Alexander Hamilton: The Father of the American Economy

this video is brought to you by policy genius  if you have family members who depend on your   income you need life insurance that's where  policy genius comes in more on them in just a bit after the victory over the british in the  revolutionary war the newly independent united   states of america found itself in a position to  build a new nation from the ground up but that   left some pressing questions how would this nation  be governed how much power should be allocated   to the federal government and how much should be  allocated to the individual states and how could   this new country ensure that its citizens would  prosper economically at the center of all three   of these questions was alexander hamilton who came  from the humblest backgrounds to rise to the very   upper echelons of the new american government  in doing so he became one of the most impactful   and controversial public servants the united  states has ever had everything about his   life seemed scripted for dramatic purposes  including his vile and death at the hands of   one of his political opponents and beyond  political historians and musical theater   fans few people know anything about  alexander hamilton beyond the fact   that his face adorns the 10 bill we hope  to change that today and let you decide if   hamilton was a prophet who successfully predicted  america's future rise or like his opponents   charged that he was satan incarnate drawing  his new country down the path of damnation we know very little about alexander hamilton's  childhood because he rarely talked about it from   what we do know it isn't hard to see why he was  born on the 11th of january 1757 on the island   of nevis in the british west indies because  his parents weren't married he was declared   illegitimate a label that would follow him all of  his life and would normally have greatly impacted   his standing in society things got even worse  when alexander's father james hamilton abandoned   the family when he was a child and soon after  his mother rachel died of yellow fever rachel's   jealous husband johan lavian seized every penny  of her estate leaving alexander and his brother   james jr impoverished orphans the only thing  alexander had going for him was his exceptional   intelligence he was an avid reader and despite  receiving little formal education quickly figured   out the merchant's trade when employed as a  clerk for an import export firm in the islands   in 1772 the 15 year old hamilton wrote a letter to  his father describing a hurricane that had struck   the caribbean that was so well written that it was  published in the newspaper and community leaders   took up a collection to send this exceptional  boy to north america to be educated probably   hoping that hamilton would return to the  islands to practice a skilled trade such as   doctoral lawyer if that was their hope it was in  vain alexander hamilton left the west indies in   the fall of 1772 and never returned he never  saw his father or his brother again after a   year at prep school in new jersey hamilton  enrolled at king's college in new york city   today columbia university he wanted to become a  lawyer something that suited his talent for oral   and written argument well but like everyone  else in america he soon found himself caught   up in the convulsions that would reverberate  across the continent and eventually the world hamilton had thrown himself wholeheartedly into  the patriot cause early on writing passionate   essays under pen names they were published in the  winter of 1774-1775 when torque devolved into war   in the spring of 1775 hamilton like many young  men volunteered for service in the various militia   companies that would soon be fashioned into the  continental army hamilton became captain of an   artillery company and saw action against the  british in the campaigns around new york city   which the british occupied after a successful  invasion in july 1776 hamilton's talent soon   attracted the attention of continental army  commander george washington who promoted him   to lieutenant colonel and appointed him as his  chief of staff in early 1777. as a member of   washington's military family he was far more  than a mere aide in many respects hamilton   was washington's right-hand man drafting orders  and letters on behalf of the commander-in-chief   negotiating with the continental congress  and senior army commanders on his behalf   and becoming involved in detailed matters of  diplomacy intelligence supply and logistics   and everything else needed to keep an army in  the field it was the start of a relationship   that would persist for the rest of their lives  washington who had no biological children probably   viewed the young hamilton as someone he could  mentor as a paternal figure while hamilton who   had latched on to surrogate fathers throughout  his life saw a man he could emulate and admire   the relationship between the two men would in  the coming decades shaped the course of american   history hamilton spent four years as washington's  chief of staff becoming well known throughout the   army as washington's man but hamilton was a young  man with the young man's thirst for glory and he   desperately wanted a field command he finally got  one in august 1781 just in time to participate in   the most important battle of the revolutionary war  washington's army in conjunction with america's   french allies had surrounded the british army of  lord cornwallis in yorktown virginia to complete   their encirclement of cornwallis's position  two small forts known as redoubts 9 and 10   needed to be seized colonel hamilton was named  commander of the american effort to recapture   redoubt number 10 while the french seized number  nine in a nighttime action on october the 14th   400 american soldiers led by hamilton stormed the  redoubt a bare net point capturing the position   after heavy hand-to-hand fighting with the  french also succeeding in capturing their target   cornwallis fate was sealed five days later eight  thousand soldiers marched out of yorktown having   surrendered to the americans and the french even  though new york would be occupied by the british   until 1783 for all intents and purposes the war  was over and america had won her independence alexander hamilton returned to new york city  and finished his legal training in july 1782.   