Learning something new... - Alexander Hamilton

This is part of my "Learning something new...." history series using United States postage stamps as our history book.

To read previous posts in this series, simply click here.

The next stamp in our history book is the 30¢ denomination featuring Alexander Hamilton 
(1755-1804), issued in 1870:

Along with being a Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton founded the Bank of New York in 1784 and was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington. He was one of America's first Constitutional lawyers and co-wrote the Federalist Papers with James Madinson and John Jay. As a New Yorker, he was a driving force behind the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which resulted in the Constitution of the United States of America as we know it. However, he was the only New Yorker to sign the Constitution.

Interestingly, historians are not sure about his birth date although it seems that a majority now say that he was born in 1755. Not knowing the birth year of such a historically significant person certainly leads one to wonder about "facts" about other leading figures in history, such as "facts" supposedly contained in The Bible.

Other interesting facts about Alexander Hamilton:

1. When asked his age, he was never definitive.
2. Graduated from King's College, now Columbia University.
3. Served as General George Washington's Chief of Staff during the Revolutionary War.
4. Many historians now believe that Hamilton had homosexual feelings and/or relationships with the Marquis de Lafayette and his good friend John Laurens.
5. During the Constitutional Convention, he was considered a monarchist because of his support for having a President and Senators who were elected but served for life.
6. Although he wasn't totally satisfied with the Constitution, he signed it because it was a significant improvement upon the Articles of Confederation.
7. Hamilton also had a significant role in founding the United States Mint and the United States Coast Guard, then known as the Revenue Cutter Service.
8. He convinced Congress to pass a whiskey tax which led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.
9. Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Vice-President Aaron Burr. The two of them had never gotten along because of their widely divergent political views.
10. Hamilton was a proponent of a strong Federal government and was instrumental in establishing a national bank, a controversial decision that was affirmed by the Supreme Court and resulted in the Supreme Court's doctrine of implied powers which rules to this day.
11. At various times, Hamilton's portrait has been on the $2, $5, $10, and $50 currencies.
12. Hamilton's second wife founded the New York Orphan Asylum Society, New York's first private orphanage.
13. As early as the Fall of 1781, Hamilton supported government intervention in favor of business. Hmmmmmm......
14. The main classroom building for the humanities at Columbia University is named Hamilton Hall, also the name of the main administration building at the United States Coast Guard Academy

__________
Sources:

1. "The Young Hamilton: A Biography," by James Flexner
2. "Was Alexander Hamilton a Christian Statesman?", by Douglas Adair and Marvin Harvey
3. "Age of Federalism," by Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick
4. "Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America," by Thomas Fleming
5. "Alexander Hamilton," by Broadus Mitchell
6. "Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation," by Richard Morris, ed.
7. "The Federalist Papers," by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
8. Wikipedia
9. Arago: People, Postage, and the Post
10. 1847USA: Knowledge is Power

 

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