Hamilton, Alexander (ca. 1755–1804) politician Hamilton, an American politician and first secretary of the Treasury, was born on the island of Nevis in the West Indies in 1755. As a boy, he worked for a trading company in St. Croix before being sent to America for further education by his employer. | H Hamilton Alexander ca. 1755-1804 politician Hamilton an American politician and first secretary of the Treasury was born on the island of Nevis in the West Indies in 1755. As a boy he worked for a trading company in St. Croix before being sent to America for further education by his employer. He attended school in what is today Elizabeth New Jersey before further study at King s College in Manhattan today Columbia University . Hamilton served in the New York artillery during the Revolutionary War and was a secretary and assistant to George Washington from 1777 to 1781. He was admitted to the bar in New York in 1782 and also became a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from New York in the same year. During the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787 he John Jay and James Madison wrote a series of letters to newspapers urging approval of the new Constitution. These letters were later collected and reprinted as The Federalist. He became secretary of the Treasury under Washington in 1789. Disputes with Madison andJefferson in the early 1790s led to the development of the Federalist Party which he led at a critical period in American political history. As first secretary of the Treasury Hamilton attempted to put the United States on a sound financial footing especially since debt was consuming more than 50 percent of annual government revenues. He had a plan as did a successor Albert Gallatin to totally extricate the country from debt within 15 years but the Louisiana Purchase would intervene. Hamilton s main contributions to business were twofold. As Treasury secretary he favored establishing a national bank and also opposed excessive government spending. He also supported businessmen whom he believed were the lifeblood of the nation. His essay The Report On Manufactures 1791 strongly supported early forms of manufacturing as a way of developing a strong economy less dependent upon agriculture and imports of finished goods from Britain. In .