he plunged into legal work with the same energy he  put into everything else quickly becoming one of   new york's most prominent attorneys he also raised  a large family with his wife eliza eventually the   couple would have eight children between 1782 and  1802 but hamilton had turned his eye toward a new   passion by then politics in the 1780s the new  nation won by blood shed by men like hamilton   was in crisis the united states was governed by  a document known as the articles of confederation   under the articles the federal government was  incredibly weak only being able to act with the   consent of all 13 states and since the states  never seemed to agree on anything nothing was   getting done there was no way to mitigate disputes  between states who at times acted like independent   countries onto themselves and if things continued  the way they were then it was just a matter of   time before the country tore itself apart hamilton  served in the congress of the confederation and   knew exactly how poor it was he joined a growing  chorus of politicians who called for the articles   to be replaced in may 1787 hamilton was chosen  as one of three representatives from new york   to the constitutional convention in philadelphia  hamilton's influence at the convention was limited   by the two other new york delegates who belonged  to a faction controlled by new york governor   george clinton that was opposed to any reform that  would take power away from his state despite this   the other delegates headed by convention president  george washington hammered out a brand new united   states constitution over the course of four  months that created a new federal government   made up of an elected president and a congress  who would make laws that covered all the states   but the new constitution would only go into  effect if nine of the 13 states ratified it   in state conventions something that wasn't  guaranteed hamilton wanted to help convince   the american people that the new constitution  was not only necessary but it benefited them   then they would put pressure on their legislators  to ratify it hamilton enlisted the help of two   other passionate supporters of the constitution  fellow new yorker john jay and virginian james   madison and they would write a series of articles  explaining it to the public written under the   pseudonym publius the series of 85 articles was  published in major newspapers between october 1787   and april 1788. the federalist papers as they are  known today explained in painstaking detail all   of the flaws of the articles of confederation as  well as an in-depth explanation of each article   of the new constitution including how it benefited  the average american citizen the federalist papers   were an immediate sensation being widely  read across the country and eventually   published in a two-volume book in 1788 the barrage  of well-written and explained arguments in favor   of the constitution overwhelmed any opposition  the people began to clamor for their state   legislatures to adopt the new document on june  21 1788 new hampshire became the ninth state   to ratify the constitution officially putting it  into effect one month later hamilton's home state   of new york finally ratified it rather than risk  being left out of the union of the other states   though the identity of publius was officially  a secret most everyone knew that alexander   hamilton was one of the principal authors of  the federalist papers and he would be closely   associated with the strong central government laid  out in the constitution for the rest of his life   now just before we continue with today's video  a quick word from today's wonderful sponsor   policy genius look no one likes to think about  life insurance because it means that you're   going to be thinking about death but the reality  is that it's an important layer of protection   for many families especially single-income  households fortunately this policy genius and   their award-winning policy options ranked number  one by forbes whether you've been putting off your   purchase or just never really thought about it  policy genius is the team that you want to check   in with this is a third-party marketplace that  works for you not for the insurance company so you   can trust that their licensed experts are going  to give you solid unbiased advice life insurance   premiums might seem like a financial drain but  you could save 1 300 or more per year by using   policy genius to 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government of which  the revolutionary war hero was now the head was   to conduct its business leaving washington  to construct the apparatus of governments   around him he decided to ask congress to  create three new government departments   state war and treasury the secretaries of  these departments appointed by the president   and confirmed by the senate would together with  the attorney general formed the cabinet a group   of men who would oversee the everyday business  of executive