A 

Abortion
Accounting
Advertising
Africa
African-American Studies
Aging
Agriculture
American Indian Studies
Anthropology
Archaeology
Architecture
Argumentative
Art: Artists (Alphabetized)
Art: General
Become an Affiliate and Earn $$$
Biographies (Alphabetized)
Book Reviews (Non-Fiction) (Alphabetized)
Business: Companies (Alphabetized)
Business: General
Business: Industries (Alphabetized)
Business: International
Business: Small
California
Canada
Caribbean
Child Abuse
China
Communication: Journalism
Communication: Language & Speech
Communication: Media
Communication: Non-Verbal
Communication: Television
Communication: Television & Children
Communism
Computer Science
Consumerism
Criminal Justice: General
Criminal Justice: Juvenile Delinquency
Criminal Justice: Police Science
Criminal Justice: Prisons
Cuba
Death & Dying: Euthanasia
Death & Dying: General
Death & Dying: Suicide
Drama: American
Drama: English
Drama: World
Drugs: Alcohol
Drugs: General
Economics: Banking
Economics: Economists (Alphabetized)
Economics: General
Economics: Inflation
Economics: International Trade
Economics: Macroeconomics
Economics: Microeconomics
Economics: Taxation
Education: Administration
Education: Curriculum
Education: General
Education: Higher
Education: Physical
Education: Psychology
Education: Reading
Education: Special
Education: Teaching Methods
Education: Theory
Energy: General
Energy: Nuclear
Energy: Solar
Environmental Studies
Evolution
Family & Marriage
Films: Artists (Alphabetized)
Films: General
Finance: Companies (Alphabetized)
Finance: General
Former Soviet Union: Post-1990
France
Gender & Sexuality
Geography
Germany
History: Ancient Greek & Roman
History: European
History: Great Britain
History: U.S. (After 1865)
History: U.S. (Before 1865)
History: U.S. Presidency
History: U.S. Presidents (Alphabetized)
Homosexuality
Immigration
India
Indonesia
International Relations: Arms Control
International Relations: Cold War
International Relations: Non-U.S.
International Relations: U.S.
Japan
Jewish Studies
Korea
Labor
Latin America
Law: Business
Law: Capital Punishment
Law: General
Law: International & Non-U.S.
Law: Supreme Court
Leadership
Literature, American: Authors (Alphabetized)
Literature, American: Faulkner
Literature, American: Fitzgerald
Literature, American: General
Literature, American: Hawthorne
Literature, American: Hemingway
Literature, American: Melville
Literature, American: Poe
Literature, American: Steinbeck
Literature, American: Twain
Literature, English: Authors (Alphabetized)
Literature, English: Chaucer
Literature, English: Conrad
Literature, English: Dickens
Literature, English: General
Literature, English: Joyce
Literature, English: Lawrence
Literature, English: Shakespeare
Literature, English: Swift
Literature, General: Children
Literature, General: Classic (Greek & Roman)
Literature, General: Russian
Literature, General: World
Management: General
Management: Japanese
Management: Motivation
Management: Theory
Management: Women
Marketing: Companies (Alphabetized)
Marketing: General
Marketing: Plans
Mathematics
Medical: Aids
Medical: Dentistry
Medical: Diseases & Disorders (Alphabetized)
Medical: General
Medical: Nursing
Mexican-American Studies
Mexico
Middle East: Egypt
Middle East: General
Middle East: O.P.E.C.
Military
Music: Classical
Music: General
Mythology
Nutrition
Parapsychology/Occult
Philosophy: Ancient Greek
Philosophy: Descartes
Philosophy: Eastern
Philosophy: General
Philosophy: Kant
Philosophy: Sartre
Poetry: American
Poetry: English
Poetry: Milton
Poetry: World
Political Science: Elections & Campaigns
Political Science: Foreign
Political Science: Lobbyists & Pressure Groups
Political Science: Machiavelli
Political Science: Mill
Political Science: Political Theory
Political Science: U.S.
