Hamilton: Writings

by Hamilton, Alexander

• ISBN13: 9781931082044
• ISBN10: 1931082049
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Summary

One of the most vivid, influential, and controversial figures of the American founding, Alexander Hamilton was an unusually prolific and vigorous writer. As a military aide to George Washington, critic of the Articles of Confederation, proponent of ratification of the Constitution, first Secretary of the Treasury, and leader of the Federalist party, Hamilton devoted himself to the creation of a militarily and economically powerful American nation guided by a strong, energetic republican government. His public and private writings demonstrate the perceptive intelligence, confident advocacy, driving ambition, and profound concern for honor and reputation that contributed both to his astonishing rise to fame and to his tragic early death.

Author Biography

Joanne B. Freeman is assistant professor of history at Yale University

Table of Contents

The West Indies, the Revolution, and the Confederation, 1769--1786
To Edward Stevens, November 11, 1769
``My Ambition Is Prevalent''	3	(1)
To Nicholas Cruger, February 24, 1772
Counting-House Business	4	(2)
To The Royal Danish American Gazette, September 6, 1772
Account of a Hurricane	6	(4)
A Full Vindication of the Measures of the Congress, December 15, 1774	10	(88)
To John Jay, November 26, 1775
The Danger of Trusting in Virtue	43	(3)
To Gouverneur Morris, May 19, 1777
The New York Constitution	46	(2)
To George Clinton, February 13, 1778
The Trouble with Congress	48	(3)
To Elias Boudinot, July 5, 1778
The Battle of Monmouth	51	(5)
To John Jay, March 14, 1779
Enlisting Slaves as Soldiers	56	(2)
To John Laurens, c. April 1779
Hope for a Wife	58	(3)
To William Gordon, September 5, 1779
An Insult to Honor	61	(4)
To John Laurens, January 8, 1780
``I Am Not Fit for This Terrestreal Country''	65	(1)
To Elizabeth Schuyler, August 1780
``Examine Well Your Heart''	66	(4)
To James Duane, September 3, 1780
``The Defects of Our Present System''	70	(17)
To Elizabeth Schuyler, September 3, 1780
Opinions Regarding the Sexes	87	(2)
To Elizabeth Schuyler, September 25, 1780
The Plight of Mrs. Arnold	89	(2)
To Elizabeth Schuyler, October 2, 1780
The Fate of Major Andre	91	(1)
To Margarita Schuyler, January 21, 1781
Advice About Marriage	92	(1)
To Philip Schuyler, February 18, 1781
A Break with Washington	93	(4)
To James McHenry, February 18, 1781
Washington Will Repent His Ill-Humour	97	(1)
The Continentalist No. I, July 12, 1781	98	(3)
The Continentalist No. III, August 9, 1781	101	(5)
The Continentalist No. IV, August 30, 1781	106	(5)
The Continentalist No. VI, July 4, 1782	111	(9)
To Richard Kidder Meade, August 27, 1782
The Birth of a Son	118	(2)
Remarks in Congress on Raising Funds, January 27, 1783	120	(1)
Remarks in Congress on Collecting Funds, January 28, 1783	121	(6)
To George Washington, February 13, 1783
The Prospect of a Mutiny	121	(2)
To George Washington, March 17, 1783
``Contending for a Shadow''	123	(4)
A Letter from Phocion to the Considerate Citizens of New-York on the Politics of the Day, January 1784	127	(15)
To James Hamilton, June 22, 1785
``I Feel All the Sentiment of a Brother''	140	(2)
Address of the Annapolis Convention, September 14, 1786	142	(7)
Framing and Ratifying the Constitution, 1787--1789
Plan of Government, c. June 18, 1787	149	(2)
Speech in the Constitutional Convention on a Plan of Government, June 18, 1787	151	(16)
To George Washington, July 3, 1787
``The Critical Opportunity''	166	(1)
Conjectures About the New Constitution, c. late September 1787	167	(4)
The Federalist No. 1, October 27, 1787	171	(5)
The Federalist No. 6, November 14, 1787	176	(7)
The Federalist No.7, November 17, 1787	183	(7)
The Federalist No. 8, November 20, 1787	190	(6)
The Federalist No. 9, November 21, 1787	196	(6)
The Federalist No. 11, November 24, 1787	202	(7)
The Federalist No. 12, November 27, 1787	209	(6)
The Federalist No. 13, November 28, 1787	215	(3)
The Federalist No. 15, December 1, 1787	218	(8)
The Federalist No. 16, December 4, 1787	226	(6)
The Federalist No. 17, December 5, 1787	232	(5)
The Federalist No. 21, December 12, 1787	237	(6)