government and advise the president   on policy matters almost 250 years later this  is still how the executive branch functions   though today's cabinet is made up of 25 members  instead of four washington's trusted wartime aide   decarb alexander hamilton was selected by the  president to serve as the first secretary of the   treasury the department that was to oversee the  fledgling country's fragile economy confirmed by   the senate in september hamilton immediately got  to work with his usual gusto the first problem   was the biggest the government had no money to pay  for its business the entire country suffered from   a lack of ready cash and the obvious solution was  to borrow money but with no established credit   rating none of the large european banks were  willing to give the united states government   a loan to resolve this hamilton proposed to create  a public debt using debts incurred by the various   states during the revolutionary war which the  federal government would assume if he could   show the u.s could pay back its internal debt  then foreign banks would feel confident that it   could pay back any international debts incurred in  addition the bonds could be traded by speculators   known as stock jabbers as currency which would  stimulate the american economy hamilton ran   into unexpectedly fierce opposition from a group  of political figures headed by the newly appointed   secretary of state thomas jefferson jefferson  had been involved with the american experiment   from the beginning he was the principal author  of the declaration of independence but jefferson   was skeptical of the constitution and  mistrusted a strong federal government   taking on a public debt increased the power of  the federal government and opened the door to   possible corruption which jefferson associated  with tyrannical rule president washington wanted   both men in his cabinet as he believed both would  offer valuable service to the new government he   encouraged them to find a compromise and there was  something jefferson's faction wanted the federal   capital it was currently located in new york city  but southern politicians like jefferson wanted   it moved further south closer to their states a  deal was struck the capital would be moved first   to philadelphia and then eventually to a planned  federal site on the potomac river that formed the   border between maryland and virginia in exchange  the revolutionary war dead would be assumed by the   federal government hamilton was a new yorker at  heart and he knew losing the capital would hurt   his home city but he also knew it was what was  best for the country as a whole so he agreed   and so it was that washington dc was born and  the foundation of the american economy was laid the deal between hamilton and jefferson over the  capital was the last time the two founding fathers   were able to work together on anything the two men  were fairly similar to each other and in another   life they could have probably been close friends  but both men were stubbornly committed to their   principles believing the future of the nation  was at stake and they both had wildly different   ideas about what direction the united states  should take jefferson a plantation owner who   owned hundreds of slaves believed that a largely  agrarian nation populated by small-holding farmers   was the most democratic form for an economy  to take in foreign policy he favored france   believing the upheavals of the french revolution  were a continuation of the american struggle   to overthrow monarchy most importantly he  favored a weak federal government that was   subordinate to the whims of state government  particularly large ones like virginia he and   his supporters like hamilton's collaborator  on the federalist papers james madison   formed a faction they called democratic  republicans today historians refer to them   as the jeffersonian republicans to differentiate  them from the modern democratic and republican   parties alexander hamilton by contrast believed  the future of america lay not in farming but in   commerce through manufacturing and trade because  90 percent of american trade at the time came   through great britain hamilton favored them  not because he wanted to restore british rule   in america but because he believed it benefited  his nation economically and he believed that the   best way to govern the country was through a  strong federal government with broad authority   he and his faction were called federalists george  washington was officially neutral not belonging   to either of the two factions in fact he cautioned  against forming political parties at all believing   they would lead to the downfall of the republic  but he was unable to keep members of the cabinet   from gearing up for an all-out assault on each  other their weapon of choice was the country's   newspapers newspapers of the period contained very  little objective reporting instead they were a   vehicle for partisan writers to exhort their cause  and to attack their opponents through a series of   long opinion pieces most of these were written  under pen names but everybody knew who the authors   were on the federalist side this was frequently  alexander hamilton where jefferson preferred to   avoid direct confrontation and used proxies  all the while hamilton continued to work   moulding the american economy into his vision  he founded a national bank established a u.s   mint in philadelphia to produce currency formed  the u.s coast guard to prevent smuggling a big   problem when most of the government's money  came from customs duties and worked to expand   domestic manufacturing and to end the country's  over alliance and foreign imports