Hamilton, Alexander (1757-1804)

US politician who influenced the adoption of a constitution with a strong central government and was the first secretary of the Treasury 1789-95. He led the Federalist Party, and incurred the bitter hatred of Aaron Burr when he supported Thomas Jefferson for the presidency in the disputed election of 1800. With his backing, Jefferson was elected by the House of Representatives in 1801. Hamilton again opposed Burr when he ran for governor of New York in 1804. Challenged to a duel by Burr, Hamilton was wounded and died the next day.

Hamilton was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was a strong advocate of the wealthy urban sector of American life and encouraged renewed ties with Britain, remaining distrustful of revolutionary France. In the cabinet, he soon came into conflict with Thomas Jefferson, who was secretary of state. Hamilton was for centralization of power, Jefferson was opposed to it. Hamilton looked to the leadership of money and property; Jefferson was a thorough-going democrat.

Hamilton was born a British subject on the island of Nevis, West Indies, and studied at Kings College, New York City, until the outbreak of the American Revolution. He served as captain and was George Washington's secretary and aide-de-camp 1777-81. He was a member of the Continental Congress 1782-83, and then practised as a lawyer in New York. In the ‘Federalist Papers’, a series of 85 newspaper articles written with James Madison and John Jay, he influenced public opinion in favour of the ratification of the Constitution. As the first secretary of the treasury, he advocated a national bank and outlined a system for the encouragement of domestic industries, which was the precursor of the country's later protective tariff system. Although he clashed with Jefferson, he disliked Burr more, which proved fatal.