Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th most extensive and the 23rd most populous of the 50 United States. Alabama ranks second in the area of its inland waterways(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M Battery).

From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S Battery), while urban interests and African Americans were under-represented.[5] Following World War II, Alabama experienced growth as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and technology. In addition, the establishment or expansion of multiple military installations, primarily those of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, added to state jobs(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M Battery).

Alabama is unofficially nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie." The state tree is the Longleaf Pine, the state flower is the Camellia. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery. The largest city by population is Birmingham. The largest city by total land area is Huntsville. The oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z Battery).

History

Main article: History of Alabama

Etymology

The Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers on the upper reaches of the Alabama River,[6] served as the etymological source of the names of the river and state. In the Alabama language, the word for an Alabama person is Albaamo (or variously Albaama or Albàamo in different dialects; the plural form "Alabama persons" is Albaamaha) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z Battery).[7] The word Alabama is believed to have originated from the Choctaw language[8] and was later adopted by the Alabama tribe as their name.[9] The spelling of the word varies significantly between sources.[9] The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 with Garcilasso de la Vega using Alibamo(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M Battery), while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively.[9] As early as 1702, the tribe was known to the French as Alibamon with French maps identifying the river as Rivière des Alibamons.[6] Other spellings of the appellation have included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, and Allibamou(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S Battery).

Although the origin of Alabama could be discerned, sources disagree on its meaning. An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican originated the idea that the meaning was "Here We Rest."[9] This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek.[9] Experts in the Muskogean languages have been unable to find any evidence to support such a translation(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S Battery).[6][9] Scholars believe the word comes from the Choctaw alba (meaning "plants" or "weeds") and amo (meaning "to cut," "to trim," or "to gather"). The meaning may have been "clearers of the thicket"[8] or "herb gatherers" which may refer to clearing of land for cultivation[10] or to collecting medicinal plants(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M Battery).

Indigenous peoples, early history

Mount Cheaha, Alabama's highest point

Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before European colonization. Trade with the Northeast via the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BC–AD 700) and continued until European contact.[15] The agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from AD 1000 to 1600(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z Battery), with one of its major centers being at the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama.[16][17] Analysis of artifacts recovered from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC).[18] Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerican culture(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M Battery), but developed independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.[19]

Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in the area of present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee, and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama (Alibamu), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Koasati, and Mobile(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L Battery).[20]

European settlement

The French founded the first European settlement in the region at Old Mobile, in 1702.[21] The area was French from 1702 to 1763; part of British West Florida from 1763 to 1780. Thomas Bassett was the first British settler in the state. He settled near what is now Tombigbee River in Washington County.[22] Alabama became part of Spanish West Florida from 1780 to 1810(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J Battery); part of the independent Republic of West Florida for a short time (90 days); annexed by the U.S. and added to the Territory of Orleans (1810); and, finally, added to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Throughout these later developments, however, the Spanish had kept a nominal (although largely ignored) governmental presence in the region, based out of Mobile(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E Battery). When Andrew Jackson's forces occupied Mobile in 1814 —while preparing for the Battle of New Orleans —he demonstrated the United States' de facto authority over the region, effectively ending Spanish governance (though not its claim), while gaining an unencumbered passage to the gulf.[23]

The area making up today's northern and central Alabama, known as the Yazoo lands, had been claimed by the Province of Georgia after 1763(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L Battery). Following the Revolutionary War, it remained a part of the state of Georgia —although heavily disputed. Conflicting claims to the area were held, first by several Native American tribes (most notably the Chickamauga-Cherokee and Yazoo), by other states (e.g. South Carolina); and by the US federal government; Britain and Spain. In 1802, the region was joined to the Mississippi Territory(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J Battery). Individual statehood was delayed, however, by the territory's lack of a coastline.

Statehood, Civil War and Reconstruction

Old Alabama state capital ruins at Capital Park in Tuscaloosa

Alabama became the twenty-second state —admitted to the Union in 1819. Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men. Settlers rapidly arrived to take advantage of the fertile soil. Southeastern planters and traders from the Upper South brought slaves with them as the cotton plantations expanded. The economy of the central "Black Belt" (named for its dark, productive soil) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E Battery) was built around large cotton plantations whose owners' wealth grew largely from slave labor.[24] The area also drew many poor, disfranchised people who became subsistence farmers. The 1860 census records show that enslaved Africans comprised 45% of the state's total population of 964,201. There were only 2,690 free persons of color living in Alabama at the time(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery).

From 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa served as the capital of Alabama. On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced that it had voted to remove the capital city from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The first legislative session in the new capital met in December 1847. In time, a Capitol building was erected under the direction of a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania architect(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/P Battery). The original structure burnt down in 1849 but was rebuilt in 1851 following the original plans.[25]

On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. While few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the American Civil War. Alabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/W Battery).[26] During Reconstruction, the new state legislators created a public school system for the first time, as well as establishing some welfare institutions to help its people. Alabama was officially restored to the Union in 1868.

