"Alexander Hamilton: New York's Young Revolutionary," Randy Flood
Prior to becoming a
hip-hop star on the Broadway stage, Alexander Hamilton lived a remarkable life
as one of America’s greatest Founding Fathers.
“This man was probably
more responsible for 13 separate states becoming a nation than anyone else,”
said Randy Flood at the September 20, 2017 meeting of the American Revolution
Round Table of Richmond. “However we wouldn’t be talking so much about him
today if not for Broadway.”
The real Alexander
Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands, which were
part of the British West Indies. He claimed January 11, 1757 as his birthdate
but some historians believe he was actually born in 1755.
Hamilton was born out of
wedlock to Rachel Faucette, who had married Johann Michael Lavien on St. Croix
in the Virgin Islands. She abandoned Lavien and a son from that marriage, and
moved to Nevis where she met and lived with James Hamilton. Although James
Hamilton is generally regarded as the biological father of Alexander Hamilton,
some historians believe that the actual biological father was Thomas Stevens, a
prosperous Nevis merchant.
“Thomas Stevens had a
son named Edward Stevens who became a good friend of Alexander Hamilton’s,”
said Flood. “People commented on how much the two of them looked alike, and how
they shared so many similar interests.”
James Hamilton abandoned
Rachel Faucette and her children, and shortly thereafter Rachel died on
February 19, 1768 from a severe fever. Alexander Hamilton and his brother
James, Jr. briefly lived with a cousin until he committed suicide. After this
tragedy Alexander went to live with Thomas Stevens who became his guardian.
“At age 11 Hamilton got
his first job as a clerk in an import/export firm where he held ship captains
accountable for their cargo,” said Flood. “For five months in 1771 he ran the
business himself while the owner was overseas on a business trip. He was also
an avid reader and a great writer.”
In appreciation for the
young Hamilton’s achievements on the island of Nevis, various business and
community leaders paid for his passage to New York and his tuition and living
expenses in order to send Hamilton to a North American college.
Hamilton’s first choice
was the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) but the
college president, John Witherspoon, turned down Hamilton’s request to seek a
degree in only one year. When this attempt failed, Hamilton made the same
request to Myles Cooper, president of King’s College (now known as Columbia
University). Cooper approved his one-year request, and Hamilton officially
matriculated at King’s College in May 1774.
Shortly after the
Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Hamilton and other King’s
College students joined an American volunteer militia unit called the
Corsicans. Hamilton became an artillery captain.
“He got to know
everything about artillery pieces as part of his militia service,” said Flood.
Hamilton fought bravely
throughout the New York Campaign. At the Battle of Harlem Heights his artillery
unit vigorously defended its position, an action which came to the attention of
senior officers in the Continental Army.
“We don’t know whether
it was Nathanael Greene or Henry Knox, but one of them noticed Hamilton and
invited him one night to have dinner with Washington,” said Flood.
On March 1, 1777
Hamilton joined Washington’s staff and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant
colonel. Two of Hamilton’s primary talents as a staff officer were his ability
to read and speak French, and his ability to write very well. Hamilton assisted
Washington with his correspondence to his subordinates, the Continental
Congress and French officers.
“Hamilton became
Washington’s go-to guy,” said Flood. “He was indispensible.”
For approximately four
years Hamilton served as Washington’s chief aide, however Hamilton grew
restless and wanted a field command. Washington continued to discourage him
from leaving his staff until an incident in February 1781 nearly wrecked their
friendship and triggered Hamilton’s transfer. After Washington rebuked Hamilton
one day for keeping him waiting, Hamilton resigned from Washington’s staff and
threatened to resign his army commission if he didn’t receive a field command.
Washington sadly accepted Hamilton’s request and assigned him to command a
light infantry battalion.
During the Yorktown
Campaign, Hamilton persuaded his field commander, the Marquis de Lafayette, to
allow Hamilton to lead a nighttime surprise attack against the British
fortification called Redoubt #10. Hamilton bravely led his troops’ bayonet
charge against the well-fortified position, and captured it and many British
soldiers while suffering very few American casualties. The capture of this
redoubt, coupled with the capture of nearby Redoubt #9 by French troops,
tightened the noose around the remainder of the British army to the point where
they surrendered a few days later on October 19, 1781.
Shortly after Yorktown
he resigned his commission and returned to New York where he passed the bar
after a few months of self study. Hamilton set up his law practice in Albany,
and in July 1782 he was appointed to the Congress of the Confederation as a New
York representative for the term beginning in November 1782. He quit after one
year, becoming somewhat frustrated over what he perceived as the extremely weak
powers of America’s confederation government.
After the American
Revolution officially ended and the British army evacuated New York City,
Hamilton moved there in 1783 to practice law. In 1784 he helped to create the
Bank of New York and secured considerable financing from several wealthy
investors who lived in the West Indies.
“When the American
Revolution ended, America was broke, the British were broke, the French were
broke and the Spanish were broke. Everyone was broke except for the Dutch, and
they were the bankers of the world,” quipped Flood.
The Articles of
Confederation weren’t working very well for the new American nation. Hamilton
was among the nation’s leaders who called for a constitutional convention for
the purpose of amending the Articles in order to create a stronger national
government.
