Alexander Hamilton

Alexander a United States patriot and statesman. He was a leader in the formation of the United States government. As the first secretary of the treasury he placed the nation on a sound financial basis. He introduced the doctrine of implied powers of the Constitution. Hamilton wrote more than half the Federalist papers, which are recognized as among the most discerning works on political philosophy ever produced. Hamilton was a man with aristocratic views. He believed in representative government, but thought it should be led by wealthy men elected by property owners. He distrusted the political capacity of the common man, and in one instance referred to the people as a “great beast.” He was a leader of the group favoring strong central power and encouragement of commerce and industry. This group became the Federalist party.
Alexander Hamilton was born circa January 11, 1755 or 1757, on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. Hamilton was the product of an adulterous affair. His mother, a Frenchwoman named Rachel Fawcett Lavine, was married to someone else when Hamilton was born. When Rachel's husband threw her out of the house, she moved in with Hamilton's father, a Scottish trader named James. But the living arrangement did not last long. James abandoned the family when Hamilton was still a baby, leaving him and his mother impoverished.

Hamilton was five feet, seven inches tall, slender, and of remarkably erect bearing. He had supreme confidence in his own opinions and the eloquence to win support for them. He was inclined to be touchy and quarrelsome, however, and his haughty pride often caused resentment. http://history.howstuffworks.com/ Determined to improve his lot in life, Hamilton took his first job at the tender age of 11. Working as a clerk in an accounting firm in St. Croix, the bright and ambitious young lad quickly impressed his employer. Hamilton's boss, businessman Nicolas Cruger, pooled his resources with a minister named Hugh Knox to send Hamilton to America for an education.
In 1773, when he was around 16 years old, Hamilton arrived in New York, where he enrolled in King College. Despite his gratitude toward his generous patrons, with the American colonies on the brink of a revolution, Hamilton was drawn more to political involvement than he was to academics. In 1774, he wrote his first political article defending the Patriots' cause against the interests of pro-British Loyalists. http://www.biography.com/
A quick learner, Hamilton deemed himself quite capable of becoming a self made man. Intent on learning through hands-on experience, he left King College before graduating to join forces with the Patriots in their protest of British-imposed taxes and commercial business regulations.
In 1775, when the Revolutionary War began, Hamilton became part of the New York Provincial Artillery Company and fought in the battles of Long Island, White Plains and Trenton.http://www.biography.com/
In 1777, after Hamilton fought in that year's battles of Brandywine Creek, Germantown and Princeton, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army. During his early service in the fight for American independence, he caught the attention of General George Washington, who made Hamilton his assistant and trusted adviser. For the next five years, Hamilton put his writing skills to work. He wrote Washington's critical letters, and composed numerous reports on the strategic reform and restructuring of the Continental Army.http://www.biography.com/
Around the same time, Hamilton married Elisabeth Schuyler, who was from an affluent New York family.
Growing restless in his desk job, in 1781, Hamilton convinced Washington to let him taste some action on the battlefield. With Washington's permission, Hamilton led a victorious charge against the British in the Battle of Yorktown. Cornwallis's surrender during this battle would eventually lead to