History UsefulNotes / AlexanderHamilton

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was one of the major Founding Fathers of the United States. Coming from [[UsefulNotes/SaintKittsAndNevis Nevis, a tiny island in the West Indies/Caribbean]], he studied at the New York King's College (today Columbia), before joining the Revolutionary War. Unlike many of his distinguished contemporaries, Hamilton is notable in that he was of very humble beginnings, being an illegitimate child who lost his mother as a young man. He later became an aide-de-camp for General UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, and was one of the main proponents for the United States Constitution, organizing and being the primary writer of ''The Federalist Papers'' with John Jay and UsefulNotes/JamesMadison. As the first US Secretary of the Treasury, he was a proponent for a strong national government, a national bank, a standing army, and a national debt. He also established the New York Manumission Society with John Jay, the Bank of New York (later merged with Mellon Bank to form [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNY_Mellon BNY Mellon]]), the oldest operating banking institution in the United States, as well as establishing a college, named Hamilton College, in upstate New York. [[HeAlsoDid Was also responsible for]] the New York Post, the U.S. Coast Guard, and arguably the [[BreadEggsMilkSquick first sex scandal in American history]].

->"''I never expect perfect work from an imperfect man.''"

[[{{Theatre/Hamilton}} How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?]]

Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757-1804) was one of the major Founding Fathers of the United States. Coming from [[UsefulNotes/SaintKittsAndNevis Nevis, a tiny island in the West Indies/Caribbean]], he studied at the New York King's College (today Columbia), before joining the Revolutionary War. Unlike many of his distinguished contemporaries, Hamilton is notable in that he was of very humble beginnings, being an illegitimate child who lost his mother as a young man. He later became an aide-de-camp for General UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, and was one of the main proponents for the United States Constitution, organizing and being the primary writer of ''The Federalist Papers'' with John Jay and UsefulNotes/JamesMadison. As the first US Secretary of the Treasury, he was a proponent for a strong national government, a national bank, a standing army, and a national debt. He also established the New York Manumission Society with John Jay, the Bank of New York (later merged with Mellon Bank to form [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNY_Mellon BNY Mellon]]), the oldest operating banking institution in the United States, as well as establishing a college, named Hamilton College, in upstate New York. [[HeAlsoDid Was also responsible for]] the New York Post, the U.S. Coast Guard, and arguably the [[BreadEggsMilkSquick first sex scandal in American history]].

!!Tropes related to Hamilton and his fictional portrayals:
* AmbiguouslyBi: There has been recent speculation regarding his relationship with John Laurens, specifically if it was a sexual one, due to the language used in their letters to each other. While nothing can be definitively proven, there is evidence on both sides of the argument, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that is all that needs to be said here]].
* ArchEnemy: Thomas Jefferson and he freely referred to each other as their nemesis and fought with each other on every major issue for their entire lives. This was far beyond the fact that they were the leaders of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist (or Democratic-Republican) parties - they hated each other personally and did everything they could to hurt their careers.
* ConfessToALesserCrime: In the famous "Reynolds Pamphlet", Hamilton confessed to an affair with a woman named Maria Reynolds after her husband James attempted to accuse him of financial embezzlement (rather famously saying "my real crime is an amorous connection with his wife"), hoping that by coming clean about the affair but denying the criminal charges he would be considered trustworthy. Considering how seriously infidelity was treated at the time, it worked out remarkably well for him, with his political power being pretty much untouched, but he is now known as the central figure of the first sex scandal in American history.
* DragonInChief: To borrow a phrase from ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington Washington]] was on his side. Despite his seemingly innocuous role as the Treasury Secretary, Hamilton's opinion held a lot of sway over the president both during and after the Revolution, which, when combined with his status as the leader of the Federalist Party and the Treasury Secretary, gave him access to military, political, and financial power the likes of which few could hope to match. It's part of the reason why [[ArchEnemy Thomas Jefferson]] was so determined to take him down; the kind of power Hamilton was able to achieve (and Hamilton's questionable actions with it) made Jefferson believe they were on the verge of a monarchy nearly identical to the one they just escaped from.
* DuelToTheDeath: Hamilton was involved in at least three duels over the course of his life. The first was serving as second to John Laurens in 1778 against Charles Lee, the second was against James Monroe in 1797 (which ultimately didn't come to shooting), and the third and most famous duel was against Aaron Burr in 1804, the one in which Hamilton was killed.
* EnemyMine: In the election of 1800, when faced with the choice between ArchEnemy Thomas Jefferson or the principally weak Aaron Burr, he chose to denounce Burr as lacking principles to the rest of his party and ensure they vote for Jefferson instead.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: While he was an abolitionist, especially later on in his life, the (very likely) possibility that he had bought slaves for his in-laws tends to be glossed over in recent times. His actions during the Whiskey Rebellion, including advising Washington to quell the rebellion with their own military (essentially turning the U.S. military into a political tool), also tends to be downplayed.
* {{Irony}}: His dispute with James Monroe in 1797 came very close to the two men dueling - they even met face to face with their guns ready - but one man eventually got between them and managed to defuse the situation without anyone shooting. That man was Aaron Burr, who would kill Hamilton in the most famous duel in American history just seven years later.
* MotorMouth: According to Congressional documents, when Hamilton started talking it was often hard to get him to stop. At the Constitutional Convention, for instance, he filibustered for a full ''six hours'', an unprecedented length of time back then.
* RevengeBeforeReason: In 1800, after UsefulNotes/JohnAdams attacked his immigrant background and bastard status, Hamilton responded with a scathing rebuke of Adams and his failings as President. The fact that the two leading figures of the Federalist Party were publicly attacking each other destroyed the entire party and ensured the reign of the Democratic-Republicans for the next 28 years.
* {{Troll}}: Rather surprisingly, given his position, his strategy when it came to one-on-one conflicts seemed to have been to annoy the other person as much as possible. A prime example: during the correspondence between himself and Aaron Burr that eventually led to their duel, in which Burr asked him to repeat an insult he had supposedly said behind Burr's back, Hamilton not only refused to specify but responded with a list of ''every single disagreement the two had ever had''.