The Federalist No. 22, December 14, 1787	243	(10)
The Federalist No. 23, December 18, 1787	253	(5)
The Federalist No. 24, December 19, 1787	258	(6)
The Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787	264	(5)
The Federalist No. 26, December 22, 1787	269	(6)
The Federalist No. 27, December 25, 1787	275	(4)
The Federalist No. 28, December 26, 1787	279	(5)
The Federalist No. 29, January 9, 1788	284	(6)
The Federalist No. 30, December 28, 1787	290	(6)
The Federalist No. 31, January 1, 1788	296	(5)
The Federalist No. 32, January 2, 1788	301	(4)
The Federalist No. 33, January 2, 1788	305	(5)
The Federalist No. 34, January 5, 1788	310	(6)
The Federalist No. 35, January 5, 1788	316	(6)
The Federalist No. 36, January 8, 1788	322	(8)
The Federalist No. 59, February 22, 1788	330	(5)
The Federalist No. 60, February 23, 1788	335	(6)
The Federalist No. 61, February 26, 1788	341	(4)
The Federalist No. 65, March 7, 1788	345	(6)
The Federalist No. 66, March 8, 1788	351	(6)
The Federalist No. 67, March 11, 1788	357	(5)
The Federalist No. 68, March 12, 1788	362	(4)
The Federalist No. 69, March 14, 1788	366	(8)
The Federalist No. 70, March 15, 1788	374	(9)
The Federalist No. 71, March 18, 1788	383	(5)
The Federalist No. 72, March 19, 1788	388	(6)
The Federalist No. 73, March 21, 1788	394	(6)
The Federalist No. 74, March 25, 1788	400	(3)
The Federalist No. 75, March 26, 1788	403	(5)
The Federalist No. 76, April 1, 1788	408	(5)
The Federalist No. 77, April 2, 1788	413	(7)
To James Madison, May 19, 1788
Coordinating a Campaign	418	(2)
The Federalist No. 78, May 28, 1788	420	(8)
The Federalist No. 79, May 28, 1788	428	(3)
The Federalist No. 80, May 28, 1788	431	(7)
The Federalist No. 81, May 28, 1788	438	(10)
The Federalist No. 82, May 28, 1788	448	(4)
The Federalist No. 83, May 28, 1788	452	(15)
The Federalist No. 84, May 28, 1788	467	(11)
The Federalist No. 85, May 28, 1788	478	(9)
To James Madison, June 8, 1788
Fears of Civil War	485	(2)
Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention on Representation, June 21, 1788	487	(9)
Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention on Interests and Corruption, June 21, 1788	496	(6)
Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention on the Distribution of Powers, June 27, 1788	502	(21)
To George Washington, September 1788
Convincing Washington To Serve	511	(2)
To James Wilson, January 25, 1789
Withholding Votes from Adams	513	(2)
To George Washington, May 5, 1789
Presidential Etiquette	515	(6)
Secretary of the Treasury, 1789--1795
To Lafayette, October 6, 1789
``I Hazard Much''	521	(2)
Memorandum by George Beckwith on a Conversation with Hamilton, October 1789	523	(8)
To Henry Lee, December 1, 1789
``Suspicion Is Ever Eagle Eyed''	530	(1)
Report on the Public Credit, January 9, 1790	531	(44)
Report on a National Bank, December 13, 1790	575	(38)
Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, February 23, 1791	613	(34)
Report on the Subject of Manufactures, December 5, 1791	647	(108)
To Philip A. Hamilton, December 5, 1791
``A Promise Must Never Be Broken''	735	(1)
To Edward Carrington, May 26, 1792
``A Faction Decidedly Hostile to Me''	736	(15)
To George Washington, July 30, 1792
The Necessity of Reelection	751	(4)
An American No. 1, August 4, 1792	755	(37)
To George Washington, August 18, 1792
Political and Personal Defense	760	(28)
To John Adams, September 9, 1792
Reprimanding, Adams	788	(1)
To George Washington, September 9, 1792
Responding to a Plea for Peace	789	(3)
Amicus, September 11, 1792	792	(3)
To an Unknown Correspondent, September 26, 1792
An Embryo-Cæsar	794	(1)
Draft of a Defense of the Neutrality Proclamation, c. May 1793	795	(6)
Pacificus No. 1, June 29, 1793	801	(26)
To Andrew G. Fraunces, October 1, 1793
``Contemptible As You Are''	810	(1)
To Angelica Hamilton, c. November 1793
Advice to a Daughter	810	(1)
To George Washington, April 14, 1794
Crisis with Britain	811	(12)
To George Washington, August 2, 1794
The Whiskey Rebellion	823	(4)
Tully No. I, August 23, 1794	827	(3)
Tully No. III, August 28, 1794	830	(3)
To Angelica Church, October 23, 1794
``Wicked Insurgents of the West''	832	(1)
