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A
 H
.
Upon the accession of the Republicans to the control of the government,
Jefferson ordered the books of Hamilton searched to ascertain what charges
could be made against him, and to discover the alleged blunders and frauds
perpetrated by the Federal official while in office. Albert Gallatin, himself
one of the greatest financiers of his age, undertook the task with a hearty
relish as he at that time entertained no great esteem for the great Federalist.
Struck by the almost absolute perfection of the system, Gallatin reported to
the President that any change would certainly injure it and that no blunders
or frauds had been committed.
This great man was born on one of the West India Islands, January 11th,
1757. His father failed when he was young and his mother died leaving the
poor child in actual want. He was taken by friends at Santa Cruz. He had no
great educational advantages there, but being able to read both English and
French he devoured all such books as fell in his way. He was placed in a
counting-house in Santa Cruz and, although he detested the business,
applied himself diligently to his task and the knowledge here gained was no
small factor of his future great success as a financier.
He applied every spare moment to study and early began to use his pen. In
1772 a hurricane passed through St. Christophers, and an account which
young Hamilton then wrote for the papers attracted so much attention that
his friends decided to give him a better chance. They accordingly raised the
money with which to send him to New York to school, and after a few
months spent at a grammar school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, he entered
Columbia College, New York—then called Kings College. Here he began
study preparatory to a medical course.
About this time his attention became drawn toward the struggle which was
about to commence between Great Britain and America, and at a public
meeting he made a short speech which attracted general attention. He was

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now but seventeen years of age, yet his pen was keenly felt in the interest of
America, through the columns of 
Holts Journal
, to which he had become a
regular contributor. He entered the army as captain of an artillery company
which he was the chief means of raising, and did good service at White
Plains, Trenton and Princeton.
He secured this position through the influence of General Schuyler and,
although but nineteen years of age, he was well qualified for the position,
having made a study of artillery tactics. His ability had not escaped the
attention of the army, and he was placed upon Washington's staff with rank
of lieutenant-colonel. Washington needed some one to take charge of his
great correspondence,—some one who could think for himself. Young as
Hamilton was he assumed the entire responsibility of chief secretary,
besides rendering much valuable assistance as aid. He married one of
General Schuyler's daughters, and this alliance with one of the wealthiest
families in the State proved a most fortunate epoch in his life. A difference
arising between Washington and himself he resigned and, although
Washington sent an apology, he refused to recall his resignation however
their mutual esteem was continued. He subsequently commanded a brigade
at the battle of Yorktown.
He now took up his residence at Albany and began the study of law with
his wife's father. He was soon licensed to practice, and was chosen one of
the delegates to the Continental Congress. He realized the necessity of
vesting more power in congress and secured the adoption, by the State of
New York, of a resolution urging the amendment of the constitution with
that object in view. He now moved to New York where he soon acquired an
immense practice. His efforts in behalf of the constitution were untiring and
useful.
When Washington became president he selected Hamilton as his Secretary
of Treasury. It was a wise choice as financial difficulties were the most
formidable of any in the way of the administration, and no man was more
capable of bringing order out of chaos than Alexander Hamilton. All parties
agreed that the debts incurred abroad must be met according to contract, but
as a large amount of the domestic debt was in the hands of men who had
bought it for a rise it had been suggested that these obligations be settled

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upon the basis of the amount paid for them by their present holders. This
measure Hamilton opposed. While acknowledging that speculation was an
evil, still he saw that such a measure would tend to weaken our financial
credit. He also brought about the assumption by the government of the
entire State debt incurred during the war. This measure was strongly
opposed by Jefferson, and its passage had a marked effect on our system
tending to centralize authority.
It will thus be seen that to Alexander Hamilton belongs no small share of
founding and shaping the destiny of this powerful country of to-day. Like
many other great and good men, he was obliged to suffer the slander of the
press, which charged him with a misappropriation of the public money, but
as has already been shown in this narrative, it proved nothing but a foul
story concocted through jealousy and partisan hate, and is no longer
countenanced. His salary being insufficient for his support, he resigned his
position and resumed the practice of his profession in New York. In the
warlike demonstration of 1798 he became, upon the death of General
Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of all the armies of America, but
happily the war with France was averted and peace restored.
Now we come to the saddest page of American history. We have followed
this poor homeless boy from childhood; we have seen him rise from
obscurity to a leading position at the bar, become a gallant soldier and the
greatest financier in America. And yet, when his country most needs his
council and help, we see him, at the age of fifty-seven, stricken down by an
assassin.
Aaron Burr was an ambitious politician. His alleged intrigues with the
Federalists, whereby he sought to effect the election of himself to the
presidency instead of Jefferson, the people's choice, cost him the confidence
of his own party. Knowing New York to be the pivotal State, he sought the
gubernatorial chair through an independent vote, hoping to secure Federal
support, as it was conceded that they could not elect a candidate of their
own. Hamilton, himself as pure as the bright sunshine, felt his party to be
imposed upon by this intruder who, while professing to be a Republican,
was seeking to thrust himself upon the other party.

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At a caucus Hamilton warmly opposed the endorsement of a man whom
he characterized as dangerous and who had not ought to be trusted with the
reins of government. Hamilton took no active part in the campaign, but his
opinion was frequently quoted by those who did, and the result was Burr's
defeat by Morgan Lewis. Attributing his defeat to Hamilton, and feeling
him to be his greatest political rival, he early sought a duel with him.
Hamilton detested this practice, and sought by all honorable means, as he
wrote to his wife, to avoid it. But finally he accepted, not in the spirit of a
professed duelist, but in the character of a public man. They met on the
morning of July 11th, 1804, on the fatal field of Weehawken, New Jersey.
At the first fire Hamilton sprang on his tip-toes, and, after a convulsive
movement, fell forward on his face. At the same time his weapon was
accidentally discharged, his missile flying wide of its mark. Indeed,
Hamilton did not fire; in reality, he had resolved not to return his
antagonist's fire, and never knew that his weapon was discharged, as he was
insensible when he fell. He died within thirty hours, and his funeral was the
most imposing ever witnessed in that day. Around the name of Hamilton
there glows a halo which has brightened in the ages. Thus was America
robbed of her brave soldier and pure statesman.

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