How does a bastard, an orphan, the son of a whore, raised in the Caribbean grow up to be the most influential and powerful man dictating our nations destiny. The average American would not know the name founding father on the ten dollar bill. A name that was placed in charge of a trading charge at fourteen years old. He witnessed the slave trade and the effects on the economy of the world first hand. The young scholar longed to be apart of something significant proclaiming to the world his name. His father was debt ridden, a man of useless worth. Disease swept the life of his mother as she held him in his arms, he moved in with his cousin but his cousin committed suicide. Were many would loose the thrill for life Alexander decided to read every book upon the shelf.. The island recognized the young orphans potential and took up a collection to send him to the mainland. He began trading sugar cane and rum creating for himself a personal economic system that would soon be used by the most powerful nation to ever rule the earth. He rewrote the game of economics. He was an immigrant who came up from the bottom, yet America forgot him. His names Alexander Hamilton.
At only nineteen years old Alexander Hamilton, a graduate from King's college, was a leading force in the Revolutionary War. He didn't want to throw away his shot and was willing to lay down his life if it set his country free. The young adult, immaturely bashed by the cruelty's of death carried an anxiousness to die for a cause that led him to learn the lesson that dying is easy, living and fighting for a purpose is harder. He became apart of the founding fathers, the hungriest brothers to ever live with the starvation to leave a legacy. It was a balance if they win their Independence would it guarantee freedom for the generations to come? Or would it arouse an endless cycle and vengeance and war? His survival of the revolutionary war placed him as George Washington's right hand man. he continued to read and write as he discovered and promoted that our nation's financial system could be what keeps our independence alive and breathing without the disease of vengeance flowing through the veins of our body. Are we a nation of states? How will economics hold these states together? Were does freedom begin and governorship begin? These are the questions that the circumstances surrounding Alexander Hamilton's life gave him the ability to answer.
After the war Hamilton had became George Washington's right hand man the men began to grow closer each representing the country in a different way. George Washington stood for our nation in the "patriotic and heroine champion sort of way" he became a national icon for his beliefs, stances and passion for our nation. However, besides being an overseer to the building of our nation after the war George Washington didn't really attribute to much of the construction. That leading force nailing in the boards of our government and economy was Alexander Hamilton. Therefore, it could be said that Hamilton very possibly was the most powerful man on the earth at that time because he was handling the finances of a "group of people" who just so happened to destroy the reign of the British military. And as the saying goes, "Money is power" and Hamilton's hand was busy day and night, writing like he was running out of time to build this power. This is the aspect that many do not have a clear depiction of. Washington was often seen as "the leading force of our nation", which is true, however without the help of Hamilton doing the labor Washington's ideas would've never survived the brutality of world economics. Both men continue to represent America today and the two types of people among us, those coming up with the ideas, and those putting the ideas into action.
"Villainous Business" describes it precisely as it states, "under the hand of Hamilton the government began to take shape". Hamilton introduced the idea of paper money to the states as he began to write out notes from the bank to pay custom's revenues. Hamilton's close relationship with the British government gave him the access to economic systems and writings. While many founding fathers acted upon emotions and were unable to preserve an cordial relationship with the British government Hamilton was able to set aside emotions and recognize the importance of good relations economically with another economic power. If the states were expected to survive and be a global force we had to "play with the big dogs" and use the British economy as an ally. If we offered our economic services to both Britain and France (enemies) it would ignite competition within the parties and unknowingly uplift the states to the higher power. This was recognized and utilized by Hamilton as the founding fathers continued to bathe in the pity disputes of emotions. While many rumored Hamilton to be a British spy because he relied on the British government for the construction of our own Hamilton was busy studying the British and French governments in order to use their methods to defeat them.
As the national debt began to rack up Hamilton's straight forward thinking caused controversy amidst the birth of the government. Hamilton recognized that our nation's debt was the price of liberty. Many scholars proclaimed to Hamilton that debt would only lead to our downfall but Hamilton had seen the effects of the war and recognized death was not the only cost of war. If the states handled the debt with utmost precision they would gain the ability to borrow and trade at low interest rates in future times. Because America was a country that had the ability and resources provided to become a "land of opportunity" the only thing lacking was a government debt that could supply a gaping deficiency. Hamilton's job was to figure out a way that the people could trust the government for repayment.While being a man of emotionless gaming strategy Hamilton recognized the importance of considerate and trusting human interaction within a relationship between the government and those it governs. At the same time Hamilton laid the foundation that securities are freely transferable but buyers assume all rights to profit or loss in transaction. Hamilton created a financial system that forced the people to rely on it rather than turn on it in crisis, while at the same time allowed them the freedom of individual financial risk/gain. In reality the government was weak at the time but Hamilton created a system that made people put their trust in a government that technically didn't even exist in order to form a government. Their had to be a healthy rivalry within the balance of a state being independent in some aspects yet longing for the "affirmation" and support of the Federal government. It's like a college student, they strive for their own Independence yet still want to stay right in the eyes of the one paying their bills.
Hamilton was thinking ahead as he created the financial system he knew that because we would be the first nation to attempt a democracy rather than a monarchy he needed to form a system that would survive throughout the varying political and financial stances of future seats in the office. So Hamilton created the sinking fund in which 5% of the debt would be paid off each year. This ensured that the debt would be paid off, and it provided that outstanding bonds would benefit the government as securities rose in value. Hamilton was not only a financial genius but some how established the ability of knowing the physiology of the human brain's response to finances and government. He twisted the minds of Americans into putting financial security into a government that was 79 million dollars in debt. He was a master manipulator. How did a man who couldn't keep a friendship for more than a few years, was unfaithful in his marriage, killed because of a disagreement with Aaron Burr and the most controversial founding father manage to gain the trust of a nation?
Alexander Hamilton was the neck of our nation. For many he goes unrecognized yet he his accomplishments were ones of a sheer miracle. He created a financial system that couldn't be undone if we tried. He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity. He doesn't get enough credit for all the credit he gave us. People still try to make sense of the thousands of pages of writings Hamilton wrote, he left behind more words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and books than all the founding fathers combined. He may have poisoned the political pursuits of many along his way up but he created the solitude in which debt could be used for prosperity. When Hamilton was shot he left seeds in the garden of America he would never get to see. He was an orphan immigrant who used his shot and left his finger print on the very government used today.
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