Alexander Hamilton

Overview

Alexander Hamilton was one of the most influential founding fathers of the United States and made significant contributions during the American Revolution. Born in the British West Indies in 1755, he immigrated to the colonies as a teenager and quickly became involved in the revolutionary movement. In 1776, he joined the Continental Army as an artillery captain and was soon appointed as George Washington’s aide-de-camp, serving as the General’s right-hand man throughout the war. Hamilton’s leadership and military skills were instrumental in several key battles, including the Battle of Yorktown, which effectively ended the war in 1781.

Hamilton’s contributions to the American Revolutionary Era extended beyond his military service. He was also a key figure in the formation of the new nation’s financial system, playing a critical role in the creation of the first national bank and the establishment of a stable currency. In addition, he was a vocal advocate for a strong central government and was one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays that helped to secure support for the U.S. Constitution.

Primary Sources

Alexander Hamilton Papers on-line at the Library of Congress and the National Archives.

For a fee, researchers can access all 27 volumes of Hamilton’s papers edited by Harold C. Syret at the University of Virginia  on-line site.  This site contains all the writings by and to Hamilton known to exist, some 12,500 documents—including all editorial annotations.  The advantage of this source is are the editor notations to better understand the documents and how they related.

Secondary Sources

Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Press, 2004.

Ferling, John E. Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation. First U.S. edition. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2013.

Knott, Stephen F. Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth. American Political Thought. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002.

Porwancher, Andrew. The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021.

Randall, Willard Sterne. Alexander Hamilton: A Life, 2014.

Romano, Renee Christine, and Claire Bond Potter, eds. Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical Is Restaging America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2018.

Tucker, Phillip Thomas. Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution: His Vital Role as Washington’s Chief of Staff, 2017.

Statues

Hamilton Grange

Hamilton Grange is the only house that Alexander Hamilton owned.  It is located in the Hamilton Heights area in northern Manhatten in St. Nicholas Park adjacent to the City College of New York.

Hamilton – The Broadway Play

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip hop rendition of Alexander Hamilton’s life story has captivated the country and raised Hamilton’s historical stature. For information on the play and various interpretations see the following book of essays by imminent historians.