revolution, Hamilton became
Washington’s right hand man. He became the first Secretary of Treasury. According to
the American Library Association, it says that Hamilton “shaped the young country's
financial, political, and legal systems…” and “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. Hamilton made the early republic work, and set the agenda for its future.” He truly
was extraordinary.
And by future, they mean us. Why does Alexander Hamilton have such an impact
on our society today? Why is he even important or worth talking about even now? It is
because he was human just like all of us. His life was brought up in the same way all of
ours were, some more than others. But the fact is, that his life is inspirational, it is
admirable to see, not only such a dedication to their country at a young age, but the
determination to want to make the world something grand. He took initiative when he
saw that the world needed a push. His impact was so great that Lin Manuel Miranda
wrote an entire musical based on Hamilton’s life. It reached Broadway in 2016 and till
this day, still does tours around the world. I personally love the Broadway musical.
Absolutely love! I know almost every word of every song in that two, almost three hour
musical and I was fortunate enough to have gone to actually see the musical live. It was
pretty amazing.
Okay, now you may be wondering if Alexander Hamilton is still even worth
digging deeper into or learning even more about his life and his accomplishments. And I
hope that the result ends in you doing so. For myself, I was one of you who are probably
sitting here not knowing anything about this man. But when I took a little interest in it, it
only made me want to learn more about this man’s life. I wasn’t highlighting Hamilton
just for the heck of it, but so that each and every one of us seek more of an interest into
what and who created this America for us.
References
\(n.d.). Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America. American Library
Association.
https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/ppo/programming/hamilton/exhibitionthemeoverview
(n.d.). Hamilton. U.S. History. https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/hamilton.html
(n.d.). Alexander Hamilton. U.S. Department of the Interior. http://www.doi.gov/americanheroes/alexander-hamilton