In this article, we take a look at some facts that you might not have known about Alexander Hamilton. So, Read our full blog post and know 3 Things You (probably) Didn’t Know About Alexander Hamilton History or Story.
Alexander Hamilton Facts
Alexander Hamilton came from self-effacing beginnings but eventually became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (U.S) and the first Secretary of the Treasury. Even though he never became President, he was an incredibly influential figure in the formation of America and an unforgettable part of its history. Here are some interesting things about Alexander Hamilton such as
1. He Could Have Been President
- Yes, Alexander Hamilton was born outside the United States. But he still could have been president.
- Though the U.S. Constitution states that only “a natural born Citizen” can serve as commander in chief, it does include an exemption for anyone who was a “Citizen of the U.S, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution.”
- Actually, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were a slew of immigrants on such an elevated career trajectory.
- Besides Hamilton, there was Thomas Paine, the radical political journalist who gave hope to Gen.
- George Washington and his troops at Valley Forge with his The American Crisis pamphlet and its opening line, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
- He greeted from Thetford, England. Albert Gallatin, the secretary of the Treasury who helped negotiate the end of the War of 1812 and co-founded New York University (NYU), was born in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Robert Morris, the banker known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” left Liverpool, England, in 1747.
- And let us not forget Declaration of Independence signer James Wilson (Carskerdo, Scotland), U.S. Constitution framer William Paterson (County Antrim, Ireland), South Carolina senator Pierce Butler (County Carlow, Ireland) and Secretary of War James McHenry (Ballymena, Ireland), for whom Fort McHenry was named.
2. He Had Lots of Kids
Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton had eight children:
Philip – The eldest Hamilton was named after his grandfather, Revolutionary general Philip Schuyler. In 1801 he got into an argument with George Eacker at the Park Theater and was fatally upset in the subsequent duel—not far from the spot in New Jersey where his father would fall 3-years later.
Angelica – Her brother’s death caused her to have a nervous breakdown, and though her father tried to perk her up with gifts of parakeets & watermelons, she never improved and was an invalid until her death at 72.
Alexander – Born in May 1786, he graduated from Columbia College. He learned military tactics in the Duke of Wellington’s army in Portugal and served as a United State captain in the War of 1812. He became a U.S. district attorney in New York.
James Alexander – He was a major in the War of 1812, was briefly acting secretary of state under President Andrew Jackson, and dealt in Manhattan real estate. As United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he was in the city when the Great Fire of 1835 hit, and he lit one of the fuses that blew up buildings to create a firebreak to help stop the blaze.
John Church – He was an aide-de-camp to Gen. William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812 and edited his father’s writing.
William Stephen – The son who looked the most like his father fought in the Black Hawk War and was a United States surveyor of public lands in Illinois before heading to California in the gold rush.
Eliza – She married Sidney Holley, and after his death, she lived with her mother & helped maintain her father’s papers.
Philip – “Little Phil” was an assistant United States Attorney in New York and judge advocate of the U.S. Naval Retiring Board.
3. He Founded The New York Post
- Well-known by Hamilton in November 1801, the paper was originally known as The New York Evening Post.
- The founding father conceived his new publication as a megaphone for the anti-Jefferson Federalist Party—which he had also created. Alexander Hamilton himself generated many of The Post’s early editorials.
- “He appoints a time when I may see him,” editor William Coleman explained, “… as soon as I see him, he begins in a deliberate manner to dictate and I to note down in shorthand; when he stops, my article is completed.”
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