After the Civil War, the state was still chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. Planters resisted working with free labor during Reconstruction and sought to re-establish controls over freedmen(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/S Battery). In the early years the Ku Klux Klan had numerous independent chapters in Alabama that attacked freedmen and other Republicans. After it was suppressed, insurgent whites organized paramilitary groups, such as the Red Shirts and White League, that acted more openly to suppress black voting. Regaining power by the late 1870s(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/P Battery), in the last decade of the 19th century, white Democrats passed electoral laws disfranchise most blacks and many poor whites.[27] Having regained power in the state legislature, Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, including racial segregation in public facilities, to restore white supremacy in the society.

In 1875, the state passed the Blaine Amendment, to prohibit public money from being used to finance Catholic schools(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S/S Battery).[28]

1900–1960

School in Alabama (Farm Security Administration, 1935)

The new 1901 Constitution of Alabama effectively disfranchised African Americans and many poor whites through voting restrictions, including literacy requirements. While the planter class had persuaded poor whites to support these legislative efforts, the new restrictions resulted in disfranchising poor whites as well, due mostly to imposition of a cumulative poll tax(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/W Battery).

In 1900, 14 Black Belt counties had more than 79,000 voters on the rolls.[clarification needed] By June 1, 1903, the number of[clarification needed] registered voters had dropped to 1,081. In 1900, Alabama had more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote. By 1903, only 2,980 had qualified to register, although at least 74,000 black voters were literate(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/P Battery).[29]

By 1941, a total of more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 whites to 520,000 blacks.[29] Nearly all African Americans lost the ability to vote.

The disfranchisement was ended by African Americans' leading the Civil Rights Movement and gaining Federal legislation in the mid-1960s to protect their voting and civil rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also protected the suffrage of poor whites(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z/S Battery).

The rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for the disfranchised African Americans in the segregated state, but did not relieve them of paying taxes.[24] Continued racial discrimination, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans to seek opportunities in northern cities(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/W Battery). They left Alabama in the early 20th century as part of the Great Migration to industrial jobs and better futures in northern industrial cities. The population growth rate in Alabama (see "Historical Populations" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920, reflecting the effect of emigration(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/S Battery).

At the same time, many rural whites and blacks migrated to the city of Birmingham for work in new industrial jobs. It experienced such rapid growth that it was nicknamed "The Magic City." By the 1920s, Birmingham was the 19th largest city in the U.S. and held more than 30% of the population of the state. Heavy industry and mining were the basis of the economy(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/W Battery).[30]

This structure greets drivers visiting the Alabama Welcome Center just inside the AL/GA border off of Interstate 20.

Industrial development related to the demands of World War II brought prosperity.[24] Cotton faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing and service base. In the 1960s under Governor George Wallace, many whites in the state opposed federal integration efforts in schools and public facilities(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/P Battery).

1960–present

Despite massive population changes in the state from 1901 to 1961, the rural-dominated legislature refused to reapportion House and Senate seats based on population. They held on to old representation to maintain political and economic power in agricultural areas. In addition, the state legislature gerrymandered the few Birmingham legislative seats to ensure election by persons living outside Birmingham(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S/S Battery).

One result was that Jefferson County, containing Birmingham's industrial and economic powerhouse, contributed more than one-third of all tax revenue to the state, but did not receive a proportional amount in services. Urban interests were consistently underrepresented in the legislature. A 1960 study noted that because of rural domination, "A minority of about 25 per cent of the total state population is in majority control of the Alabama legislature." (SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/W Battery) [5]

African Americans were presumed partial to Republicans for historical reasons, but they were disfranchised. White Alabamans felt bitter towards the Republican Party in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These factors created a longstanding tradition that any candidate who wanted to be viable with white voters had to run as a Democrat regardless of political beliefs(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/S Battery).

During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans achieved a protection of voting and other civil rights through the passage of the national Civil Rights Act of 1964,[31] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. De jure segregation ended in the states as Jim Crow laws were invalidated or repealed(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z/S Battery).[32]

Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, cases were filed in Federal courts to force Alabama to properly redistrict by population both the House and Senate of the state legislature. In 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature implemented the Alabama constitution's provision for periodic redistricting based on population. This benefited the urban areas that had developed(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11ZR/S Battery), as well as all in the population who had been underrepresented for more than 60 years.[5]

After 1972, the state's white voters shifted much of their support to Republican candidates in presidential elections (as also occurred in neighboring southern states). Since 1990 the majority of whites in the state have voted increasingly Republican in state elections. In 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11S/S Battery).[33]

Geography

Alabama terrain map: shows lakes, rivers, roads, with Mount Cheaha (right center) east of Birmingham.