Psychology: Behaviorism
Psychology: Child & Adolescent
Psychology: Disorders
Psychology: Dreams
Psychology: Experimental
Psychology: Freud
Psychology: General
Psychology: Jung
Psychology: Physiology
Psychology: Piaget
Psychology: Rogers
Psychology: Social
Psychology: Testing
Psychology: Therapies
Public Administration: General
Public Administration: Government Agencies (Alphabetized)
Racism
Real Estate
Recreation & Leisure
Religion: Eastern
Religion: General
Religion: Islam
Religion: The Bible
Research: Completed Studies (With Statistics & Results)
Research: Designs & Proposals
Research: Statistics & Methodology
Russia: Pre-1917 Revolution
Science: Astronomy
Science: Biology
Science: General
Science: Genetics
Sociology: Durkheim
Sociology: General
Sociology: Marx
Sociology: Social Problems
Sociology: Social Theory
Sociology: Social Welfare
Sociology: Weber
Soviet Union: 1917-1990
Sports: Drugs
Sports: General
Technology
Transportation: Automotive
Transportation: Aviation
Transportation: General
Transportation: Railroads
Urban Studies
Vietnam
Women Studies
 

"HAMILTON, ALEXANDER"   Term Paper ID:18644 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: (Steven O'Brien). Life & career of this Founding Father of U.S.... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 1 sources, 9 Citations, MLA Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: (Steven O'Brien). Life & career of this Founding Father of U.S. Paper Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to discuss various details about the life of Alexander Hamilton, based on information provided by the book, Alexander Hamilton, by Steven O'Brien. Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies to James Hamilton and Rachel Lavien, who, because of an earlier divorce decree, had been forbidden to remarry. This made Alexander illegitimate, a fact he never forgot and which many think was the driving force in his later will to succeed. James Hamilton tried to be successful at family life for several years, until 1766, when he left his wife and children on the island of St. Croix, never to return again. Apparently, as an adult Hamilton very seldom said anything about his parents, although he referred more often to his father than his mother. In later life the two of them resumed communications, but their Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. James Hamilton tried to be successful at family life for severalyears, until 1766, when he left his wife and children on the island of St.Croix, never to return again. Not only was his the largest governmentdepartment, but he had been given broad latitude by Congress in directingits operations and believed that "most of the important measures of everygovernment are connected with the Treasury." Hamilton thought that whoeveroccupied the office of secretary of the Treasury would be in a position todetermine the focus of national debate (52). The rest of his thinking regarding a new governmentfollowed this line. Alexander later took a jobwith the trading firm of Beckman and Cruger. At a time when egalitarianism was in vogue, Hamilton always cautionedthose in power against giving too much power to the masses of people. He said that the bank was a necessary and proper way toborrow money and to regulate the currency, both of which were powers theConstitution had plainly assigned to Congress. Whenthe island of St. Asan elitist, he thought that a few well-chosen individuals knew what wasbest for the country, and he was extremely alarmed at the prospect of "mobrule." One of his toughest problems was, indeed, his proposal to create anational bank. Hethought he was acting in the interests of the nation as a whole, but hisunwillingness to consider the problems of the nation's agrarian sector andhis indifference to class, state and regional interests made enemies ofpeople who had been, at one time, his allies (59). Even so, the opportunistic young man felt constrained inthis circumstance and used his wits to change his living conditions. Hamilton had very littleformal schooling; the large amount of time he spent with his mother'smodest book collection (34 volumes) made up the most important part of hisearly education (16). He alsoproposed that the U.S. It was probably hishumble upbringing that gave him his drive to succeed and, in fact, that isstill very common today. Hamilton reached New York and curried favor among influential NewYork and New Jersey families, who characterized him as a cheerful,attractive young man of "sound character and good study habits" (18).Hamilton clearly had upper-class aspirations and identified with this classfor the rest of his life. After a short time Hamilton's mother Rachel was able to open a smallretail store on St. Washington was uneasy about signing the bill into law and submittedit to James Madison and Thomas Jefferson for their opinions. Hamilton was, in fact, an elitist who did not trust the concept of"popular sovereignty." His emphasis after the Revolutionary War had beenwon was on permanency and stability. he focused not on the limits of the government'spower but instead on its sovereignty, saying that inherent in the verydefinition of the new national government was the right to do everythingneeded and proper to carry out any of the powers granted to it by theConstitution. This was precisely the positionthat Hamilton had wanted. "Men love power," he said. Knox sent Hamilton to college in the then British colonies in NorthAmerica. BothAlexander and his brother James helped out in the store, and it was therethat Hamilton first learned about commerce. Give all the power tothe few, and they will repress the many." He added, "The voice of thepeople has been said to be the voice of God, but it is not true in fact.The people are turbulent and ever changing; they seldom judge