Alexander Hamilton

In any possible situation, there is always a pessimist. Alexander Hamilton was born in January of 1755 to Rachel Faucett and James Hamilton. As a teen, Hamilton worked as a bookkeeping clerk on the island of St. Croix, though disliked his employment. When he turned 17 he became well-known do to his “Hurricane Letter” about a storm which destroyed most of St. Croix, and was financed by The Royal Danish American Gazette’s Nicholas Cruger and a Presbyterian minister to move to New Jersey.

Hamilton served in the military during the American victories at Trenton and Princeton. March 1, 1977, Hamilton was appointed as the aid to George Washington, which ignited a long relationship between the two. Soon after, Hamilton became a politician, involving himself in the different Congresses, and finally the Constitutional Convention. When Hamilton was given a choice between two presidential candidates, his betrayal of an old adversary led to a grudge between him and Aaron Burr. The dispute between the two was intensified when Burr killed Hamilton’s oldest son in a duel. The high tension between the two led to a duel between Alexander and Aaron, and Alexander was shot down, and killed July 11, 1804.

Though he was against many of the morals of the America that was founded, Hamilton is responsible for setting them up. When the United States of America was first established, it was established under a document known as the Articles of Confederation. The document was a frail connection between the states, which was lacking due to a dependance on honesty and good relations. Hamilton believed that the central government needed strengthening at the expense of the states. Hamilton was one of the few politicians who was against the Articles of Confederation, and is responsible for calling together the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, which nullified the old constitution and was the birthplace of the modern constitution.

Hamilton is not significant in his contributions to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. Due to his belief in a government very similar to the Japanese Empire, which constituted of a government run by land owners, he was against the concept of a democratic society. Contrarily, Hamilton signed the Constitution, due to his interest in an experiment in the effective qualities of a Republic.

Though against the foundation of democracy, Hamilton was unanimously elected to George Washington’s cabinet, as the secretary of the treasury. Hamilton was a fortunate choice for the people of America, due to his impeccably proposed economic program which eliminated much of the economic debt the country was in due to the Confederation period. Had Hamilton not proposed his economic plans, it would have caused the country to dissolve due to its economic debt, and the country would be not be the same as it is today.

Thus, Hamilton could be easily compared to president Franklin D. Roosevelt. Both were men who are revered for the genius and quick thinking. While Roosevelt proposed plans to bring the U.S. out of debt to a more developed congress during the Great Depression, Hamilton’s plans had the same effect and prevented the same problems. They are both significantly important to the United States continuing to function as a working economical environment.

Additionally, Alexander Hamilton is extremely relevant to the creation of America’s borders. While Hamilton was part of president Washington's cabinet, he became a close rival with Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson was in a tie with Aaron Burr, Hamilton chose his rival over his former political adversary, leading to one of the few one vote decisions in history. Had Hamilton not voted for Jefferson, there would not have been the Louisiana Purchase, the largest attainment of land in United States history, which doubled the country’s size. Hamilton, therefor, is most famous for affecting history than actually changing it himself.

Accidentally, Hamilton is respoinsible for the creation of two major political parties. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton had extremely different political views, and during Adams’ time as Vice President, the two were opposed on nearly every debate. When Adams was elected to presidency, Hamilton retired from cabinet, and became a politically outspoken lawyer. His continuous arguments with Adams split the Federalist party, which had previously been a strong, united political party. The weakened and split party gave enough room for the up and coming Democratic-Republicans to elect Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, and ignited the continuous two-party system that the United States still has.

Although Alexander Hamilton is not as famous as Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, he was almost as influential. Hamilton was the driving factor to lead the country out of its first debt, created the first equal elections and was the deciding vote for an influential president who greatly affected the country. Even pessimists can make changes.