Main article: Geography of Alabama

See also: List of Alabama counties and Geology of Alabama

Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52,419 square miles (135,760 km2) of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making Alabama twenty-third in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second-largest inland waterway system in the United States.[34] About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11SR/S Battery). The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.[35]

View of Perdido Pass from Orange Beach

The states bordering Alabama are Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state.[35] Alabama ranges in elevation from sea level[36] at Mobile Bay to over 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M/S Battery). The highest point is Mount Cheaha,[35] at a height of 2,413 ft (735 m).[37] Alabama's land consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km2) of forest or 67% of total land area.[38] Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.[39]

Areas in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11MR/S Battery); Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.[40] Additionally, Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B. Bankhead(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L/S Battery).[41] Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail. A notable natural wonder in Alabama is "Natural Bridge" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, located just south of Haleyville.

A 5-mile (8 km)-wide meteorite impact crater is located in Elmore County, just north of Montgomery(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J/S Battery). This is the Wetumpka crater, the site of "Alabama's greatest natural disaster." A 1,000-foot (300 m)-wide meteorite hit the area about 80 million years ago.[42] The hills just east of downtown Wetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme ("star-wound") because of the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E/S Battery).[43] In 2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of Vienna published evidence and established the site as 157th recognized impact crater on Earth.[44]

Urban areas

Climate

Main article: Climate of Alabama

The state is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) under the Koppen Climate Classification.[45] The average annual temperature is 64 °F (18 °C). Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS115N/S Battery), especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler.[46] Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year. Alabama receives an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/W Battery).[46]

Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the United States, with high temperatures averaging over 90 °F (32 °C) throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes. Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/S Battery).

Though winters in the state are usually mild, nightly freezing occurs frequently in the North Alabama region. This is shown in this picture taken at the Old State Bank in Decatur during early January.

South Alabama reports many thunderstorms. The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported. This activity decreases somewhat further north in the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/L Battery), but even the far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year. Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequent lightning and large hail – the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm. Alabama ranks seventh in the number of deaths from lightning and ninth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L/S Battery).[47]

Alabama, along with Kansas, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes of any state – according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to October 31, 2006.[48] Several long – tracked F5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state, even surpassing Texas which has a much larger area within Tornado Alley(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J/S Battery). The state suffered damage in the Super Outbreak of April 1974, and the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak.

The peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season in November and December, along with the spring severe weather season. The northern part of the state — along the Tennessee Valley — is one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to violent tornadoes(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E/S Battery). The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains.

Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around 40 °F (4 °C) in Mobile and around 32 °F (0 °C) in Birmingham. Although snow is a rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS battery). Historic snowfall events include New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the 1993 Storm of the Century. The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is 2 inches (51 mm) per year. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall(Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG battery).

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Alabama was 4,802,740 on July 1, 2011, a 0.48% increase since the 2010 United States Census.[1]

The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2008, estimated Alabama's population at 4,661,900,[54] which represents an increase of 214,545, or 4.8%, since the last census in 2000.[55] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 people (Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H battery) (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 people into the state.[55] Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people.[55] The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were illegal immigrants (24,000) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR55TF/B battery).

The center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside of the town of Jemison.[56]

Race and ancestry

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Alabama had a population of 4,779,736. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 26.2% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race, and 1.5% from Two or More Races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 3.9% of the population(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF battery).[57]

The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama are: African American (26.2%), English (23.6%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%). Those citing "American" ancestry in Alabama are of overwhelmingly English extraction, however most English Americans identify simply as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in many cases since the early 1600s(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W battery). Demographers estimate that a minimum of 20-23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and state that the figure is probably much higher. In the 1980 census, 41% of the people in Alabama cited that they were of English ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group at the time. There are also many more people in Alabama of Scots-Irish origins than are self-reported(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B battery).[66] Many people in Alabama claim Irish ancestry because of the term Scots-Irish, but most of the time in Alabama this term is used for those with Scottish roots, rather than Irish.[67]

In 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, Alabama established a state Indian Commission and officially recognized seven American Indian tribes, including the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, which is a 501 (c)(3) group. It is made up of descendants of the Chickamauga Cherokee and others who managed to evade Indian Removal in the 1830s(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S battery). Working with Auburn University, the tribe has begun a revival of the Cherokee language.

Religion

Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of high Christian adherence. Alabama has been identified as one of the most religious states in the US, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly.[68] A majority of people in the state identify as Protestant. As of 2000, the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P battery). The Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents in Alabama with 1,380,121, followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734 members, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents.[69]

In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a "full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H battery).[70] In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.[71][72] In the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 80% of Alabama respondents reported their religion as Christian (other than Catholic,) 6% as Catholic, and 11% as having no religion at all(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D battery).[73]

Health

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that Alabama was one of the worst in the country for obesity with most counties having over 29% of adults obese, except for ten which exceeded 26%.[74] Residents were least likely of any state in the nation to exercise.[75] Alabama has one of the highest incidences of adult onset diabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of adults(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/Q battery).

Economy

The state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.

According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2008 GDP increased 0.7% from the previous year. The single largest increase came in the area of information.[78] In 1999, per capita income for the state was $18,189(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/J battery).[79]

As of September 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 8.9%.[80]

Largest employers

Agriculture

Alabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State," Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton production, according to various reports,[82][83] with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J battery).

