Famous Lawyers In American History: Alexander Hamilton

Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton 1755–1804

By Harry Munsinger

Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755, in the West Indies. His maternal grandparents owned a large sugar plantation and his father, James Hamilton, was a Scottish Lord who abandoned his family in 1765. When he was twelve, Hamilton’s mother died from yellow fever. Hamilton then lived with his uncle and worked as a clerk for the New York trading house of Beekman and Cruger in the West Indies. When the owners moved to New York, Hamilton received control of the company’s trading business in the West Indies. He was a successful trader and manager. When a hurricane came through the islands, he observed the storm and wrote a letter to the local newspaper describing the experience. Hugh Knox, a preacher living in the Caribbean, recognized Hamilton’s intelligence and sent him to America for a proper education.

Hamilton attended King’s College in New York (now Columbia University). He was a bright student and developed an interest in politics, believing freedom from Britain was essential because heavy taxes were ruining the colonies. He recommended Americans boycott British manufactured goods and published A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress in which he asserted that Americans have a natural right to manage their own affairs. The pamphlet made Hamilton a celebrity because he wrote well, thought clearly, and constructed arguments that impressed important people. When the American Revolution began, Hamilton joined the New York militia and taught himself military tactics and the handling of cannons. The Continental Congress named George Washington commander of the Continental Army to defend New York City against invading British troops, and Hamilton joined Washington on Long Island.

Hamilton and his artillery unit covered Washington’s retreat after the British drove the Continental Army out of New York, and he handled the guns well during the retreat. After twin victories in New Jersey, Washington asked Hamilton to become his aide-decamp. Hamilton was reluctant to accept a desk job on Washington’s staff, but he had the necessary skills because he knew logistics, accounts, and finance. Washington relied on Hamilton to draft clear memos explaining his requirements and strategy to Congress and his officers. Hamilton became indispensable to Washington, who often assigned him sensitive tasks that required diplomacy and tact. Washington and Hamilton agreed on most issues, but they had different views about slavery. Washington was a Virginia slave owner while Hamilton felt slavery was cruel and should be abolished.

Hamilton and Washington had a serious misunderstanding when Washington asked to speak with him, and Hamilton replied that he would return in a few minutes after he delivered an important letter. Hamilton delivered the letter, but rather than returning immediately to see Washington, he spent time chatting with the Marquise de Lafayette. Washington was furious that Hamilton had made him wait and told Hamilton he had disrespected his commander. Hamilton said he did not realize he had disrespected Washington, but if that was how he felt, it was time for Hamilton to resign from his staff and take command of a regiment. Washington sent an apology to Hamilton, but he was not willing to forgive Washington because he was tired of being ordered around, felt insulted, and wanted an independent command. Hamilton had a violent temper that created serious difficulties for him later in life.

The Continental Congress

At the beginning of the Revolution, the thirteen states drafted Articles of Confederation forming a loose association of states to manage and pay for the war. However, the Continental Congress was weak and could not tax the states to fund the war, so it resorted to printing money, causing runaway inflation, and saddling the country with enormous debts and a worthless currency. America was essentially bankrupt after the war because the states would not cooperate to pay off the debts they had incurred. Hamilton proposed a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation and form a strong central government, but his suggestion was ignored until 1787. Hamilton resigned after the war, studied law, passed the New York bar exam, and opened a practice in New York. He favored a strong central government rather than a weak association of states, but many Americans were wary of a government that might oppress them.

Hamilton published a paper outlining his ideas about managing the country’s finances and paying off the national debt. He advocated establishing a central bank, nationalizing war debts, and issuing federal bonds to pay off the national debts and serve as a store of wealth. In 1783, Hamilton started a lucrative law practice on Wall Street, defending American Tories who had left the colonies during the war and wanted to reclaim their property or receive compensation. One of his early clients was Elizabeth Rutgers, a wealthy widow who fled New York for Canada when war broke out. Her property was confiscated. After the war, Hamilton settled Mrs. Rutgers’s claim, and she was reimbursed for her land. Meanwhile, the Continental Congress faced a rebellion in the Northeast.

