Today is Alexander Hamilton's birthday.
Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies to Rachel Faucette, a married French Huegenot and her common-law husband James A. Hamilton, a Scotsman. Faucette had been married to John Michael Lavien when she was a teenager but the two never loved each other. Lavien accused his wife of adultery and threw her in prison to teach her a lesson. When she was released, she left him and met Hamilton, with whom she had a son, Alexander.
Hamilton was considered to have been born out of wedlock, because his mother never divorced her husband. Despite this, and despite the loss of both his father and mother before his teenage years, Hamilton excelled. For the most part, he was self-taught, and impressed the people of Nevis so much that they collected money to send him to school in the British Colonies in America.
In 1773, Hamilton arrived in New York City and enrolled at King's College (now Columbia University). Hamilton did not graduate though, because he became involved in politics and joined the American side in the war against England for independence. He fought in several battles before he was noticed by George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, who made him his aide-de-camp. Hamilton held this position for five years, but he was able to convince Washington to finally let him lead at the Battle of Yorktown, in which he was victorious.
As a New York Delegate after the Revolutionary War, he worked to improve upon the Articles of Confederation. Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison collaborated to write the Federalist Papers, 85 essays that explained and defended the Constitution. Their efforts helped to convince the people and delegates to ratify the new Constitution that would make the states stronger and unified.
As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton continued his efforts to establish a strong central government. He proposed that the government assume state debts from the war, pay federal war bonds and created a tax collecting system. His efforts established a secure economy and eventually earned him the right to be on the ten dollar bill.
By 1800 Hamilton was no longer in the political arena, but his opinions still held power. In the presidential election of that year, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied. Hamilton lobbied for Jefferson, thinking he was the lesser of two political evils.
Later, when he was running for Governor of New York, Burr heard that Hamilton had said unfavorable things about him, which he believed lost him yet another election. Angered, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel.
On July 11, 1804, Hamilton and Burr met in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton fired into the air and hit a branch above Burr's head. Burr fired and hit Hamilton in the abdomen. Due to internal bleeding, Alexander Hamilton died on July12, 1804.
His is the story of an orphaned immigrant who came to America looking to make a life for himself. Unfortunately, the way he died overshadowed much of the success of his life -- until the musical "Hamilton."