Industry

U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville

Alabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel. Also, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, location of NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/J battery).

Most Alabama's economic growth is due to the state's expanding automotive manufacturing industry. Located in the state are Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, as well as their various suppliers. Since 1993, the automobile industry has generated more than 67,800 new jobs in the state(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/B battery). Alabama currently ranks 4th in the nation in automobile output.[84]

Steel producers Nucor, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and U.S. Steel have facilities in Alabama and employ over 10,000 people. In May 2007, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp selected Alabama for a $3.7 billion steel production plant, with the promise of 2,700 permanent jobs.[85] When ThyssenKrupp's new facilities reach full production capacity(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46TD/B battery), Alabama is expected to become the third largest steel producing state in the country behind Indiana and Pennsylvania.[86]

The Hunt Refining Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa and operates a refinery there. The company also operates terminals in Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville.[87] JVC America, Inc. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR46MD/B battery), a wholly owned subsidiary of JVC Americas Corp., operates an optical disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.[88]

Michelin North America operated a 1,000,000 square feet (9.3 ha) BFGoodrich Tire manufacturing plant in Opelika from 1963 to 2009, when it shut down.[89] GAF Materials Corporation formerly operated a plant in Mobile, but ceased production operations in 2010. The plant had previously been idled in 2007 before resuming in 2008 and may reopen in the future once demand recovers(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/W battery).[90]

Tourism

Alabama's beaches have a strong impact on the state's economy

An estimated 100,000 tourists annually from other countries visit the state, including from Canada, England, Germany and Japan. In 2006, 22.3 million tourists spent $8.3 billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state.[91][92][93]

Health

UAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama.[94][95] UAB is the largest employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about 20,000(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/P battery).

Banking

Alabama has the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, BBVA Compass and Superior Bancorp. Birmingham-based Compass Banchshares was acquired by Spanish-based BBVA in September 2007, although the headquarters of BBVA Compass remains in Birmingham. In November 2006, Regions Financial completed its merger with AmSouth Bancorporation, which was also headquartered in Birmingham(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/B battery). SouthTrust Corporation, another large bank headquartered in Birmingham, was acquired by Wachovia in 2004 for $14.3 billion. The city still has major operations for Wachovia and its now post-operating bank Wells Fargo, which includes a regional headquarters, an operations center campus and a $400 million dollar data center. Nearly a dozen smaller banks are also headquartered in the Birmingham, such as Superior Bancorp(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H battery), ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank. Birmingham also serves as the headquarters for several large investment management companies, including Harbert Management Corporation.

Electronics

Telecommunications provider AT&T, formerly BellSouth, also has a major presence in Alabama with several large offices in Birmingham. The company has over 6,000 employees and more than 1,200 contract employees(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/P battery).

Many commercial technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such as the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company Intergraph, design and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent, and telecommunications provider Deltacom. Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their Huntsville plant(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/N battery).

Construction

Rust International has grown to include Brasfield & Gorrie, BE&K, Hoar Construction and B.L. Harbert International, which all routinely are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design, international construction, and engineering firms. (Rust International was acquired in 2000 by Washington Group International, which was in turn acquired by San-Francisco based URS Corporation in 2007.) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/B battery)

Transportation

The Port of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a busy seaport on the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to the Midwest by way of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Port of Mobile is currently the 9th-largest by tonnage in the United States.[96]

Barge transportation in and out of the Port of Tuscaloosa and other commercial navigation make the Black Warrior River useful in the state of Alabama(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W battery).

Law and government

The State Capitol, built in 1850

State government

Main article: Government of Alabama

The foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At almost 800 amendments and 310,000 words, it is the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the U.S. Constitution.[97][98] There is a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S battery).[99] This movement is based upon the fact that Alabama's constitution highly centralizes power in Montgomery and leaves practically no power in local hands. Any policy changes proposed around the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. One criticism of the current constitution claims that its complexity and length were intentional to codify segregation and racism(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P battery).

Alabama is divided into three equal branches: The legislative branch is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR3CW/B battery).

The executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws. It is headed by the Governor of Alabama. Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama, the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the State Auditor of Alabama(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39XN/S battery).

The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama.

Taxes

Alabama levies a 2, 4, or 5 percent personal income tax, depending upon the amount earned and filing status. Taxpayers are not allowed to deduct their federal income tax from their Alabama state tax, but can deduct federal Social Security and Medicare taxes(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39VN/S battery).

