He is called the father of the US financial system. Contemporaries were much more interested in the spicy adventures of our hero.
This man had personal reasons for building a new state. A native of the colonies, who knew in childhood all the hardships faced by children of immigrants from Europe, he wanted to see the American continent not as hard labor, but by the Fatherland.
Childhood
The story began with Rachel Fausett escaping from her husband and moving from the Virgin Islands, which Denmark controlled, to the island of Nevis, which was formerly owned by the British. There she met the Scotsman Alexander Hamilton and bore him two sons. The boy named after his parent was born in 1755, although later in his biography he claimed that this happened 2 years later.
Nevis Island, birthplace of Alexander Hamilton
Soon after adding to the family, the couple broke up. The unfortunate mother was declared a fraud, she was forced to leave the house with her children and died in 1768. They refused to accept the orphans in school, as they were illegitimate. Alexandra was brought up by a family friend, the merchant Thomas Stevens, and his brother was sent to a carpenter for training. The adoptive father gave the named son a good education and in 1772 sent to New York, where he could continue his studies.
Youth
During the year, the teenager was engaged in self-education. The result of his work was admission to King's College. Dissatisfaction wandered in society about the policy of London in relation to the colonies, and the young student expressed his views in several journal articles. He was a supporter of the provision of state rights and freedoms to the colonies.
Alexander Hamilton in the uniform of a New York artilleryman. Artist Alonzo Chappel
When the war of independence began, Alexander Hamilton joined the militia of New York. He turned to the city rich, and they financed the creation of an artillery company. In 1776, our hero, with the rank of captain, together with his soldiers repelled the attacks of the British. The young officer proved himself well done, his colleagues predicted a brilliant military career for him.
At Washington Headquarters
Once a brave man received an invitation to join the headquarters of George Washington himself. The ideologist of independence wanted to see the brave artilleryman as his adjutant. Alexander agreed. The future president entrusted the valuable subordinate with diplomatic correspondence.
In 1780, troops were stationed near the Skyler estate. Washington was a friend of the landlord. Together with several officers, he looked at a friend's house. Alexander liked the daughter of the landowner Elizabeth. The war did not allow to postpone important decisions for tomorrow, because the marriage proposal was made almost on the day of meeting. A few months later, Hamilton got a wife.
Portrait of Elizabeth Skyler. Unknown artist
After the war
The successes at the front were pleasing, but they posed a difficult task for them - after the victory, it was necessary to establish a peaceful life in the country. Alexander Hamilton was becoming increasingly irritable. It seemed to him that the authorities underestimated his contribution to the common cause. He secured a transfer from headquarters to the army and took part in the Battle of Yorktown, a battle that marked the final defeat of the British.
Alexander Hamilton. Artist Randy Petersen
After the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, Hamilton resigned and in the same 1782 he took a seat in the Congress of the Confederation. The anarchy that reigned in the country was no less a threat to independence than a foreign invasion. Attempts to call fellow citizens to order were unsuccessful, and the novice politician left the government. For several years, our hero was engaged in law, banking and the restoration of the educational system.
Big politics and little affair
The founding of the Bank of New York and the success of this endeavor inspired Alexander Hamilton to return to politics. In 1787, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. A year later, he became the first of the deputies to sign the Constitution of the new state. President George Washington knew that this person could be relied on, and in 1789 appointed him to the post of US Treasury Secretary. Hamilton's work in this post laid the foundations of the country's modern financial system. Having retired in 1795, he continued to advise colleagues on economic issues.
In 2015, the premiere of the musical "Hamilton", which tells the story of Alexander Hamilton
In the private life of a respected gentleman, order was not observed. In marriage, he already had 8 children, and he was looking for adventures outside of marriage. In 1797, it became known that Hamilton was in a love affair with a married woman, Maria Reynolds. So that the missus of this beauty did not roll up a sweet couple of scandals, he was paid. Hamilton's political opponents immediately accused him of embezzlement of money for amorous adventures from the state treasury.