washington   generally sided with hamilton in disputes between  his treasury and state secretary something that   incensed jefferson to the point that he resigned  as post at the end of 1793. by now jefferson   was convinced that not only was hamilton taking  the country down the wrong path but that he was   actively corrupt probably enriching himself either  through stock jobbing or through secret deals with   the british the attacks in hamilton's policies  turned increasingly personal portraying him as an   evil shadow lurking behind the chair of  the noble washington some of the more   vicious attacks criticized his foreign origins  and even his illegitimacy all of this weighed   heavily on hamilton he felt underappreciated he  was also heavily in debt and able to support his   family on his government salary certainly there  was no hidden fortune derived from corruption   finally on january 31 1795 hamilton resigned  as treasury secretary returning to private life in 1796 george washington decided not to  run for a third term as president wanting to   avoid the perception that it was a post that  one person should hold for life washington's   magnaminity set up the first competitive election  in the country's history the logical choice for   hamilton and the federalists was to support  the vice president john adams believing him   to be the only person who could defeat thomas  jefferson something that was proved out when   adams was elected president but john adams was  no george washington adams has spent decades in   public service having collaborated with jefferson  on the declaration of independence and serving as   foreign ambassador to the courts of europe but  in all that time adams had never developed the   thick skin needed to work in politics he took even  the smallest slide personally and held grudges for   a long time he spent months at a time outside of  the capital in his home of massachusetts dictating   his orders via letters and most importantly  for hamilton adams wanted nothing to do with   him scorning his advice hamilton chafed at the  loss of influence and looked for a way to get   back into the action revolutionary france provided  him with that opportunity the united states had   concluded a trade deal with great britain a few  years earlier the controversial j treaty the   french who were at war with britain viewed this as  a betrayal and a series of diplomatic skirmishes   threatened to descend into war president adams  felt he had no choice but to raise an army to   defend the country in the face of a possible  french invasion a natural choice to command   this army was george washington but washington  would only accept the command if his second in   command was alexander hamilton so hamilton was  appointed a major general in 1798 with washington   ailing at his home in mount vernon hamilton  effectively ran the army taking charge of training   organization and supplies adams didn't want war  with france or anyone else pinning his hopes on a   diplomatic solution this brought him into conflict  with hamilton who still clung to boyish notions   of military glory everything started to go wrong  for hamilton at once his great friend and patron   george washington died in 1799. adams stripped  funding for the army privately worrying that   hamilton wanted to march on the capitol and set  himself up as a dictator america's first political   sex scandal came to light as newspaper reports  revealed the spicy details of an affair hamilton   had in 1792 with a woman named maria reynolds who  it appeared was extorting him for money to keep   the affair a secret hamilton in a bizarre display  decided to admit to the affair in a published   pamphlet that was widely circulated hamilton  wanted to defend himself from corruption charges   but the pamphlet just made things worse things  came to a head in 1800 when hamilton furious at   john adams for dismantling his army after a peace  deal with napoleon was reached turned his pen on   the president attacking his fitness for office  and endorsing a south carolina federalist charles   pickney instead many people privately agreed with  hamilton about adams character but the attack   on adam split the federalist vote ensuring the  election of hamilton's greatest rival jefferson   to the highest office adams never forgave  hamilton and spent the rest of his life attacking   hamilton's character in print as for hamilton  the political blunders seemed to have destroyed   his own career which probably prevented him from  having any chance of running for president himself in 1804 vice president aaron burr was a man with  no friends in the election of 1800 he had been   the jeffersonian candidate for vice president by  the way the constitution was originally written   whoever got the most electoral votes became  president and the runner-up became vice president   the problem with this came when the top two  candidates in this case jefferson and burr tied   in the electoral vote throwing the election to  the house of representatives burr was a political   opportunist and used the tie votes to try and gain  the office for himself at the expense of jefferson   courting disgruntled federalists to try and vote  for him instead this didn't work and the newly   elected vice president found himself shut out of  jefferson's government everyone knew that when   jefferson came up for re-election in 1804 burr was  going to be dropped from the ticket burr decided   that his next move was to run for governor of his  home state of new york hoping to build a following   there for a possible return to washington but what  was left of alexander hamilton's power base was in   new york and if there was one man hamilton didn't  want him power it