Alexander Hamilton (1755 – 1804) was the founder of the first Secretary of the Treasury, a founder of the Federalist Party, and one of the most important Founding Fathers who championed a strong national government. He received his education at King’s College (Columbia) and served as the aide-de-camp for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He was a delegate from New York to the Constitutional Convention and signed the United States Constitution. Under the shared pseudonym Publius with James Madison and John Jay, he wrote several important Federalist Papers, including his celebrated defense of the judicial branch. As Secretary of the State, he articulated the doctrine of implied powers and helped to establish the First Bank of the United States. He died in a duel against Vice President Aaron Burr in 1804.
In this video, co-sponsored by the Classic Learning Test and the Jack Miller Center, Dr. Bradford Wilson of Princeton University delivered the 2020 Constitution Lecture on Alexander Hamilton.
Preferred Editions:
Alexander Hamilton, The Essential Hamilton: Letters and Other Writings (New York: Library of America, 2017).
Alexander Hamilton, Writings (New York: Library of America, 2001).
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, The Pacificus-Helvidius Debates (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007).
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers (New York: Signet, 2003).
Insightful Secondary Literature:
Douglass Adair, Fame and the Founding Fathers (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1974). (selected essays)
Richard Brookhiser, Alexander Hamilton, American (New York: Free Press, 1999).
Ron Chernow, Hamilton (New York: Penguin, 2005).
Martin Diamond, As Far as Republican Principles Will Admit (Washington D.C.: AEI, 1992). (selected essays)