Alexander hamilton when was he born

Today we celebrate the birthday of the iconic Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father, politician and belated Broadway star. Historians believe Hamilton told friends he was born on January 11 on the Caribbean island of Nevis. His parents were James Hamilton, a Scot who moved to the Caribbean to seek a business career, and Rachel Faucett, a French Huguenot who had left her first husband but was not divorced when Alexander was born.

Hamilton inferred to people he was born in and his age as listed on his tomb in New York matches that date. But in , after his mother died, a relative testified at a probate proceeding that Alexander Hamilton was 13 years old, which would place his birth year in A transcript exists of that hearing. Ron Chernow addressed the controversy in his well-known biography of Hamilton. While it had been commonly accepted after Hamilton arrived in the British American colonies that he was born in , Chernow points to some other evidence.

While serving as an adviser for Washington, Hamilton had come to realize Congress' weaknesses, including jealousy and resentment between states, which, Hamilton believed, stemmed from the Articles of Confederation. He believed that the Articles — considered America's first, informal constitution — separated rather than unified the nation. Hamilton left his adviser post in , convinced that establishing a strong central government was the key to achieving America's independence.

It would not be the last time that Hamilton worked for the U. In , Hamilton was appointed inspector general and second in command, as America geared up for a potential war with France.

In , Hamilton's military career came to a sudden halt when America and France reached a peace agreement. After completing a short apprenticeship and passing the bar, Hamilton established a practice in New York City.

The majority of Hamilton's first clients were the widely unpopular British Loyalists, who continued to pledge their allegiance to the King of England. When British forces took power over New York State in , many New York rebels fled the area, and British Loyalists, many of whom had traveled from other states and were seeking protection during this time, began to occupy the abandoned homes and businesses.

Hamilton defended Loyalists against the rebels. In , Hamilton took on the Rutgers v. Waddington case, which involved the rights of Loyalists. It was a landmark case for the American justice system, as it led to the creation of the judicial review system. He accomplished another history-making feat that same year when he assisted in founding the Bank of New York. In defending the Loyalists, Hamilton instituted new principles of due process.

Hamilton went on to take an additional 45 trespass cases and proved to be instrumental in the eventual repeal of the Trespass Act, which had been established in to permit rebels to collect damages from the Loyalists who had occupied their homes and businesses. Hamilton's political agenda entailed establishing a stronger federal government under a new Constitution.

In , while serving as a New York delegate, he met in Philadelphia with other delegates to discuss how to fix the Articles of Confederation, which were so weak that they could not persist in keeping the Union intact. During the meeting, Hamilton expressed his view that a reliable ongoing source of revenue would be crucial to developing a more powerful and resilient central government.

Hamilton didn't have a strong hand in writing the Constitution, but he did heavily influence its ratification. In the essays, he artfully explained and defended the newly drafted Constitution prior to its approval.

In , at the New York Ratification Convention in Poughkeepsie, where two-thirds of delegates opposed the Constitution, Hamilton was a powerful advocate for ratification, effectively arguing against the anti-Federalist sentiment. His efforts succeeded when New York agreed to ratify. When Washington was elected president of the United States in , he appointed Hamilton as the first secretary of the treasury.

At the time, the nation was facing great foreign and domestic debt due to expenses incurred during the American Revolution. Ever a proponent for a strong central government, during his tenure as treasury secretary, Hamilton butted heads with fellow cabinet members who were fearful of a central government holding so much power. It was Hamilton's belief that the Constitution gave him the authority to create economic policies that strengthened the central government.

His proposed fiscal policies initiated the payment of federal war bonds, had the federal government assume states' debts, instituted a federal system for tax collection and would help the United States establish credit with other nations.

State loyalists were outraged by Hamilton's suggestions, until a compromise was reached during a dinner conversation between Hamilton and Madison on June 20, Hamilton agreed that a site near the Potomac would be established as the nation's capital, and Madison would no longer block Congress, particularly its Virginia representatives, from approving policies that promoted a more powerful central government over individual states' rights.

Hamilton stepped down from his position as secretary of the treasury in , leaving behind a far more secure U. During the presidential elections, Thomas Jefferson , a Democratic-Republican, and John Adams, a Federalist, were vying for the presidency. At the time, presidents and vice presidents were voted for separately, and Aaron Burr, intended to be Jefferson's vice president on the Democratic-Republican ticket, actually tied Jefferson for the presidency. His father was from Scotland; his mother from Nevis.

Hamilton left the region as a teenager to live in North America. The locals were so impressed that they took up a collection to send Hamilton to a college in the British North American colonies.

Hamilton also personally led an attack and charge at the Battle of Yorktown on a British redoubt. After resigning his military commission, Hamilton was able to study the law and pass a legal examination within six months in Hamilton was agitated with the weak Confederation Congress and the Articles of Confederation , so he worked with James Madison and other Founders to hold the Annapolis Convention in September Hamilton wrote roughly 51 of the 85 essays, which are still consulted today by scholars and the Supreme Court.

Hamilton also formed the First Bank of the United States and convinced other nations that the United States was financially sound. In response, leaders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson formed a political faction known as the Democratic Republicans that directly objected to Hamilton and his ideas.