or determineright" (42). Hamilton receivedprivate instruction from the University's President and instructors andraced through the school's requirements in two and a half years, althoughhe never acquired a formal degree. Hamilton, on the other hand, thought that the nationalbank would strengthen the federal government and the nation's economy. Hamilton took sides in the turbulence brewing in thecolonies during that period, and according to his grandson, in July of 1774Hamilton gave a very fiery speech at the Fields (now City Hall Park) inlower Manhattan, urging the colonies to unite in resistance to Britishoppression (2 ). This was done as well. Works CitedO'Brien, Steven. Early on, Hamilton demonstrated a head for figures, and his intellectconvinced Nicholas Cruger, head of the trading firm, to give him much moreresponsibility. Hamilton was not a product of his times, that is clear. he was anindividual who thought in terms of governmental necessity, not thepopularism that was sweeping the nation during his various terms of office. Hamilton was in favor of a government for the United States modeledon that of the nation of Great Britain. Croix was devastated by a hurricane in 1772, Hamiltonwrote a stirring account of everything that had happened. In short, Hamilton revitalized andcompletely redid the nation's economic and banking systems (58). He proved himself somewhatindispensable to the young government of the United States, butunfortunately there is something unattractive about his quest to belong tothe upper class, perhaps a desperation to do so. George Washington, the nation's first President, greatly admired andappreciated Hamilton's ability in the world of finance and so, a littlemore than a week after Congress established the Treasury Department,Washington asked Hamilton to be its head. New York: Chelsea House, 1989.----------------------- 7 His viewpoint became knownhenceforth as the "broad" or "loose constructionist" interpretation of theConstitution, and was validated when Washington signed the national bankinto law. Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies to JamesHamilton and Rachel Lavien, who, because of an earlier divorce decree, hadbeen forbidden to remarry. He attended preparatory school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, thenwent to King's College, which was quick to accept him. His critics charged that his proposal would primarilybenefit businessmen and speculators, and especially the Northeast sectionof the country. A clergyman,Hugh Knox, had the account published in the island's newspaper (18). It is fortunate for him that the convention'sproceedings were secret--even so, he would spend much of his life refutingcharges that he was an elitist and monarchist infatuated with the politicaland economic system of Great Britain. Both menargued against it. Forexample, O'Brien states (32) that "Hamilton's war record, familyconnections and careful nurturing of powerful friends (such as RobertMorris and John Jay), and his own temperament and inclination combined toensure that he was never out of public life for long." On the one hand, the author of this volume recognizes Hamilton'sfinancial ability and shows how it was useful to the fledgling nation (theUnited States) and on the other, O'Brien demonstrates the social techniquesby which Hamilton rose to fame and prominence in the country. O'Brien also accepts thefact that Hamilton was an unabashed social climber, who left his poororigins and attempted to become a member of America's upper class. This made Alexander illegitimate, a fact henever forgot and which many think was the driving force in his later willto succeed. He thought the British governmentwas "the best in the world." He proposed a bicameral legislature, in whichmembers of the upper house would be elected for life by electors chosen byproperty holders. In later life the two of them resumedcommunications, but their relationship consisted only of a half dozen or sostiffly formal letters. This was in keeping with hisbelief that the federal government should be strong, in its centralizationof control. Washington, however, gave Hamilton a chance to rebuttheir arguments and, after a week of intense work, Hamilton submitted hisanswer to the President. The purpose of this paper is to discuss various details about thelife of Alexander Hamilton, based on information provided by the book,Alexander Hamilton, by Steven O'Brien. This was clearly a very ambitious young man, someone "on the make,"who wanted advancement very quickly and had the intellect and personalityto obtain it. Croix, located in the small house she rented. create a national bank modeled after the Bank ofEngland. Alexander Hamilton. "Give allthe power to the many, they will repress the few. Apparently, as an adult Hamilton very seldomsaid anything about his parents, although he referred more often to hisfather than his mother. And theverdict is ultimately that Hamilton was a blessing in disguise, a socialclimber with an intellectual uncanniness and charm which he used to gainthe attention of prominent national figures. In his role as secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton developed adetailed blueprint for solving the nation's fiscal problems. The UnitedStates owed approximately $11 million abroad, the majority to French andDutch bankers. Individual states owed an even greater sum than this.Hamilton insisted that the federal government assume the burden of payingoff all the debt on behalf of the states. O'Brien clearly admires Hamilton, both because of his intellectualprowess and his ability to withstand opposition in the face of what hebelieved to be right for the country as a whole. His plan took hold and was ultimately carried out. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.