Shay’s Rebellion

In the 1780s, many Massachusetts farmers faced heavy debts from buying land after the war. The post-war recession caused many of them to lose their farms and go to prison because they could not pay their debts (America had debtors’ prisons at that time). These difficult economic conditions triggered an armed uprising led by Daniel Shay, an ex-revolutionary soldier, intent on liberating his imprisoned neighbors. The governor of Massachusetts hired mercenaries to crush the rebellion, but Shay’s uprising frightened state authorities and led to calls for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation and strengthen the central government to deal with armed unrest.

The Constitutional Convention

Hamilton was a New York delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Edmund Randolph proposed a central government with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. William Paterson proposed strengthening the Articles of Confederation. After lengthy discussion, the delegates reached an impasse. Hamilton proposed a government consisting of a Senate and a Monarch with life tenure. He argued that, with lifetime authority, Senators and Monarch would not become corrupt or oppressive. Delegates were astonished, because Hamilton’s proposal seemed too much like the English system of a King and Parliament that they had defeated to obtain freedom. Hamilton left the convention, believing it would be a failure, and the Continental Congress would persist.

Instead, delegates agreed on a modified version of Randolph’s plan which included a President elected for four years, a bicameral Congress with two houses (Representatives elected for two-year terms and Senators for six-year terms), and a Federal Judiciary with lifetime appointments. Hamilton believed Randolph’s plan was flawed but favored ratification because the alternative was a weak government under the Articles of Confederation. He worked hard to get New York to ratify the Constitution and wrote pamphlets arguing for acceptance of the new Constitution.

The Federalist Papers

Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay jointly wrote the The Federalist Papers to convince Americans that the states should ratify the Constitution. Hamilton wrote fiftyone of The Federalist Papers. Madison penned twenty-nine, and Jay drafted five. Hamilton argued that the choice facing the nation was between a weak coalition of states that could not govern or defend themselves, and a strong central government that would allow the United States to maintain its independence and prosper economically. Hamilton stressed that a strong central government would be good for the economy and give voters equal representation. He highlighted many problems associated with a weak Congress and urged his friends in New York to ratify the new Constitution.

The Federalist Papers explained the rights and duties of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to a skeptical public. Hamilton argued that judicial review of congressional legislation (the power of the Supreme Court to declare legislation passed by Congress unconstitutional) would safeguard American freedoms. The Federalist Papers were published during a heated political campaign to ratify the Constitution and were read by many Americans. They supported ratification of the Constitution, exerted a strong influence on early political thinking, and still guide modern political philosophy. The states ratified the Constitution and George Washington became America’s first President. One of Washington’s first appointments went to Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury.

Treasury Secretary

President Washington nominated Hamilton as Treasury Secretary on September 11, 1789, because Hamilton had extensive experience in banking and finance from managing a Wall Street trading house and handling the finances of Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War. He had written an essay about the need for a National Bank, had experience as a tax receiver (collector) for the State of New York, and helped found the Bank of New York. Hamilton was an enlightened choice for the first Treasury Secretary because he understood finance and had clear ideas about how to handle the national debt. Initially, he sought to place tariffs on imported goods and establish a revenue service to collect taxes to fund the federal government.

Hamilton established a custom service to operate in American ports and collect duties on cargo entering the United States. Hamilton knew ship captains would attempt to avoid paying custom duties, so he upgraded lighthouses on the East Coast and staffed them with customs agents to monitor ship traffic. He also authorized the building of guard boats to enforce tariff duties, effectively founding the United States Coast Guard. Once Hamilton developed a revenue stream to pay for the federal government, he worked to pay off the national war debt. He outlined his proposal for dealing with the national debt in a paper titled The Report on Public Credit. Hamilton wanted the federal government to assume all state and federal debts accumulated during the American Revolution and issue federal bonds for purchase through the treasury or any bank. His goal was to establish a national bond market where citizens could store their savings in a safe investment that earned interest.

Northern states burdened with huge debts supported Hamilton’s plan. Southern states that had paid their war debts through taxes on the sale of cotton and tobacco opposed the plan. Congress divided on the issue. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson proposed a compromise: they would support passage of the debt statute if the capital of the new Republic was located in the South. Hamilton agreed, and he, Jefferson, and Madison asked Washington to support a bill moving the capital to a special district between Virginia and Maryland called the District of Columbia (now Washington, D.C.), in return for their support of the National Bank and federal bond market. Washington agreed, and the debt statute passed.

