Alexander Hamilton

After recovering from an illness, Hamilton rejoined his men at Valley Forge in January 1778. The men were hungry, freezing, and in tattered clothes. The colonies had relied on England for textiles for their clothing, and munitions factories for their weapons. Now they had neither. The rate of desertion soon began growing.

A Prussian named Frederick William August von Steuben had come to America to fight at his own expense. Washington appointed the Prussian “a provisional inspector general” (133) tasked with instilling discipline in the men. Hamilton approved of his attitude and methods.

During the war, Hamilton continued to study whenever he could. In his reading, he “was especially attentive to the amorous stories and strange sexual customs reported by Plutarch” (135). Later in his life, it would not surprise those who knew him that Hamilton was the subject of the country’s first major sex scandal.

In June 1778, the French agreed to fight for American independence, which would irrevocably turn the tide of the war in America’s favor. Spain entered the war that fall.

At the battle of Monmouth, “America’s idolatry of George Washington” (139) began. As his men fled, Washington galloped ahead of them, gave them a speech, and turned them around. Hamilton was in awe of Washington’s performance. Hamilton also fought well at Monmouth, and his efforts “showed more than mere courage” (140).

The French officers loved Hamilton, and one of them noticed that he had “an intellectual agility that could breed intolerance for less quick-witted mortals” (146).

Laurens and Hamilton created a plan that would free slaves who fought for the Continental Army. Hamilton believed that if they did not find a way to make use of the slaves for the war effort, the British would. The Southern states refused the proposal and the discussion ended for the time being.

Hamilton grew increasingly impatient with Congress, and how various issues were being handled or ignored. 

Hamilton wrote Laurens a letter describing his ideal wife. As the winter dragged on, he hinted at a desire to commit suicide—at least, in letters to Laurens. His depression lifted when he became infatuated with various young women. In February of 1780, Eliza Schuyler arrived at Morristown. By early March they had agreed to marry. For a year, he continued to flirt with her older sister, Angelica, who was more feminine than Eliza, and many people were confused as to why he hadn’t proposed to her instead. Eliza’s father, Philip, accepted Hamilton’s proposal. In a letter to Eliza, Philip described Hamilton as “the ornament of his country” (165).

The value of the continental dollar crashed that winter, causing Hamilton to worry constantly about finances. He drafted an anonymous, 6,000-word letter and sent it to an unidentified congressman. It outlined a “new currency regime” (166) comprising a 12-point program to combat inflation and rebuild the value of the dollar. He saw the American Revolution as “a practical workshop of economic and political theory” (168).

Despite his military success and his courting of Eliza, Hamilton remained largely depressed and misanthropic. On September 12, he wrote to Laurens that “I hate congress—I hate the army—I hate the world—I hate myself” (170).

In September 1780, Hamilton “was eyewitness to the treachery of General Benedict Arnold” (170). Arnold had been passing on the American troop movements to the British, even after being given command of West Point.

Tension soon grew between Washington and Hamilton. Hamilton wanted a field command and was tired of paperwork. He had become Washington’s “alter ego” (181), however, and Washington did not want to part with him. On February 15, Hamilton told Washington, after a brief altercation in which Washington accused him of disrespect, that he was no longer going to be on his staff. Washington’s over-reliance on Hamilton, combined with Hamilton’s desire for military glory and a growing intolerance for Washington’s temper, made the decision clear for Hamilton. He wrote to a friend that “The great man and I have come to an open rupture…He shall, for once at least, repent his ill-humour” (184). Washington tried to make amends, but Hamilton refused to reconsider.

One month later, Hamilton left for the Schuyler mansion. He continued to ask Washington—via letters—for promotions and commands. While he waited for a response, be began drafting a plan for the creation of a national bank. He was convinced that a large part of Britain’s power came from its access to “a vast fabric of credit” (188). Hamilton wanted America to embrace the power of borrowing.

Unhappy with The Articles of Confederation, Hamilton began writing articles detailing the reasons why an empowered central government would help strengthen the colonies and keep them from drifting into eventual secession, or even civil war.

In late spring, Hamilton learned that Eliza was pregnant.

During the siege at Yorktown, Hamilton was given a command and fought valiantly. Cornwallis surrendered on October 17. Hamilton went home within a week, and his son Philip was born on January 2, 1782. Hamilton also refused his pension, wanting to avoid any semblance of a conflict of interest. This was equal to five years of military work without pay. It was a noble choice, but his family would later regret it.

Hamilton stayed at the Schuyler mansion for two years and resumed his law studies at King’s College. He passed the bar exam after only six months of intensive study. Aaron Burr had opened up a law practice six months earlier, and “from the outset of their careers, Hamilton and Burr were thrust into close proximity and a competitive situation” (202).

Hamilton became the receiver of continental taxes on May 2, 1782. The states viewed taxes as voluntary, and Hamilton knew that he was going to have to find a way to set up a system in which the federal government could create and collect taxes. If the states were not required to pay, the new government would go bankrupt.

Shortly after Hamilton was appointed to Congress, Laurens was killed by the British in August 1782, during a misunderstanding between Laurens’s men and a regiment of the British who had not yet returned to England. Hamilton was devastated. He had many fond acquaintances but few true friends.

In November 1782, Hamilton went to Philadelphia to join Congress. James Madison shared Hamilton’s frustrations with Congress and deliberations, which were often disorganized, slow, and unhelpful.

Hamilton and Madison worked to create a “federal impost—a 5 percent duty on all imports—that would finally grant Congress autonomy in money matters” (211). By giving the federal government the authority to collect taxes, the states would be united.

There were many officers who had not been paid for their six years of wartime service and were threatening to resign. Hamilton wrote to Washington and outlined the dire financial situation in America. On March 15, Washington attended an officers’ meeting, where he rebuked their “talk of rebellion” (215) and their plans to march on Congress. He promised the men that he would petition Congress for their pay. They were satisfied, although the payments would not be possible without greater powers of government taxation.

In mid-June, troops marched to Philadelphia to petition Congress for their pay, which had still not come through. Angry, drunken troops arrived in Philadelphia and “seized control of several arsenals” (217). Four hundred men then surrounded the State House where Congress was meeting. Four days later, Congress moved their meeting to Princeton. Confronted by 500 militiamen, the mob dispersed, and Congress eventually returned to Philadelphia.

November 25, 1783 was “Evacuation Day” (222), the end to seven years of British martial law. 

To assist with his legal caseload, Hamilton became partners with Balthazar de Haert. Hamilton proved to be a scrupulous attorney who could not be swayed or corrupted by money. He often worked pro bono and was always inclined to help women in need despite their frequent inability to pay. His fees were modest enough that it makes later accusations about his use of the Treasury to make himself wealthy incongruent.

Hamilton was theatrical in court, and his oratory skills were as impressive and praised as his writing.

Aaron Burr was a lawyer as well, and they had a “good-natured legal rivalry” (230). They were usually on opposing sides of a case, but not always. Hamilton was always outspoken, but Burr “gloried in his sphinxlike reputation, describing himself thus in the third person: ‘He is a grave, silent, strange sort of animal, inasmuch as we know not what to make of him’” (231).

After the war, Hamilton began preaching that America and Americans must be merciful to their vanquished enemies. This aggravated those who were inclined to continued vengeance against the British, and many viewed Hamilton’s stance as being tantamount to treason.

On February 23, 1784, General Alexander McDougall became chair of the new Bank of New York. Hamilton was appointed as the director. He quickly wrote a “constitution for the new institution” (241), anxious to bring order to what he saw as the chaos of the post-war American financial system.