-
Period: to
Life of Hamilton
The life of Alexander Hamilton. -
Captain Hamilton
Hamilton becomes captain of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Unit. Today, the unit is the oldest still existing in the United States Army and the only one remaining from the Revolution. Hamilton conducts himself with skill during General George Washington's subsequent retreat through New York, and draws the Continental Army commander's attention. -
Promotion to Lieutenant Colonel
Washington promotes Hamilton to lieutenant colonel and makes him aide-de-camp. The two men become close as Hamilton aids Washington in the complex administrative task of running a war. -
Anti Slavery
In a letter to Continental Congress president John Jay, Hamilton proposes an idea initiated by fellow aide John Laurens of recruiting slaves for the Continental Army and offering them freedom in exchange for their service. Hamilton detests slavery, considering it a terrible waste of human potential. -
Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton helped write the Federalist Papers that were a series of 85 essays and Hamilton Wrote 51. The papers urged the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name "Publius." -
Constitutional Convention
Alexander Hamilton attends the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, PA. Hamilton is one of three New York delegates, but the only one who supports the creation of a strong new federal government. He serves on the committee that writes rules for the convention, but has little to do with the drafting of the new Constitution itself. -
The Signing of the Constitution
After working through the summer, the Convention's delegates, including Hamilton, approve and sign the proposed Constitution and send it to Congress, which in turn sends it to the states. Nine of the 13 must ratify it for the document to take effect. The first three states will do so by the end of the year. -
Ratification Convention in New York
New York convenes a ratification convention at which Hamilton and his Federalist delegates are outnumbered nearly three to one. Hamilton takes a leading role in the debates, defending the proposed Constitution with eloquence and force. His position is strengthened when the convention receives news that the influential state of Virginia has become the tenth state to ratify. -
Secretary of the Treeasury
George Washington becomes the nation's first president and nominates Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate swiftly confirms him without debate; Hamilton's father-in-law, General Philip Schuyler, one of New York's senators, votes for his son-in-law's confirmation. A confirmed Anglophile, Hamilton watches the start of the French Revolution with trepidation. -
Duel
In a duel held in Weehawken, New Jersey, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, a leading Federalist and the chief architect of America’s political economy. -
The End
The duel ended the life of one of the greatest minds of Federalist Party and the early U.S. Government. Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury had a significant impact on the commercial underpinning of the new federal government. The duel also made Burr a pariah in the political landscape of the U.S. Although his duel was considered to be within the bounds of the moral ethics of the time, his political aspirations were ruined.