After issuing federal bonds and establishing Washington, D.C. as the new national capital, Hamilton set out to charter a federal bank and develop an American currency. He proposed a United States Dollar minted in gold and silver and devised a system of smaller coins based on the decimal system. The penny, nickel, and dime are examples of Hamilton’s decimal money system. After establishing a rational system of finance for the country, Hamilton resigned from Washington’s cabinet, but continued corresponding with Washington and offering advice when asked. Washington asked Hamilton to help write his farewell address, and he agreed. They collaborated in telling citizens to consider themselves Americans rather than Virginians or New Yorkers and to guard against foreign interference in American affairs. Hamilton soon became active in the anti-slavery movement, founding the New York Society for the Manumission of Slaves, whose goal was to help enslaved persons gain their freedom. Hamilton urged New Yorkers to free people they enslaved and outlaw slavery in the state, but nothing happened.

Presidential Politics

Alexander Hamilton and John Adams hated each other. During the presidential campaign of 1800, Adams ran for a second term against Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Hamilton wrote an article attacking Adams. Adams never forgave Hamilton for attacking him during the election, believing the attack was a major factor in his defeat. After the votes were counted, Jefferson and Burr tied for electoral college votes; Adams was a distant third. A tie in the Electoral College meant the House of Representatives would select the President. Hamilton was a member of the Electoral College from New York, and he hated Burr, so he actively campaigned and voted for Jefferson. After thirty-six ballots, Jefferson was elected President.

Hamilton’s Affair

During the Revolutionary War, Hamilton married Eliza Schuyler, the daughter of Phillip Schuyler, one of the wealthiest men in New York. Schuyler was concerned about Hamilton courting his daughter because he was an illegitimate son and not a member of New York’s “upper class.” Schuyler recognized Hamilton was bright, energetic, and an important figure in the United States government, but he was reluctant to have his daughter marry below her social station. Schuyler finally consented, and the couple married in December 1780. While serving as Treasury Secretary, Hamilton began an affair with Mrs. Maria Reynolds while Hamilton’s wife was in Albany with their children. Maria’s husband was a speculator who lost his fortune during the recession following the war, and he forced his wife into prostitution to earn a living.

Mrs. Reynolds ran her business in the bedroom of their home, and when she learned of Hamilton’s wandering eye, she came calling. She told Hamilton her husband had left her for another woman, and he wanted to believe her story because she was attractive, and he liked available women. He told Mrs. Reynolds he would come to her home later with money. When he arrived, Mrs. Reynolds physically thanked Hamilton for his generosity. Hamilton and Mrs. Reynolds carried on a torrid affair in Washington, D.C. for several months. Then, Mr. Reynolds showed up at Hamilton’s door asking for a job in the Treasury Department. Hamilton refused and vowed to end the affair, but Mrs. Reynolds said she would tell Eliza about their sexual relationship if he did, so Hamilton continued the affair, hoping to avoid a scandal. Mr. Reynolds threatened Hamilton with exposure, so he gave Mr. Reynolds $1,000 to keep him quiet.

Jefferson learned of the affair and was delighted to damage Hamilton’s reputation by spreading gossip around Washington. Hamilton confessed, believing the scandal would go away if he was truthful. Instead, the matter got worse after Jefferson published a pamphlet claiming Hamilton embezzled money from the United States Treasury, using Mrs. Reynold’s letters as proof. Hamilton denied the embezzlement accusations, saying the money he paid Mr. Reynolds came from his private funds rather than the Treasury. Washington society was shocked that Hamilton would do such a thing to his wife and family.