To Angelica Church, December 8, 1794
``A Politician, and Good for Nothing''	833	(1)
Memorandum on the French Revolution, 1794	833	(11)
To George Washington, February 3, 1795
Resigning from Office	836	(5)
Federalist Leader and Attorney, 1795--1804
To Rufus King, February 21, 1795
A Threat to the Public Credit	841	(1)
To Robert Troup, April 13, 1795
``Public Fools''	842	(2)
The Defence No. 1, July 22, 1795	844	(6)
Memorandum on the Design for a Seal of the United States, c. May 1796	850	(33)
To George Washington, July 30, 1796
A Draft of the Farewell Address	851	(18)
To William Loughton Smith, April 10, 1797
Crisis with France	869	(10)
To William Hamilton, May 2, 1797
Introduction to an Uncle	879	(4)
The ``Reynolds Pamphlet,'' August 25, 1797	883	(32)
To George Washington, May 19, 1798
An Appeal to Washington	911	(1)
To Elizabeth Hamilton, November 1798
``My Good Genius''	912	(1)
To Theodore Sedgwick, February 2, 1799
The Problem of Virginia	913	(2)
To James McHenry, March 18, 1799
Displaying Strength ``Like a Hercules''	915	(1)
Memorandum of Measures for Strengthening the Government, c. 1799	915	(17)
To Josiah Ogden Hoffman, November 6, 1799
``The Force of the Laws Must Be Tried''	920	(2)
To Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, December 22, 1799
The Death of Washington	922	(1)
To Martha Washington, January 12, 1800
``So Heart-Rending an Affliction''	922	(1)
To John Jay, May 7, 1800
An Electoral Stratagem	923	(2)
To Theodore Sedgwick, May 10, 1800
Withdrawing Support from Adams	925	(1)
To Charles Carroll of Carrollton, July 1, 1800
Supporting Pinckney	926	(2)
To John Adams, August 1, 1800
Response to an Accusation	928	(1)
To Oliver Wolcott Jr., August 3, 1800
``I Am in a Very Belligerent Humour''	929	(1)
To William Jackson, August 26, 1800
``The Most Humiliating Criticism''	930	(2)
Rules for Philip Hamilton, 1800	932	(2)
To John Adams, October 1, 1800
``A Base Wicked and Cruel Calumny''	932	(2)
Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States, October 24, 1800	934	(48)
To Gouverneur Morris, December 26, 1800
Jefferson Over Burr	972	(1)
To John Rutledge Jr., January 4, 1801
Anxiety About the Election	972	(5)
To James A. Bayard, January 16, 1801
Burr Has ``No Fixed Theory''	977	(5)
Proposal for the New York Legislature for Amending the Constitution, January 1802	982	(1)
Remarks on the Repeal of the Judiciary Act, February 11, 1802	983	(13)
To Gouverneur Morris, February 29, 1802
``Mine Is an Odd Destiny''	985	(2)
To Benjamin Rush, March 29, 1802
The Death of Philip Hamilton	987	(1)
To James A. Bayard, April 1802
The Christian Constitutional Society	987	(4)
To Rufus King, June 3, 1802
``A Most Visionary Theory Presides''	991	(3)
To Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, December 29, 1802
``Refuge of a Disappointed Politician''	994	(1)
To Elizabeth Hamilton, March 17, 1803
``A World Full of Evil''	995	(1)
Purchase of Louisiana, July 5, 1803	996	(8)
To Timothy Pickering, September 16, 1803
Explaining a Plan of Government	1002	(2)
Speech to a Federalist Meeting in Albany, February 10, 1804	1004	(2)
Propositions on the Law of Libel, February 15, 1804	1006	(9)
From Aaron Burr, June 18, 1804
Origins of a Dispute	1008	(2)
To Aaron Burr, June 20, 1804
Declining to Avow or Disavow	1010	(2)
From Aaron Burr, June 21, 1804
New Reasons for a Definite Reply	1012	(1)
To Aaron Burr, June 22, 1804
``Expressions Indecorous and Improper''	1013	(1)
From Aaron Burr, June 22, 1804
``The Course I Am About to Pursue''	1014	(1)
Response to a Letter from William P. Van Ness, June 28, 1804	1015	(1)
Statement Regarding Financial Situation, July 1, 1804	1016	(3)
To Elizabeth Hamilton, July 4, 1804
``Fly to the Bosom of Your God''	1019	(1)
Statement Regarding the Duel with Burr, c. July 10, 1804	1019	(16)
To Theodore Sedgwick, July 10, 1804
``Our Real Disease; Which Is Democracy''	1022	(1)
To Elizabeth Hamilton, July 10, 1804
An Obligation Owed	1023	(4)
Appendix: Statements on the Hamilton-Burr Duel
Joint Statement	1027	(1)
William P. Van Ness
Nathaniel Pendleton
Statement	1028	(2)
Nathaniel Pendleton
Statement	1030	(5)
William P. Van Ness
Chronology	1035	(17)
Note on the Texts	1052	(4)
Notes	1056	(34)
Index	1090

