It’s not tyranny we desire; it’s a just, limited, federal government.
Alexander Hamilton Quotes
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| Birth: | 11th January, 1755 |
| Death: | 12th July, 1904 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Profession: | Economist, Financier, Lawyer, Politician, Soldier |
About
Alexander Hamilton was born in Charlestown, the capital of the island of Nevis, in the Leeward Islands. In the autumn of 1772, Hamilton arrived by way of Boston, Massachusetts, at Elizabethtown Academy, a grammar school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. In 1773 he studied with Francis Barber at Elizabethtown in preparation for college work. He came under the influence of William Livingston, a leading intellectual and revolutionary, with whom he lived for a time at his Liberty Hall. Hamilton applied to the College of New Jersey, asking to be allowed to study at a quicker pace and complete his studies in a shorter time. The college's Board of Trustees refused his request. Hamilton made a similar request to King's College in New York City, was accepted, and entered the college in late 1773 or early 1774.
In 1775, after the first engagement of American troops with the British in Boston, Hamilton joined a New York volunteer militia company called the Hearts of Oak, which included other King's College students. After the Battle of Yorktown, Hamilton resigned his commission. He was elected in July 1782 to the Congress of the Confederation as a New York representative for the term beginning in November 1782. Hamilton supported congressmen such as Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris, his assistant Gouverneur Morris, along with James Wilson and James Madison, to provide the Congress with the independent source of revenue it lacked under the Articles of Confederation.
Hamilton resigned from Congress, and in July 1783 was admitted to the New York Bar after several months of self-directed education. In 1784, he founded the Bank of New York, now the oldest ongoing bank in the United States. Hamilton was one of the men who restored King's College, which had been suspended since 1776 and severely damaged during the War, as Columbia College.
Hamilton died on the following afternoon, July 12, 1804 at Bayard's home at what is now 80–82 Jane Street.
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