The state's general sales tax rate is 4%.[100] The collection rate could be substantially higher, depending upon additional city and county sales taxes. For example, the total sales tax rate in Mobile is 10% and there is an additional restaurant tax of 1%, which means that a diner in Mobile would pay a 11% tax on a meal. Sales and excise taxes in Alabama account for 51% of all state and local revenue(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D battery), compared with an average of about 36% nationwide. Alabama is also one of the few remaining states that levies a tax on food and medicine. Alabama's income tax on poor working families is among the nation's very highest.[101] Alabama is the only state that levies income tax on a family of four with income as low as $4,600(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/Q battery), which is barely one-quarter of the federal poverty line.[101] Alabama's threshold is the lowest among the 41 states and the District of Columbia with income taxes.[101]

The corporate income tax rate is currently 6.5%. The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country.[102] Property taxes are the lowest in the United States. The current state constitution requires a voter referendum to raise property taxes(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/J battery).

Since Alabama's tax structure largely depends on consumer spending, it is subject to high variable budget structure. For example, in 2003 Alabama had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million.

Local and county government

Alabama counties (clickable map)

Alabama has 67 counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the County Commission, which usually also has executive authority in the county(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/Q battery). Because of the restraints placed in the Alabama Constitution, all but seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no home rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/P battery).

Alabama is an alcoholic beverage control state; the government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol. However, counties can declare themselves "dry"; the state does not sell alcohol in those areas.

Politics

Further information: Political party strength in Alabama

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley

The current governor of the state is Republican Robert Bentley. The lieutenant governor is Republican Kay Ivey. The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Democrat Sue Bell Cobb. The Republican Party currently holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature. The Legislature has the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/B battery).

During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African American vote(Sony VAIO VGN-SR37TN/B battery).

After 1890, a coalition of whites passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disfranchised African Americans also disfranchised poor whites, however. By 1941 more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000, although the impact was greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/S battery).

From 1901 through the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population grew and shifted within the state. The result was a rural minority that dominated state politics until a series of court cases required redistricting in 1972.

Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the American Civil Rights Movement, when majority whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/P battery). George Wallace, the state's only four-term governor, was a controversial figure. Only with the passage of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964[31] and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain suffrage and other civil rights.

In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican Governor Bob Riley signed, a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/B battery).[103]

State elections

With the disfranchisement of African Americans, the state became part of the "Solid South," a system in which the Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35M/B battery).

Developments in the 1986 Democratic primary election led to the election of the first Republican Governor in more than a century and started Republicans on the road to political dominance in the state. One million voters cast ballots in the 1986 Democratic primary. The then-incumbent Lieutenant Governor, Bill Baxley(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/S battery), lost the Democratic nomination for Governor by approximately 8,000 votes to then fellow Democratic Attorney General Charles Graddick. The state Democratic party's five-member election contest committee invalidated the primary election result claiming that thousands of Republicans had "illegally" voted in the Democratic primary for Graddick and as a result they removed Graddick from the ballot(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/P battery). The Democratic Party then placed Baxley's name on the ballot as the Democratic candidate instead of Graddick. The voters of the state revolted at what they perceived as disenfranchisement of their right to vote and elected the Republican challenger, Guy Hunt, as Governor.[104] Hunt had been nominated in a statewide Republican primary that had 28,000 participants compared to the 1,000,000 plus of the Democratic primary(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/B battery). That November Hunt became the first Republican Governor elected in Alabama since Reconstruction when he won 57 percent of the vote statewide against Baxley.

Since 1986, Republicans have won six of the seven gubernatorial elections and become increasingly competitive in Alabama politics at many levels. They currently control both seats in the U.S. Senate and six out of the state's seven congressional seats(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H battery).

Republicans hold all nine seats on the Alabama Supreme Court [105] and all ten seats on the state appellate courts. Until 1994, no Republicans held any of the court seats. This change also began, likely in part, due to the same perception by voters of Democratic party efforts to disenfranchise voters again in 1994. In that general election, the then-incumbent Chief Justice of Alabama, Ernest C. Hornsby(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/S battery), refused to leave office after losing the election by approximately 3,000 votes to Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr.. Hornsby sued Alabama and defiantly remained in office for nearly a year before finally giving up the seat after losing in court. This ultimately led to a collapse of support for Democrats at the ballot box in the next three or four election cycles. The Democrats lost the last of the nineteen court seats in August 2011 with the resignation of the last Democrat on the bench(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/P battery).

Today, Republicans also hold all seven of the statewide elected executive branch offices. Republicans also hold six of the eight elected seats on the Alabama State Board of Education. In 2010, Republicans took large majorities of both chambers of the state legislature giving them control of that body for the first time in 136 years. However, Democrats hold one of the three seats on the Alabama Public Service Commission. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/B battery)

Only two Republican Lieutenant Governors have been elected since Reconstruction, Steve Windom and Kay Ivey, the current Lieutenant Governor. Windom served as Lt. Governor under Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman. Before 2011, the last time that Alabama had a governor and Lieutenant Governor of the same party was the period between 1983 (Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S battery)and 1987 when George Wallace was serving his fourth term as governor and Bill Baxley was serving as Lieutenant Governor; both were Democrats.