Hamilton v. Burr

Hamilton’s temper led to a fatal duel with Aaron Burr on July 12, 1804. The backgrounds of these two important Americans triggered the famous duel. Hamilton and Burr were both orphaned, graduated from Ivy League schools, and were exceptional students. They studied law with prominent attorneys, opened law offices in New York, fought in the Revolutionary War, and entered New York politics at nearly the same time. Hamilton and Burr became members of the New York legislature. Hamilton was instrumental in passing the Constitution. Burr supported passage of the 12th Amendment changing the process for electing Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Both Hamilton and Burr fought courageously during the Revolution, earning reputations as American patriots. However, Burr believed General Washington did not appreciate his talents and felt slighted by not being promoted or given command of troops, while Hamilton earned promotions, served on Washington’s staff, and commanded a regiment at Yorktown in the battle that ended the war. Hamilton lived modestly, even though his wife inherited a large family fortune, while Burr spent lavishly and was always in debt. Hamilton was a handsome and flamboyant Wall Street lawyer, while Burr was bland and jealous. Burr took any case that came through his door because he needed money, while Hamilton only represented wealthy clients who had interesting cases. Burr hated Hamilton for many perceived slights.

Hamilton and Burr were on opposite sides of the debate about ratifying the new United States Constitution, which Hamilton won, increasing Burr’s jealousy and resentment. Burr was appointed New York Attorney General (not a very important job), while Hamilton served in Washington’s cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury, another source of Burr’s bitterness. Burr was eventually elected to the United States Senate from the state of New York and felt successful for the first time, but he never stopped hating Hamilton.

During the Presidential election of 1796, Hamilton and Burr clashed over political issues. Hamilton supported Thomas Pinckney, Governor of South Carolina, for President while Burr supported Jefferson. Burr informed John Adams that Hamilton was supporting Pinckney. Adams was furious because he wanted the nomination for himself. Adams never forgave Hamilton, and when Hamilton found out that Burr had turned Adams against him, he became furious with Burr. Bad blood continued to accumulate between the two men. Burr speculated in real estate, but could not pay for land he bought, so the owner sued him for breach of contract and hired Hamilton as his attorney. Burr was found liable and ordered to pay the contract price for the land or go to jail. He had to sell everything he owned and mortgage his house to avoid debtors’ prison and hated Hamilton even more.

At a private party, Hamilton said Burr was a dangerous man who could not be trusted. A guest at the party published Hamilton’s remarks in a letter to a newspaper. Burr was furious and demanded Hamilton explain his remarks. By this point, Hamilton had been involved in at least six incidents that had almost resulted in a duel, but each time the deadly game was averted by friends who advised the parties to apologize. However, Burr and Hamilton had a long, fractious relationship and bad tempers, so their dispute was difficult to mediate. It soon became clear there was no turning back from a duel. Hamilton decided to fire in the air rather than at Burr. Pendleton, his second, advised him not to proceed because he would die. Historians have speculated that Hamilton was depressed and wanted Burr to kill him, but other experts do not believe that is true. However, Hamilton had been depressed and knew he would probably die. He arranged his affairs, sent letters to Eliza, and drafted his will the day before the duel.

Burr knew if he killed Hamilton, it would ruin his career, but he was determined to go through with the duel anyway because he was angry at Hamilton and felt his honor had been sullied. Burr was an expert shot and practiced his marksmanship before the duel, while Hamilton did nothing to prepare for the deadly meeting. They met on neutral ground in New Jersey because dueling was illegal in New York. The evening before the duel, Pendleton visited Hamilton in hopes of dissuading him from going through with the encounter but was unsuccessful. Pendleton and Hamilton’s personal physician accompanied Hamilton to the duel.

Burr arrived first and Hamilton joined him shortly after. They drew lots to decide who would fire first and where each would stand. Hamilton won and irrationally chose the spot where the sun would be in his eyes, making it more difficult to see Burr, while his opponent had a clear view unimpeded by sunlight—another sign that perhaps Hamilton was depressed and intended to die. Burr and Hamilton stood ten feet apart and assumed sideways positions to present a smaller target. Burr fired and hit Hamilton in the stomach just above his hip. True to his word, Hamilton fired over Burr’s head. Hamilton died on July 11, 1804, at the age of forty-nine.

Harry Munsinger has served on the San Antonio Bar Association’s publications committee for many years. During that time, he has been a frequent contributor to the San Antonio Lawyer magazine. Although Harry recently retired from law practice, he continues to be a frequent contributor to this magazine!

Endnotes not included in online story.