Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton, Alexander (1775–1804), U.S. political leader, a founder of the country. He was George Washington's secretary during the American Revolution, later serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1782–83). A delegate (from New York) to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he was a strong supporter of the Constitution and was instrumental in getting it adopted. A founder of the Federalist Party, he advocated strong, centralized government and was co-author, with John Jay and James Madison of the Federalist Papers (1787–88), considered classics of political theory. His advocacy of close ties with Britain and his opposition to the French Revolution brought him into conflict with Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans. In 1789 Hamilton became the first secretary of the treasury and in 1791 he created the Bank of the United States. Though he left the cabinet in 1795, he continued to influence policy until the victory of Jefferson in the presidential election of 1800. Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, Jefferson's vice president, whose presidential ambitions Hamilton had been instrumental in blocking.