In Alabama, the members of the Legislature take office immediately after the November elections, but the statewide officials, such as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and other constitutional offices take office in the following January. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S battery)

Local elections

Many local offices (County Commissioners, Boards of Education, Tax Assessors, Tax Collectors, etc.) in the state are still held by Democrats. Local elections in most rural counties are generally decided in the Democratic primary and local elections in metropolitan and suburban counties are generally decided in the Republican Primary, although there are exceptions. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S battery)

Alabama's 67 County Sheriffs are elected in partisan races and Democrats still retain the majority of those posts. The current split is 42 Democrats, 24 Republicans, and 1 Independent (Choctaw).[112][Full citation needed] However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over rural and less populated counties and the majority of Republican sheriffs preside over more urban/suburban and heavily populated counties(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/S battery).[113] Two Alabama counties (Montgomery and Calhoun) with a population of over 100,000 have Democratic sheriffs and five Alabama counties with a population of under 75,000 have Republican sheriffs (Autauga, Coffee, Dale, Coosa, and Blount).[114] The state has one female sheriff (Morgan) and 9 African-American sheriffs.[115] (Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/P battery)

Federal elections

From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by large margins. In 1960, the Democrats won with John F. Kennedy on the ballot, but the Democratic electors from Alabama gave 6 of their 11 electoral votes as a protest to Harry Byrd. In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater carried the state(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/B battery).

In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was the National Democratic nominee.[116] In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/S battery).

Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and until 2010 comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature; see Dixiecrat(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/P battery).

In 2004, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote, mostly white voters. The 11 counties that voted Democratic were Black Belt counties, where African Americans are the majority racial group.

The state's two U.S. senators are Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby, both Republicans(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25S/B battery).

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, six of whom are Republicans: (Jo Bonner, Mike D. Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Morris J. Brooks, Martha Roby, and Spencer Bachus) and one Democrat: Terri Sewell).

Further information: United States presidential election in Alabama, 2004

Education

Main article: Education in Alabama

Primary and secondary education(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25M/B battery)

Public primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the overview of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,541 individual schools provide education for 743,364 elementary and secondary students. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/S battery)

Public school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund. In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year.[117] In 2007, over 82 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the National No Child Left Behind law(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/P battery), using measures determined by the State of Alabama. In 2004, 23 percent of schools met AYP.[118]

While Alabama's public education system has improved, it lags behind in achievement compared to other states. According to U.S. Census data, Alabama's high school graduation rate – 75% – is the fourth lowest in the United States (after Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi). (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/B battery) The largest educational gains were among people with some college education but without degrees.[120]

Harrison Plaza at the University of North Alabama in Florence. The school was chartered as LaGrange College by the Alabama Legislature in 1830.

Colleges and universities

Main article: List of colleges and universities in Alabama

Alabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. In the state are two medical schools (Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B battery) (University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of South Alabama), two veterinary colleges (Auburn University and Tuskegee University), a dental school (University of Alabama at Birmingham), an optometry college (University of Alabama at Birmingham), two pharmacy schools (Auburn University and Samford University), and five law schools (University of Alabama School of Law(Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B battery), Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law). Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to 16 doctoral level programs. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR23H/B battery)

The largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 31,747 enrolled for fall 2011.[123] Troy University is the largest institution in the state, enrolling 29,689 students (as of 2010) across four Alabama campuses (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City), as well as sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other countries(Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H battery). The oldest institutions are the public University of North Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliated Spring Hill College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.[124][125]

Accreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as other subject-focused national and international accreditation agencies such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), (Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B battery) the Council on Occupational Education (COE),[127] and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).[128]

According to the 2011 U.S. News and World Report, Alabama had three universities ranked in the top 100 Public Schools in America (University of Alabama at 31, Auburn University at 36, and University of Alabama at Birmingham at 73). (Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S battery)

Venues

Bryant-Denny Stadium

Alabama has four of the world's largest stadiums by seating capacity: Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn and Legion Field in Birmingham.

The Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR events. It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America. Bryant-Denny Stadium serves as the home of the University of Alabama football team has a seating capacity of 101,821(Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN battery). It is the fifth largest stadium in America and the eighth largest non-racing stadium in the world. Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn University football team and has a seating capacity of 87,451. It is the twelfth largest college football stadium in America. Legion Field is home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Papajohns.com Bowl. It seats 71,594. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN battery)

Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile serves as the home of the NCAA Senior Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic and home of the University of South Alabama football team. Ladd-Peebles Stadium opened in 1948 and seats 40,646. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR190F battery)

In 2009, Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, known as the Super Six. Bryant-Denny hosts the Super Six in odd-numbered years, with Jordan-Hare taking the games in even-numbered years. Previously, the Super Six was held at Legion Field in Birmingham. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38 battery)

Transportation

Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport

Air transportation

Main article: Aviation in Alabama

Major airports in Alabama include Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Huntsville International Airport (HSV), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), Muscle Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL), and Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ37 battery).

Rail

For rail transport, Amtrak schedules the Crescent, a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.

