A Synopsis of Alexander Hamilton

By Dachuxing

Alexander Hamilton was born in 1755, on the island of American West Indies. He has being ascribed posthumously by many, as a “great statesman, poor politician”. He is considered to be the most enticing figure among the U.S. founding fathers.

He stands 5’7” in stature as a full grown adult male, incredibly charming with deep azure eyes, dressed in high fashion, “vain, indiscrete, and opinionated, infidel” as described by closest friends. He is a man obsessed with Honor.

He is a genius and an orphan, an illegitimate child of a Scottish nobility who immigrated to the West Indies to run plantations. For Hamilton, who grew up in the plantation of the Caribbean islands, is very much being viewed as a bastard child and came from humble backgrounds. This was still at the height of 18th Century ideological trend where much emphasis is stressed on pedigree. Hamilton is to transcend those social and stereotypical conventions.

The greatest treasure he inherited from his family background is his mother’s collection of books. From classic Greek and Roman literatures to contemporary European books on history, literature and philosophy, Hamilton found himself immersed in the great hall of intellectual deliberation. He quickly came to favorite one category from his readings, which unwittingly shaped the course of his future undertaking-----Great statesmen.

At age 14, he has already been recognized as a young prodigy, and has been syndicating his writings to various venues. Among the extensive writings, diaries, and notes, he has come to a reckoning which is bound to be revolutionary and prophetic in nature. In his private words of indignation and epiphany, he confided that “how I wish to see a WAR!”

War has finally come to him at his 21 years of age in 1776. At the time, he has been enrolled in King’s College, the predecessor of Columbia University, since 18 years old. When American Independence War erupted in full scale he was in New York. He had been overwhelmed in this movement of revolutionary zeal since his arrival in New York, and had been writing vehemently seditious pamphlets calling for the overthrown of British monarchical shackles and the establishment of a new republic on the American continent. What distinguishes him from others is his methodical vision as to how to implement such egregious task and found a new nation with a sundry of colonists from ragtag vagabonds, old-fashioned gentries, to puritanical protestant zealots. Hamilton had it all thought out.

Hamilton was never compromising in personality and started to serve as aide de camp under George Washington, supreme commander of the continental revolutionary army. He also helped to organize his peers from the university to form artillery unit, the oldest and still existing military unit in the U.S. armed forces. As a leader, he has begotten an impeccable fame and charismatic reputation which earned loyalty and trust from his fellow soldiers and subordinates.

War drags on for quite a few years with grueling consequences and enduring tribulations, all of which require men of greatest character, will and resolution. Hamilton proved to be excelling all of these trials. He participated in the famous campaign, the Battle of Yorktown, during which he started to be known as a “daredevil”.

After the war was over, he went on to become a lawyer, which took him a sweeping period of only 6 months to complete, the courses normally require a rigorous four years of academic training.

Hamilton in his adulthood is the man history recounts over and over again with stupendous accomplishments such as being one of the quintessential founders of the Federalists party; He acted as delegate to the first constitution convention of 1787, and had been one of the signatories for the ratification of the U.S. constitution; He penned the most articles along with two other authors, James Madison and John Jay of the political treatise, the Federalist Papers, a compilation of syndicated articles solely for the stipulation and propagation of the U.S. Constitution and the new commonwealth envisioned in its grandiose implementation; He Served as the first secretary of treasury, and most romantically, which falls perfectly in the paradigm of classic tragedy of heroism, died from the duel with Aaron Burr.

In addition, some supplementary asides must be mentioned for better understanding Hamilton’s character as a whole. He was among the earliest advocates of abolitionism and had been most vocal about such evil institution. Probably the only one who matches his stance on this issue is Benjamin Franklin. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both of whom being slave holders, were less straightforward and often paid lip service to the cause. After the passing of George Washington, who wielded supreme commanding clout among the first generation of founding fathers, the fabric disintegrated and they rivaled among each other. Hamilton was deeply contentious with both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The former being a polished politician who had little time for an idealist Hamilton, even though both had been the central figures of the nascent federalist party. The French revolution caused a great schism between the two, in which Hamilton was abhorred at the turmoil and advocated to make peace with the British, while Adams, who had sojourned in France for a long time as U.S. diplomat to France, acquired a deep-rooted penchant for the French, and decided to make peace with the French, regardless of it being an lurching republic or a Napoleonic Monarchy. Their dispute sacrificed a great deal of strength of the Federalist Party. Jefferson on the other hand, was viewed in the eyes of Hamiltonian progressivism as one representing a bucolic America run by plantation owners who’re at odds with world trends. Jefferson himself was being viewed as one who “lacks political finesse”. Being anachronistic as Jefferson is, in the coming presidential campaign between Jefferson and Aaron Burr, Hamilton endorsed a candid and at least compromising Jefferson for fear of a megalomaniac Burr.

Hamilton’s personal life is just as tumultuous as his public one of boisterousness. He’s known to be scandalous who initiated a series of affairs, one of which was abundantly publicized with sordid details recounted by Hamilton himself just to prove his innocence that such undertaking was purely passion-driven and devoid of any political treachery, one indictment his opponent tried desperately blackmailing him.

Last but not least, Hamilton is known for being rowdy from time to time, splenetic as one might reasonably conjectured, who scored an incredible number of dueling to double digits. His oldest son, Philip, was bound to inherit the identical temperament and died from a duel prior to his own fatal end. His duel with Aaron Burr, who served as vice president in Jefferson’s first presidency, was the most legendary duel in American History. Burr, being an excellent marksman, an obstreperous maverick in his own right, was later to be indicted for treason, allegedly conspired to carve out an aristocratic country in the mid-west for himself, and was subsequently discharged for lack of evidence.

Hamiltonian vision is nevertheless, proved to be prescient, which envisioned and laid down the framework from which a future industrialized and capitalized United States prospers upon. His vision of an acting and strong Federal government, in spite of being viewed as overbearing and authoritarians by many of his contemporaries, was essential for the enterprise of nation-building. His advocacy of a standing national army, federal reserve, a strong and unifying national currency, the stock exchange market, and most importantly, a nation which inherits classic virtues of republican ethos, and integrating capitalism, industrialism and enlightenment ideal of his era, are indispensable for the role United States currently stands for, a beacon of freedom and prosperity in the international arena.

Hamilton died in 1804 soon after the duel, and was buried in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in downtown Manhattan. His portrait can be seen ubiquitously on the ten-dollar bill of U.S. currency.