''[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"]]''

* DragonInChief
* DuelToTheDeath: Hamilton was involved in at least three duels over the course of his life. The first was serving as second to John Laurens in 1778 against Charles Lee, the second was against James Monroe in 1797, and the third and most famous duel was against Aaron Burr in 1804, the one in which Hamilton was killed.

* TheDragon

* YourCheatingHeart: In America's first sex scandal, Hamilton cheated on his wife Elizabeth with a woman named Maria Reynolds for almost a ''full year''.

[[Theatre/Hamilton How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?]]

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

* YourCheatingHeart: In America's first sex scandal, Hamilton cheated on his wife Eliza with a woman named Maria Reynolds for almost a ''full year''.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: While he was an abolitionist, especially later on in his life, the (very likely) possibility that he had bought slaves for his in-laws tends to be glossed over in recent times.

How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

Hamilton is probably the most polarizing Founding Father, at least among historians and political science. His admirers point to his role in creating America's government and financial system, his advocacy for the Constitution and his progressive views on issues like slavery. Others criticize Hamilton for his authoritarian tendencies, including his distrust of democracy, advocating lifetime appointments for Senators, support for restrictions on immigration and the Alien and Sedition Acts under UsefulNotes/JohnAdams. Irrespective of his politics, he was also known for his arrogant and confrontational personality, which caused feuds not only with opponents like Jefferson and Burr but even with fellow Federalists like Adams. Still, neither admirers nor detractors would deny that Hamilton ranks among the most important figures in American history.

He was bitter enemies with UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, but [[EnemyMine the two temporarily became allies]] during the 1800 presidential election when Aaron Burr, another enemy of Hamilton's, decided to run for the presidency. Four years later, Hamilton and Burr would be [[DuelToTheDeath involved in a duel, resulting in Hamilton's death]]. As the father of the Treasury, he is memorialized on the U.S. $10 bill. The US constitution's "natural born citizen" clause was written to grandfather in people born outside the US but citizens at independence possibly explicitly to allow people like him a shot at the Presidency [[note]]Also of note, leaving out the caveat about being a citizen at the time of ratifying the constitution meant the US would need to wait at least 24 years (the candidate is to be at least 35 years old to run, and the Constitution was drafted 11 years after independence) for someone eligible, not to mention it would have cast doubt on the legitimacy of Washington as president, which was of course out of the question[[/note]] but the aforementioned sex scandal coupled with his premature death ultimately derailed any chance at a (Vice-)presidential career, leading to a lot of WhatCouldHaveBeen speculation in alternate history fiction.

How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, to squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

[[caption-width-right:325: [[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} I am NOT throwin' away my shot!]]]]

[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander_hamilton_portrait_by_john_trumbull_1806_1789.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325: [[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} I am NOT throwin' away my shot!]]]]

How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, to squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar

[[Theater/Hamilton How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, to squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?]]

[[Theatre/Hamilton How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, to squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?]]

How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, to squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757-1804) was one of the major Founding Fathers of the United States. Coming from Nevis, a tiny island in the West Indies/Caribbean, he studied at the New York King's College (today Columbia), before joining the Revolutionary War. Unlike many of his distinguished contemporaries, Hamilton is notable in that he was of very humble beginnings, being an illegitimate child who lost his mother as a young man. He later became an aide-de-camp for General UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, and was one of the main proponents for the United States Constitution, organizing and being the primary writer of ''The Federalist Papers'' with John Jay and UsefulNotes/JamesMadison. As the first US Secretary of the Treasury, he was a proponent for a strong national government, a national bank, a standing army, and a national debt. He also established the New York Manumission Society with John Jay, the Bank of New York (later merged with Mellon Bank to form [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNY_Mellon BNY Mellon]]), the oldest operating banking institution in the United States, as well as establishing a college, named Hamilton College, in upstate New York. [[HeAlsoDid Was also responsible for]] the New York Post, the U.S. Coast Guard, and arguably the [[BreadEggsMilkSquick first sex scandal in American history]].

* Hamilton appears in the novel ''Burr'' by Creator/GoreVidal where, given the fact that the book features a HistoricalHeroUpgrade of Aaron Burr into an anti-hero, has a fairly unflattering depiction of Hamilton, unsurprisingly, though it stops short of endorsing his killing.