was aaron burr hamilton believed   that burr only cared about himself and that he  had no principles except whatever would ensure   his own advancement he disliked burst so much that  he campaigned in the house for jefferson and the   1800 thai election a strange irony that was not  lost to hamilton in 1804 hamilton campaigned to   hard for burr's opponent morgan lewis playing a  key role in his victory in that race burr hadn't   forgotten hamilton's politicking in 1800 and felt  that this was the second time the former secretary   of the treasury had derailed his political  ambitions he challenged hamilton to a pistol duel   duels or affairs of honor were holdovers from  the days of chivalry a form of ritualized murder   in which the two combatants stood 20 paces apart  and shot at each other people dying in duels was   relatively rare it was more about demonstrating  their bravery and being willing to face down death   in the name of honor in that way it was more a  show of political grandstanding than anything else   burr wanted to try and use a showdown with  hamilton to resurrect his failing political   career and hamilton never wanted to back down  from a challenge happily obliged him hamilton   let it be known in the days preceding the duel  that he had no intention of trying to kill   burr he intended to throw away his shot by firing  his gun in the air a demonstration that he held   no ill-will towards his opponent many such duels  ended this way with both combatants walking away   unscathed their personal honor intact dueling  was illegal in new york so the two men met across   the river in new jersey on the morning of july the  11th 1804. in an ironic twist of fate it was the   same spot where two years earlier hamilton's  eldest son philip had been killed in a duel   himself hamilton probably fired first and his shot  missed probably on purpose burst shot did not miss   the bullet struck hamilton in the abdomen  doing major damage to his internal organs and   lodging in his spine hamilton knew immediately  that he'd been mortally wounded he was taken back   to his home in new york where he lasted until  the next day saying goodbye to his distraught   wife and children as well as his friends he was  only 49 when the bullet finally claimed his life the death of alexander hamilton proved to be the  death now for the federalist party that he led   jeppesen's party now held unchallenged ascendancy  as jeffersonian republicans held the presidency   from 1800 to 1824 but hamilton's financial system  which jefferson hated so much survived because   as jefferson's treasury secretary albert  gallatin pointed out the system was so perfectly   constructed any attempt to dismantle it would harm  the country in fact when president james madison   allowed the first bank of the united states to  expire during his administration it precipitated   a financial crisis that forced him to sheepishly  found the second bank of the united states   to restore american finance hamilton's death  also killed the political career of aaron burr   though he escaped murder charges filed against  him he never held another office after his term   as vice president ended in 1805. he spent the rest  of his life moving from place to place as a pariah   never showing remorse for killing hamilton  hamilton meanwhile was widely mourned especially   in new york city his funeral on july the 14th  was the largest in the city's long history   every business in new york was closed that day and  so many people marched in the funeral procession   that it took hours to complete not everyone was  sorry to see hamilton die though his two longtime   political antagonists john adams and thomas  jefferson lived two decades after hamilton's   death and their long-standing grievances against  the man made their way into their writings that   were published for posterity hamilton wasn't  around to defend himself or write his memoirs   explaining what he did and why which surely  would have been a masterpiece of literature   it has only been recently that hamilton's  reputation has undergone a re-evaluation   most particularly through a widely successful  broadway musical based on hamilton's life   it's remarkable how accurate alexander hamilton's  predictions about the american economy were   hamilton believed that commerce was the key to the  new country's future he predicted the industrial   revolution the rise of manufacturing to replace  farming the primacy of cities over rural areas   the power of stock trading and banking and the  national debt in short it's everything that makes   modern capitalism function equally important  every president after george washington has   built on the power of the executive branch first  proposed by alexander hamilton the united states   has a robust federal government that keeps the  many states bound together precisely because   men like hamilton believed that this was the  only way to keep the country from inevitably   splitting itself apart whether you think the  legacy he left makes him a hero or a villain   you have to admit that few of the founding fathers  achieved more than he did few other americans have   ever started as lowly as he did and risen as  high and the tragedy of his life is that we'll   never know what else he might have been able to  achieve had he not been cut down in his prime so i really hope you found this video  interesting if you did please do hit   that thumbs up button below don't forget  to subscribe and thank you for watching

Channel: Biographics

Views: 104,672

Keywords: biographics, biography, biographies, people, famous people, simon whistler

Id: nO3pYTRWT2w

Length: 26min 5sec (1565 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 20 2021