Hamilton and James
Madison lured Washington out of retirement to preside over this convention in
Philadelphia. The delegates worked from May until September 1787 to create what
we today call the U.S. Constitution.
“These guys were adults
solving problems, and didn’t leave until they can get things done. They saw the
big picture and made sacrifices and compromises to make it happen,” said Flood.
To help promote the
ratification of the proposed constitution Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 essays
which are now known as The Federalist Papers. Madison and John Jay wrote the
other 34 essays.
The new constitution was
ratified on September 17, 1788 and took effect on March 4, 1789. President
Washington appointed Hamilton to the position of Secretary of the Treasury,
where he served until January 31, 1795.
During that time
Hamilton made numerous attempts to raise additional revenue for the new nation
and to pay down the new nation’s debt. He also helped to create America’s own
currency to replace the Spanish currency which America had generally adopted
after gaining its independence from Great Britain.
Hamilton succeeded in
getting the new federal government to assume the debt owed by various states,
and to pay down this debt via new tariffs and taxes. He founded the U.S. Coast
Guard for the purpose of reducing smuggling operations which weren’t paying any
import duties to the new government. Hamilton also raised federal revenue by
getting Congress to authorize a federal tax on whiskey, a tax which Hamilton
called a “sin tax”.
He also sought to
improve diplomatic and business relations with Great Britain, the new nation’s
largest trading partner. In 1795 he strongly supported the controversial Jay
Treaty because he believed it was a means for America to work closer with
America’s former enemy and mother country. Hamilton and other treaty supporters
also saw the treaty as a means of avoiding another war with Great Britain and
its conflict with France.
After leaving
Washington’s administration he returned to New York and resumed his law
practice. However he remained active in national politics and served as a
private advisor to President Washington. In 1797 when John Adams replaced
Washington as president, Adams retained many of Washington’s cabinet members
and other senior advisors who seemed to have more loyalties to Hamilton than
they did President Adams.
The Election of 1800 was
one of the most famous and controversial presidential elections in American
history. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral
votes but not a majority among the four candidates. This threw the election
into the House of Representatives where the race remained deadlocked between
Jefferson and Burr after 35 ballots.
Prior to the 36th ballot
Hamilton maneuvered behind the scenes with several colleagues to persuade them
to support Jefferson. Although Hamilton despised both men, he disliked
Jefferson primarily for Jefferson’s political beliefs whereas he disliked Burr
even more for what Hamilton perceived as Burr’s total lack of any principles.
In 1804 Burr sought the
governorship of New York, and once again Hamilton stood in his path. Burr lost
the election, partly due to Hamilton’s strong support for Morgan Lewis, Burr’s
opponent.
Shortly after the New
York gubernatorial race, an Albany newspaper published an article which quoted
a letter that Hamilton earlier wrote which sharply criticized Burr’s character.
When Burr learned about Hamilton’s letter, he demanded an apology from
Hamilton. When Hamilton replied by saying that he couldn’t recall any attempt
to insult Burr in this letter, Burr remained angry and challenged Hamilton to a
duel.
After efforts failed by
liaisons to settle the dispute Burr and Hamilton dueled shortly after dawn on
July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey---just across the Hudson River from New
York City. Burr shot Hamilton in the lower abdomen above the right hip whereas
Hamilton’s shot broke a tree branch above Burr’s head.
“The jury is still out
as to who fired the first shot,” said Flood. “There’s also the question of
whether Hamilton deliberately shot above Burr’s head or whether he fired high
as a result of falling down wounded after getting shot by Burr. Hamilton had
put on his spectacles prior to the duel so it’s very questionable as to whether
he intended to waste his shot.”
Hamilton’s friends rowed
the mortally wounded Hamilton across the Hudson River to a friend’s home in
Greenwich Village. He died the following afternoon on July 12, 1804 in
considerable pain. So ended the life of Alexander Hamilton.
“He was a rags to riches
story,” said Flood. “His brilliance as a writer included Washington’s farewell
address. The things he accomplished as our first Secretary of the Treasury were
endless.”
Randy Flood teaches 17
different history courses at the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. As
a result of the Broadway play on Hamilton, Flood’s Hamilton course is currently
one of his most popular classes.
Flood is a member of the
Williamsburg/Yorktown American Revolution Round Table. Earlier in his career he
served as a legislative staff aide to to the late U.S. Senator Harry Byrd, Jr.
of Virginia.
Prior to the speaker’s
presentation the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond discussed the
following topics:
1. President Bill Welsch
mentioned that Vice President/Programs Bruce Venter has nearly completed the
list of guest speakers for the Round Table’s 2018 schedule.
2. President Welsch said
that plans for an ARRT-Richmond field trip to Scotchtown in early November are
nearly complete. He will soon email details about the trip to the entire
membership.
3. On behalf of the
membership Vice President/Membership Woody Childs presented engraved Jefferson
cups to the four founding members of ARRT-Richmond. The four founders in 2006
were Jerry Rudd, Lynn Simms, Harry Ward and Bill Welsch. Accepting the
Jefferson cup on behalf of the late Harry Ward was Frances Daniels, Dr. Ward’s
niece.
--Bill Seward
