Alexander Hamilton K-8 School

Who Was Alexander Hamilton?

Alexander Hamilton - A Sketch
Taken from our 1958 Student Handbook

     Our school was named for the great American patriot, Alexander Hamilton. He was born on Nevis Island in the West Indies on January 11, 1757. He was an orphan at the age of eleven. At the age of thirteen he was forced to take a job in a counting house. Here he showed such remarkable business ability that, at the age of fifteen, the management of the business was placed in his hands during the extended absence of Henry Cruger, the owner and manager.

     He wrote a most vivid description of a very severe hurricane which swept the Leeward Islands with great destruction. (From this came our nickname, "Hurricanes"). This was published in the newspaper and brought to the Dutch resident governor by his teacher and great admirer, Hugh Knox. They appealed to relatives to contribute funds to send him to the United States to study. He spent two years in a preparatory school and then enrolled in King's College, now Columbia University.

     It was while a student at King's College that he began making speeches and writing pamphlets defending the rights of the colonists. His unsigned pamphlets created quite a stir and were attributed to various men prominent in colonial affairs.

     In 1776, with some friends, he formed a volunteer corps which engaged in some minor skirmishes. They called them-selves "Hearts of Oak." He made a brilliant record fighting as captain of an artillery which he had organized. In 1777 the twenty year old captain was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and offered the assignment of aide and secretary to General Washington. It was here, handling the bulk of Washington's correspondence, preparing most of Washington's reports, milking arrangements and negotiating, that he performed his most notable service during the Revolutionary War.

     Hamilton ranked among the foremost lawyers of his time. He had a very brilliant mind, great reasoning powers, and persuasive address. Washington offered him the chief justice-ship of the Supreme Court, an honor he declined.

     The first position in Washington's cabinet to be filled was that of Secretary of Treasury. Hamilton performed a Herculean task in rescuing the government from bankruptcy and organizing its finances on such a firm basis that many of his ideas and organizational plans and procedures are still in use, by our government today. It was while he was Secretary of the Treasury that Hamilton organized the United States Coast Guard which was placed under his supervision, and in peace time is still under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.

     In 1795 Hamilton returned to law practice in New York City, but continued to have great influence in the government through his advice which was sought by many men still in the government's employ.

     In 1804 he became involved in a political dispute with Aaron Burr and was challenged by him to a duel in which he was fatally wounded. On the monument erected over his grave is the inscription: "The patriot of incorruptible integrity: The soldier of approved valor: The statesman of consummate wisdom."

     For more historical information on the life of Alexander Hamilton, visit these online resources:

• ColonialHall.com - Alexander Hamilton, was one of the most brilliant of the signers of the Constitution, as well as a co-author of the Federalist Papers.
  
• Alexander Hamilton on the Web - A comprehensive resource for links to detailed information on the life, times and contemporaries of Alexander Hamilton.
  
• EarlyAmerica.com - Overcoming Adversity: The Childhood of Alexander Hamilton . A unique array of primary source material from 18th Century America. Scenes and portraits from original newspapers, maps and writings come to life on your screen just as they appeared to this country's forebears more than two centuries ago.