The Life of Alexander Hamilton

Paper Summary:

This report provides a brief overview of Alexander Hamilton's life and career and examines more closely his economic program and the public policies that he fostered to bring that program into being. The report focuses on the debate regarding the establishment of a National Bank.

Outline:
Introduction
Background
Establishing the Format of a Future America: the Debate of the First Bank of the United States
Setting the Stage
Hamilton Versus Jefferson: Establishing a National Bank
Reaction and Aftermath
Evaluating Alexander Hamilton
Works Consulted in the Preparation of this Report

From the Paper:

"Alexander Hamilton was born a British subject on the island of Nevis (West Indies) in January 1755, to Rachel Fawcette Levine and James Hamilton. Hamilton faced hardship early in life. His father ended as a bankrupt in 1767, causing Hamilton to take a position as clerk in a counting house. His mother died a year later. As discouraging as his situation appeared to him, Hamilton proved himself adept at banking and, at age 15, assumed responsibility for the firm's daily operations. It is reasonable to conclude that this youthful experience gave Hamilton an early appreciation of the contribution that financial institutions might make to larger objectives.
Hamilton, with the financial support of family friends, settled in the New Jersey colony in 1772, in order to continue his formal education. After a brief period of grammar school classes, he entered New York's King's College (now Columbia University), being awarded the baccalaureate one year later. For reasons that remain unclear, Hamilton was caught up in revolutionary fervor in the years immediately preceding the Declaration of Independence."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bryan, M. et al., Who is that guy on the $10 bill? Economic commentary [publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland], June 2000
• Davies, P., The bank that Hamilton built, The Region [publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis], September 2007
• Egger, J. B., Alexander Hamilton, Economist [Lecture], Alexander Hamilton: the man who made modern America, Lecture 6 [delivered at Towson University, Maryland], April 26, 2006
• Finseth, I., Constitutional reformer, The rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton, University of Virginia/American studies program, 2003
• Hamilton, A., Report on a national bank, Memorandum to the President of the United States [George Washington], December 1790

More papers on The Life of Alexander Hamilton:

• Book Review # 117924 : "Alexander Hamilton Biography"
• Essay # 65690 : "Alexander Hamilton"
• Essay # 18939 : "Alexander Hamilton" by Steven O'Brien"

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