Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American politician, statesman, journalist, lawyer, and soldier. One of the United States' most prominent and brilliant early constitutional lawyers, he was an influential delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention and the principal author of the Federalist Papers, which successfully defended the U.S. Constitution to skeptical New Yorkers. He also put the new United States of America onto a sound economic footing as its first and most influential Secretary of the Treasury, establishing the First Bank of the United States, public credit and the foundations for American capitalism and stock and commodity exchanges.

Hamilton and modern politics

Arguably, Hamilton set the path for American economic and military might. His most important contribution may have been establishing the supremacy of the executive branch of American government over the legislative and judicial branches. At the moment of founding, it was not clear whether the executive should wield most of the power, especially when it came to the creation of policy, which was supposed to be a legislative task. From the start, Hamilton set a precedent as a Cabinet member by dreaming up federal programs, writing them in the form of reports, pushing for their approval by appearing in person to argue them on the floor of Congress, and then implementing them. Hamilton did this brilliantly and forcefully, setting a high standard for administrative competence.

Related Topics:
Executive - Legislative - Judicial

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another of Hamilton's legacies was his strongly pro-federal interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Though the Constitution was drafted in a way that was somewhat ambiguous as to the balance of power between Federal and state governments, Hamilton consistently took the side of greater Federal power at the expense of states. Thus, as Secretary of the Treasury, he established, against the intense opposition of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, the country's first national bank. Hamilton justified the creation of this bank, and other robust Federal powers, on Congress's constitutional powers to issue currency, to regulate interstate commerce, and anything else that would be "necessary and proper." Jefferson, on the other hand, took a stricter view of the Constitution: parsing the text carefully, he found no specific authorization for a national bank. This controversy was eventually settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in McCulloch v. Maryland, which in essence adopted Hamilton's view, granting the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers, specifically the doctrine of implied powers.

Related Topics:
Federal - Thomas Jefferson - National bank - Supreme Court of the United States - McCulloch v. Maryland - Implied powers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hamilton’s portrait began to appear during the Civil War on the $2, $5, $10, and $50 notes, which was symbolic of his ideological opposition to the secessionist ideas of the Confederacy. His face continues to grace the front of the ten dollar bill, but after the death of Ronald Reagan, some suggested replacing Hamilton with Reagan. Hamilton also appears on the $500 Series EE Savings Bond.

Related Topics:
Civil War - Confederacy - Ronald Reagan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~