Alexander Hamilton Research Paper

Alexander Hamilton is the true definition of human. He is not the picture that generally comes to a person’s mind when they think of the words “revered” or “Founding Father.” Hamilton is a man who helped shape our nation, and fell to the pressures of society. He is not a saint nor sinner; he is just human. He lived his life with rises and falls and ultimately died; one of the two guaranteed things in life (other than taxes). But that’s just it; he formed a part of our country and seldom gets the credit he deserves. I only knew the name Alexander Hamilton until my sister (who is VERY into Broadway) told me about a musical titled “Hamilton.” When she told me it was a rap-based musical about a Founding Father I admit I was more than skeptical,

Only a year later, he became a Lieutenant Colonel for the Continental Army and the “Aide-De-Camp” (confidential assistant) to none other than George Washington. While Hamilton did not have any input on military tactics, he did become one of Washington’s most trusted advisors. Alexander also wrote many of Washington’s important letters to high-ranking army officers, the Continental Congress, and the States (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 95). Hamilton who, in terms from the musical, wanted to “fight not write” convinced Washington to allow him to lead a charge in the Battle of Yorktown. This charge was victorious and so was the battle in its entirety. Its success led to the signing of the Peace of Paris, ending the American Revolutionary War (Biography.com)! In February of 1781, Hamilton resigned his position and Washington reprimanded him minorly for his decision. (Encyclopedia of World Biography,

Being a lawyer brought him further into politics and he soon became one of the most prestigious attorneys at the time (Biography.com). Aaron Burr, a man whose life has entangled itself within Hamilton’s, also became a lawyer, but had completely opposite views as Alexander’s (Brookhiser, 191); they soon became rivals (Chernow, 190-191). During this time Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison decided to write 25 anonymous letters asking the states to ratify the Constitution known as the “Federalist Papers” (Brookhiser, 68-69). They ended up writing 85 letters from October of 1787 through May of 1788. Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 letters (biography.com). September 11, 1789, Hamilton was commissioned as the 1st Secretary of Treasury. This particular project was imperative as the national debt was very high after the war and there needed to be a system to help organize the State's finances (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 97). This banking system was a success! After all of this, Hamilton stayed active in law and was ranked amongst the presidents’ most sought-out advisers