15 Interesting Facts About Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton by Antonio1605 – Wikimedia Commons

15 Interesting Facts About Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was born and spent part of his childhood in Charlestown, the capital of the island of Nevis in the British Leeward Islands. Hamilton and his older brother James Jr. were born out of wedlock to Rachel Faucette, a married woman of half-British and half-French Huguenot descent, and James A. Hamilton, a Scotsman who was the fourth son of Alexander Hamilton, the laird of Grange, Ayrshire.

Hamilton was an avid reader and later developed an interest in writing. While their mother lived, they received individual tutoring and classes in a private school led by a Jewish headmistress. Alexander supplemented his education with a family library of 34 books He began to desire a life outside the island where he lived. In this article, we break down 15 interesting facts about Alexander Hamilton.

1. Hamilton was a Statesman and Founding Father of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.

Historian Richard B. Morris identified seven figures as key Founding Fathers in his 1973 book Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries. His selections, based on what Morris called the triple tests of leadership, longevity, and statesmanship, were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

2. Hamilton served as the first United States secretary of the treasury

Engraved BEP portrait of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton by The Bureau of Engraving and Printing – Wikimedia Commons

The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy.

As a trusted member of President Washington’s first cabinet, Hamilton led the Department of the Treasury. He envisioned a central government led by an energetic president, a strong national defence, and an industrial economy. He successfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution provided the legal authority to fund the national debt and assume the states’ debts.

3. Alexander served as an artillery officer in the American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War was the military conflict of the American Revolution in which American patriot forces under George Washington’s command defeated the British, establishing and securing the independence of the United States.

Alexander served as an artillery officer in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw action in the New York and New Jersey campaign, served for years as an aide to General George Washington, and helped secure American victory at the climactic Siege of Yorktown. Read more facts about the American Revolution. 

4. Hamilton founded the Bank of New York

Alexander Hamilton statue in front of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C by Carol M. Highsmith – Wikimedia Commons

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financial Corporation in 2007.

Through its Bank of New York predecessor, it is one of the three oldest banking corporations in the United States and among the oldest banks in the world, having been established in June 1784 by a group that included American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

5. Hamilton served as a delegate from New York to the Congress of the Confederation

After the war, Hamilton served as a delegate from New York to the Congress of the Confederation. 

The Congress of the Confederation was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation period. A unicameral body with legislative and executive function, it was composed of delegates appointed by the legislatures of several states. Each state delegation had one vote.

6. Alexander advocated for the Jay Treaty with Great Britain

Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull – Wikimedia Commons

Alexander opposed American entanglement with the succession of unstable French Revolutionary governments and pushed for the Jay Treaty, which resumed friendly trade relations with Great Britain.

Jay’s Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted war, resolved issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolutionary War, and facilitated ten years of peaceful trade between the United States and Britain in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars, which began in 1792.  Read more about the Treaty of Paris and the American Revolution. 

7. Hamilton established the Revenue Cutter Service

The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an act of Congress on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine upon the recommendation of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to serve as an armed customs enforcement service. 

As time passed, the service gradually gained missions either voluntarily or by legislation, including those of a military nature. It was generally referred to as the Revenue Marine until 31 July 1894, when it was officially renamed the Revenue Cutter Service. The Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

8. Hamilton formed the first political party in the United States 

Washington Benevolent Society Member Ribbons by Policoll of 205 year old original ribbons – Wikimedia Commons

Hamilton’s views became the basis for the Federalist Party, which was opposed by the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. 

The Federalist Party was a conservative American political party and the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801.

9. Hamilton and other Federalists supported the Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on 22 August 1791 and ended in 1804 with the former colony’s independence.

Hamilton and other Federalists supported the Haitian Revolution, and he helped draft the constitution of Haiti.

10. Alexander was a leader in the abolition of the international slave trade

Slaves aboard a slave ship being shackled before being put in the hold by Joseph Swain – Wikimedia Commons

The international slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

Hamilton was a leader in the abolition of the international slave trade. Near the beginning of the 19th century, various governments acted to ban the trade, although illegal smuggling still occurred. In the early 21st century, several governments issued apologies for the transatlantic slave trade.

11. Hamilton participated in the Battle of Princeton

The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ended in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood in Princeton.

Hamilton brought three cannons up and had them fire upon the building. Then some Americans rushed to the front door and broke it down. The British subsequently put a white flag outside one of the windows;[50] 194 British soldiers walked out of the building and laid down their arms, thus ending the battle in an American victory.

12. Alexander was a big contributor to the Federalist Papers

Circular from Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to Boston Customs Collector Benjamin Lincoln Regarding Lighthouse Expenses by NARA – Wikimedia Commons

The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym Publius to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. 

The collection was commonly known as The Federalist until the name The Federalist Papers emerged in the 20th century. Hamilton wrote the first paper signed as Publius, and all of the subsequent papers were signed under the name.

13. Hamilton convinced Congress to approve an excise tax on whiskey to increase government revenue

One of the principal sources of revenue Hamilton prevailed upon Congress to approve was an excise tax on whiskey. In his first Tariff Bill in January 1790, Hamilton proposed to raise the three million dollars needed to pay for government operating expenses and interest on domestic and foreign debts by means of an increase in duties on imported wines, distilled spirits, tea, coffee, and domestic spirits.

It failed, with Congress complying with most recommendations excluding the excise tax on whiskey. The same year, Madison modified Hamilton’s tariff to involve only imported duties; it was passed in September.

14. Alexander resigned from public service to spend more time with his family

Statue of Alexander Hamilton in Lincon Park – Chicago, Illinois by Cosmo1976 – Wikimedia Commons

Hamilton’s wife suffered a miscarriage while he was absent during his armed repression of the Whiskey Rebellion. In the wake of this, Hamilton tendered his resignation from office on December 1, 1794, giving Washington two months’ notice, Before leaving his post on January 31, 1795, Hamilton submitted the Report on a Plan for the Further Support of Public Credit to Congress to curb the debt problem. 

Hamilton grew dissatisfied with what he viewed as a lack of a comprehensive plan to fix the public debt. He wished to have new taxes passed with older ones made permanent and stated that any surplus from the excise tax on liquor would be pledged to lower public debt. His proposals were included in a bill by Congress within slightly over a month after his departure as treasury secretary. Some months later, Hamilton resumed his law practice in New York to remain closer to his family.

15. After his resignation, Hamilton still remained close to George Washington as an advisor 

Hamilton’s resignation as secretary of the treasury in 1795 did not remove him from public life. With the resumption of his law practice, he remained close to Washington as an advisor and friend. 

Hamilton influenced Washington in the composition of his farewell address by writing drafts for Washington to compare with the latter’s draft, although when Washington contemplated retirement in 1792, he consulted Madison for a draft that was used in a similar manner to Hamilton’s. Read the top 10 facts about George Washington.