Excerpts

Chapter One

"MY AMBITION IS PREVALENT"

To Edward Stevens

St Croix Novemr. 11th 1769

Dear Edward

    This just serves to acknowledge receipt of yours per Cap Lowndes which was delivered me Yesterday. The truth of Cap Lightbourn & Lowndes information is now verifyd by the Presence of your Father and Sister for whose safe arrival I Pray, and that they may, convey that Satisfaction to your Soul that must naturally flow from the sight of Absent Friends in health, and shall for news this way refer you to them. As to what you say respecting your having soon the happiness of seeing us all, I wish, for an accomplishment of your hopes provided they are Concomitant with your welfare, otherwise not, tho doubt whether I shall be Present or not for to confess my weakness, Ned, my Ambition is prevalent that I contemn the grov'ling and condition of a Clerk or the like, to which my Fortune &c. condemns me and would willingly risk my life tho' not my Character to exalt my Station. Im confident, Ned that my Youth excludes me from any hopes of immediate Preferment nor do I desire it, but I mean to prepare the way for futurity. Im no Philosopher you see and may be jusly said to Build Castles in the Air. My Folly makes mc ashamd and beg youll Conceal it, yet Neddy we have seen such Schemes successfull when the Projector is Constant I shall Conclude saying I wish there was a War.

    I am Dr Edward Yours Alex Hamilton

PS I this moment receivd yours by William Smith and am pleasd to see you Give such Close Application to Study.

Excerpted from Alexander Hamilton by Alexander Hamilton. Copyright © 2001 by Literary Classics of the United States, Inc.. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.