Alexander Hamilton
A Man Who Helped Free Our Country
Table Of Contents
Introduction - page 3
What Was Hamilton’s Childhood Like? - page 4
What Were Hamilton’s Jobs? - page 6
What Was Hamilton’s Later Years like? - page 8
Conclusion - page 10
Glossary - page 11
Introduction
“I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man.” That is what a very important man in our history said, a man that made change, a man who fought for our freedom. This man was Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had an interesting but sad childhood with many struggles and losses. As his life went on he became a very important Founding Father, apprentice of General/President Washington, and first secretary of treasury. His death was but a sad one because of one man who held a grudge. He had a very interesting life and this is how it goes…..
What Was Hamilton’s Childhood Like?
Alexander Hamilton had a rather sad childhood. He was born on the British Island of Nevis on January 11, 1775 (although some think 77; no one knows because no one ever wrote it down, possibly because he had no parents by the age of 13). Hamilton a wrote letter to the British to help he and his family leave Nevis.
The Hamiltons moved to the Americas, and shortly after, his father abandoned them. His parents were never married but they often refer to them as married. By the age of 13 his mother had died at the young age of 39. Almost immediately after, Hamilton got a job on a farm.
The farm owner knew he was a smart one, so he helped him pay for a quality education. He and the owner of the farm got along very well. The owner of the farm almost seemed to act as his guardian. Hamilton worked on his farm for years; he probably did not see the remainder of his family very much . The Farm owner became his new family. Alexander had a brother and some may wonder where his brother went?
Some may wonder if his father abandoning him and his mother dying really affected his life as much as it would to anyone else. Did he even know what year he was born was he ever told? Did his mother die expecting it? Did she die of a broken heart? Was there something that drove his father away from them? Did he know that his wife would die is that why he left? Did he leave for to go to war? Does he know his disputed birth? For these questions there many theories but only one answer. There are so many unanswered questions about him, and his family, to bad no one knows. You may think Hamilton did not get a full education like most but he actually did. He even went to college--what today is known as the ivy league school, Columbia University! He was a very intelligent man in our history.
Hamilton, sadly, never really got to see his brother James. Some may feel bad for him and some may say it was his mistake because he chose to work on the farm.
What Were Hamilton’s Jobs?
As Alexander Hamilton’s life went on, he acquired many different jobs other than being a farmer. He became a lawyer in New York and was very successful with that. Well, that was until the war broke out. After the war broke out, Hamilton became very against the British. He first fought for our country with the apprenticeship of General Washington. Hamilton was an artillery officer and was very important to Washington.
His next job was a Founding Father. He also helped write a book of sorts. Hamilton also helped sign the Declaration of Independence. He made such great decisions for our country to help free our country, fight for our country, and forever change our country.
Hamilton helped promote the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
He married Elizabeth Schuyler and they were a very political family. They had 8 children. One of which named Paul, died in a duel. They were one of the most political families in US history.
His most famous job was being the first Secretary of the Treasury. When he had this job he helped strengthen the treasury department and the banking system. In that term he also helped put together a political party.
He served for 5 years, but when the election came for the new President there was a tie and it was Hamilton’s choice of who won. He made a mistake that eventually killed him. He chose Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. That was clearly a mistake. The funny thing was, Hamilton and Jefferson were political enemies, so why did Hamilton choose Jefferson over Burr? No one knows.
After that Hamilton went back to be a lawyer in New York. Hamilton, surprisingly had no teaching to be a lawyer. In fact he was almost entirely self taught (other than school of course).
What Were Hamilton’s Later Years Like?
In his later years, Hamilton elected Jefferson into the secretary of the treasury over Burr. Burr was a hot head and ran for governor of New York and didn’t get his party’s nomination so he blamed Hamilton and really got mad, so he challenged Hamilton to duel and Hamilton accepted.
The duel took place at around 7:00 am. As Hamilton paddled across the Hudson the sun rises. The duel took place in Weehawken New Jersey, July 9, 1804. It was such a nice day you would not expect anything bad to happen, but a very unfortunate event did. That was the death of Alexander Hamilton.
As Hamilton met Aaron Burr, he refused to shoot, Hamilton did not believe it was right to kill another for sport. Hamilton shot his only bullet into a tree and refused to fight.
Aaron Burr still had his shot and used it on Hamilton and shot him right in the head. That was the exact same grounds his son died on from a duel.
Hamilton probably did not go into that duel thinking he would not return, and he probably did not want to die on the same grounds as his son, but sadly did. Hamilton finally died July 10, 1804 after suffering for a night.
Some may wonder if anyone tried to do something about it. For instance try and put Burr in jail or even kill Burr. Burr had clearly cheated and could not take a loss, or at least not well. Burr changed our history except not like Hamilton did. He made a bad change in our history.
Conclusion
Alexander Hamilton made a huge difference in our history by freeing our country and enforcing laws in our country. He will forever be remembered by this country and some others. Hamilton once said, “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.” This means men will not accept a government that does not treat them fairly. Does our government still follow that? Do you agree? If not make a change like Hamilton and do not be afraid to speak for what is right!
Glossary
Declaration of Independence - The paper signed that declared the US a free country.
Constitutional Convention - Where people met to put the Constitution together.
Secretary of the treasury - Who controls all money and banking departments in the US and is also a very powerful position.
Governor - A governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and may be either appointed or elected.
Duel - When two try and kill each other in a match with guns with only one bullet.
