Hamilton’s Desire to Improve the World

Introduction: For my research paper, I have chosen to write about how Alexander Hamilton’s economic and financial plans influenced and changed America’s economy. Before We Begin Before examining Hamilton’s plans and the everlasting effects on America’s economy we must first understand America’s financial and economical standing after the Revolutionary War. America’s victory over Great Britain came at a high price.

The Federal government had accumulated millions of dollars in debt and each state had different currencies which had been made almost completely useless after the war and contributed to around $25 million more dollars of states debt. There was no money or free capitol left to spend after an immense amount was used to cover the costs of rebuilding war torn areas on the nation.

So although America had finally achieved its goal of being an independant, free nation, it still had many problems left to tackle. Introducing Hamilton Alexander Hamilton was only the young age of twelve when his mother passed and he was left orphaned on the island of St.Croix in the West Indies, though this event did little to discourage him. He soon became a bookkeeper under Nicholas Cruger and “gained valuable experience for his later career in business and finance”(Miller 5).

However, Hamilton’s ambitious spirit caused him to grow weary of his dull life as a bookkeeper and yearned for a chance to better the world. Soon disaster would strike St. Croix, but this catastrophe would turn out to be Hamilton’s chance to prove himself to the public and would eventually lead him to King’s College in New York. “In August, 1772, one of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of the West Indies struck St. Croix” (Miller 5). This event affected Hamilton so strongly that he chose to recount it in a letter for his father. He then chose to show his description to Reverend Hugh Knox, who already thought highly of the young author. Hamilton’s Hurricane Letter astonished Reverend Knox and was eventually published in the Royal Danish American Gazette.

His letter proved to be an extraordinary and emotionally intense piece of work that convinced Cruger, Knox, and many other civilian of St.Croix to contribute to a fund to send Hamilton to New York to further his education, and by October of 1772 he set sail on a course for America. In the coming years Hamilton would go on to make many contributions to the Revolutionary War and to America’s economy. He wrote and published a multitude of revolutionary essays including “A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies” and “The Farmer Refuted” in 1774 and 1775 respectively. Hamilton also had an outstanding influence on the warfront being appointed captain of the New York artillery company in 1776 and eventually ascending to lieutenant colonel ad aide-de-camp to George Washington in 1777.

Hamilton’s list of achievements only continued to grow as he expanded his role on the nation’s government and economy Hamilton’s Work in Economics After retiring from active military duty in 1781 Hamilton’s objectives were primarily based in the economy. In 1782 he was appointed as a delegate for New York at the Continental Congress where he presented his draft of a revised Articles of Confederation that included a strong federal government with the power to collect taxes and separation of the powers into Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branch. However he soon returned to New York to set practice law and a new law office in 1783. A year later he was even able to establish the Bank of New York which is known as one of the oldest still existing banks in America.