Roads

Interstate 59 (co-signed with Interstate 20) approaching Interstate 65 in downtown Birmingham.

Alabama has five major interstate roads that cross the state: I-65 runs north–south roughly through the middle of the state; I-59/I-20 travels from the central west border to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ19VN battery); I-85 originates in Montgomery and runs east-northeast to the Georgia border, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, running from west to east through Mobile. Another interstate road, I-22, is currently under construction. When completed around 2014 it will connect Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ19L battery). In addition, there are currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state: I-165 in Mobile, I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 around Birmingham, I-565 in Huntsville, and I-759 in Gadsden. A sixth route, I-685, will be created when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery. A proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will designated as I-422(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ190U battery).

Several U.S. Highways also pass through the state, such as US 11, US 29, US 31, US 43, US 45,US 72, US 78, US 80, US 82, US 84, US 90, US 98, US 231, US 278, US 280, US 331, US 411, and US 431.

There are four toll roads in the state: Alabama River Parkway in Montgomery; Black Warrior Parkway in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway in Montgomery; Foley Beach Express in Foley; Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery and four toll bridges: Alabama River Parkway Bridge in Montgomery(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ190N battery); Black Warrior Parkway Bridge in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway Bridge in Montgomery; and Foley Beach Express Bridge in Foley.

In March 2011, Alabama ranked among the top five "Worst" states on the American State Litter Scorecard, for overall poor effectiveness and quality of its statewide public space cleanliness—primarily roadway and adjacent litter removals—from state and related efforts. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18T battery)

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757[1]  – July 12, 1804) was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.

As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of the George Washington Administration, especially the funding of the state debts by the Federal government(Dell D6400 battery), the establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. He became the leader of the Federalist Party, created largely in support of his views, and was opposed by the Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Hamilton served in the American Revolutionary War. At the start of the war, he organized an artillery company and was chosen as its captain(Dell HF674 battery). He later became the senior[2] aide-de-camp and confidant to General George Washington, the American commander-in-chief. He served again under Washington in the army raised to defeat the Whiskey Rebellion, a tax revolt of western farmers in 1794. In 1798, Hamilton called for mobilization against France after the XYZ Affair, and secured an appointment as commander of a new army, which he trained for a war(Dell N3010 battery).[3] However, the Quasi-War, although hard-fought at sea, was never officially declared. In the end, President John Adams found a diplomatic solution that avoided war.

Of illegitimate birth and raised in the West Indies, Hamilton was effectively orphaned at about the age of 11. Recognized for his abilities and talent, he came to North America for his education, sponsored by people from his community(Dell Inspiron N4010 battery). He attended King's College (now Columbia University). After the American Revolutionary War, Hamilton was elected to the Continental Congress from New York. He resigned to practice law, and founded the Bank of New York.

Hamilton was among those dissatisfied with the first national governance document, the Articles of Confederation. While serving in the New York Legislature, Hamilton was sent as a delegate to the Annapolis Convention in 1786 to revise the Articles(Dell INSPIRON 1100 battery), but it resulted in a call for a new constitution instead. He was one of New York's delegates at the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the new constitution in 1787, and was the only New Yorker who signed it. In support of ratification by the states for the new Constitution, Hamilton wrote many of the Federalist Papers, still an important source for Constitutional interpretation(Dell Inspiron 1200 battery).[4] In the new government under President George Washington, he was appointed the Secretary of the Treasury.[5] An admirer of British political systems, Hamilton was a nationalist who emphasized strong central government, and successfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution could be used to fund the national debt, assume state debts(Dell Inspiron 1420 battery), and create the government-owned Bank of the United States. These programs were funded primarily by a tariff on imports and later also by a highly controversial excise tax on whiskey.

Embarrassed when an extra-marital affair with Maria Reynolds became public, Hamilton resigned from office in 1795 and returned to the practice of law in New York. However, he kept his hand in politics and was a powerful influence on the cabinet of President Adams (1797–1801) (Dell Inspiron 1464 battery). Hamilton's opposition to John Adams helped cause Adams' defeat in the 1800 elections. When Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in the electoral college, Hamilton helped defeat his bitter personal enemy Burr and elect Jefferson as president. After opposing Adams, the candidate of his own party, Hamilton was left with few political friends(Dell Inspiron 1564 battery). In 1804, as the next presidential election approached, Hamilton again opposed the candidacy of Burr. Taking offense at some of Hamilton's comments, Burr challenged him to a duel and mortally wounded Hamilton, who died within days.[6]

Childhood in the Caribbean

Alexander Hamilton was born in Charlestown, the capital of the island of Nevis, in the Leeward Islands; Nevis was then one of the British West Indies. Hamilton was born out of wedlock to Rachel Faucette Buck(Dell Inspiron 1764 battery), a married woman of partial French Huguenot descent, and James A. Hamilton, the fourth son of the Scottish laird Alexander Hamilton of Grange, Ayrshire.[7]

The birthplace and early childhood home of Alexander Hamilton, in Nevis, West Indies

