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Alexander Hamilton History Demonstrates His Impact on America.

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Alexander Hamilton has a turbulent history, one that tells the story of a boy who was born out of wedlock, orphaned as a child and educated himself to become one of the most divisive figures of late 18th century politics.

Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 or 1757 on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Alexander Hamilton history shows that both dates are possible, and Hamilton, used whichever served him at the time.

Alexander Hamilton spent most of his childhood into his early teens, with his parents, though they were not legally married, in Nevis, until his father moved the family to St. Croix in 1765.

Alexander Hamilton history shows that his mother died in 1768, leaving him either 11 or 13 at the time, but due to the conflicting reports of his birthday this is a topic of debate.

In the death records, it states that he is 13, making his birthday 1755.

Upon the death of his mother, Alexander's half brother was given everything of value and most of it was auctioned off, but a family friend purchased all the books and gave them back to the young studious boy.

Alexander Hamilton history has him spending much of his later teen years apprenticing with local merchants until the community took up a collection to send the 18 year old Hamilton to the colonies for a formal education.

Hamilton attended King's College in New York City, which later became Columbia University as we know it today and thus started his love affair with the city of New York.

In 1775, Hamilton joined the New York volunteer militia after the battles of Lexington and Concord.

He would go on to achieve the rank of Lt. Colonel, serving as Col. Washington's chief of staff.

After the war, Alexander Hamilton history tells us that he took up politics, becoming part of the New York delegation to the Congress of the Federation in 1782.

Alexander Hamilton was a very vocal proponent of the Federalist system, with a strong central government, and little power left to the states.

In 1787, Hamilton was an assemblyman for the Constitutional Convention.

His speech at the convention is said by many to be among his best, but it did little to sway opinions toward his view that the President and Senators should be elected and serve for life.

Many of the time saw this as being too much like the monarch they had just fought to free themselves of, and consequently Hamilton was labeled as a monarchy sympathizer in certain circles.

Hamilton's is the only signature from the New York delegation on the Constitution.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON-THE CONTROVERSIAL PATRIOT

HAMILTON'S LEGACY

In 1789, Hamilton was appointed by President Washington to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. He, along with others, were responsible for founding the US Mint, establishing the Coast Guard (called the Revenue Cutter Service at the time), establishing an elaborate system of duties, excises and tariffs and establishing the first nationalized bank. The Hamiltonian program, as it was called, served to stabilize a financial system in chaos. Within the first five years, the economy had stabilized enough that investors felt secure enough to buy government bonds, providing income to the government.

SCANDALS, HONOR AND A DUEL

Hamilton's reputation was marred by scandal in 1791, when he began having an affair with a married woman named Maria Reynolds. Reynolds husband, who was a con man, knew of the affair and encouraged it in order to blackmail Hamilton for money, in exchange for not telling Mrs. Hamilton.Perhaps the event that Alexander Hamilton is known most for is his famous duel with Aaron Burr over a rumor that Hamilton had somehow disparaged Burr's honor at a dinner party. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel and it was set for July 11, 1804 along the bank of the Hudson River, which was a common dueling location. It is reported that Hamilton shot wide, intentionally missing Burr, but Burr did not. He shot Hamilton in the lower right size of his abdomen, where the bullet caused massive internal injuries. Hamilton died the next day. Much of Hamilton's influence is still seen in government today, from the way that the legislature does business to economics as we know it.