His mother moved with the infant Hamilton to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, then ruled by Denmark. It is not certain whether the year of Hamilton's birth was 1757 or 1755; most historical evidence after Hamilton's arrival in North America supports the idea that he was born in 1757(Dell Inspiron 1520 battery), and many historians had accepted this birth date. Hamilton's early life in the Caribbean was recorded in documents first published in Danish in 1930; this evidence has caused historians since then to opt for a birth year of 1755.[8] Hamilton listed his birth year as 1757 when he first arrived in the Thirteen Colonies. He celebrated his birthday on January 11. In later life, he tended to give his age only in round figures. Probate papers from St. Croix in 1768(Dell Inspiron 1521 battery), after the death of Hamilton's mother, list him as then 13 years old,[9] a date that would support a birth year of 1755. Historians have explained the different birth years by the following: If 1755 is correct, Hamilton may have been trying to appear younger than his college classmates, or perhaps wished to avoid standing out as older; on the other hand(Dell inspiron 1525 battery), if 1757 is correct, the probate document indicating a birth year of 1755 may have been in error, or Hamilton may have been attempting to pass as 13, in order to be more employable after his mother's death.[10]

Hamilton in his youth

Hamilton's mother had been married previously to Johann Michael Lavien of St. Croix, a much older merchant planter, who is described in some accounts as Danish-Jewish.[7][11] To escape this unhappy marriage(Dell inspiron 1526 battery), Rachel left her husband and first son, traveling to St. Kitts in 1750, where she met James Hamilton.[12] Hamilton and Rachel moved together to Rachel's birthplace, Nevis, where she had inherited property from her father.[8] Their two sons were James, Jr., and Alexander. Because Alexander Hamilton's parents were not legally married, the Church of England denied him membership and education in the church school(Dell Inspiron 1720 battery). Hamilton received "individual tutoring"[8] and classes in a private school led by a Jewish headmistress.[13] Hamilton supplemented his education with a family library of thirty-four books,[14] including Greek and Roman classics.

Hamilton's father James abandoned Rachel and their two sons, allegedly to "spar[e] [Rachel] a charge of bigamy . . . [after finding out that her first husband] intend[ed] to divorce her under Danish law on grounds of adultery and desertion(Dell Inspiron 2000 battery)."[7] Rachel supported her family in St. Croix by keeping a small store in Christiansted. She contracted a severe fever and died on February 19, 1768, 1:02 am, leaving Hamilton effectively orphaned. This may have had severe emotional consequences for him, even by the standards of an eighteenth-century childhood.[15] In probate court(Dell INSPIRON 2600 battery), Rachel's "first husband seized her estate"[7] and obtained the few valuables Rachel had owned, including some household silver. Many items were auctioned off, but a friend purchased the family books and returned them to the young Hamilton.[16]

Hamilton became a clerk at a local import-export firm, Beekman and Cruger, which traded with New England; he was left in charge of the firm for five months in 1771, while the owner was at sea(Dell INSPIRON 3800 battery). He and his older brother James were adopted briefly by a cousin, Peter Lytton, but when Lytton committed suicide, the brothers were separated.[17] James apprenticed with a local carpenter, while Alexander was adopted by a Nevis merchant, Thomas Stevens. Some evidence suggests that Stevens may have been Alexander Hamilton's biological father: his son, Edward Stevens, became a close friend of Hamilton(Dell INSPIRON 4000 battery). The two boys were described as looking much alike, were both fluent in French, and shared similar interests.[18]

Hamilton continued clerking, but he remained an avid reader, later developed an interest in writing, and began to desire a life outside the small island where he lived. He wrote an essay published in the Royal Danish-American Gazette, a detailed account of a hurricane that had devastated Christiansted on August 30, 1772(Dell Inspiron 5000 battery). The essay impressed community leaders, who collected a fund to send the young Hamilton to the North American colonies for his education.[19]

[edit]Education

Statue of Hamilton outside Hamilton Hall overlooking Hamilton Lawn at his alma mater, Columbia University in New York City

In the autumn of 1772, Hamilton arrived by way of Boston, Massachusetts, at Elizabethtown Academy, a grammar school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. In 1773 he studied with Francis Barber at Elizabethtown in preparation for college work(Dell INSPIRON 500M battery). He came under the influence of a leading intellectual and revolutionary, William Livingston, with whom he lived for a time at his new house, Liberty Hall.[20] Hamilton applied to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), asking to be allowed to study at a quicker pace and complete his studies in a shorter time.[21] The college's Board of Trustees refused his request. (Dell INSPIRON 5100 battery) Hamilton made a similar request to King's College in New York City (now Columbia University), was accepted, and entered the college in late 1773 or early 1774.[23]

Hamilton Lawn separates Hamilton Hall and John Jay Hall at Columbia University

When the Church of England clergyman Samuel Seabury published a series of pamphlets promoting the Loyalist cause the following year, Hamilton responded with his first political writings(Dell INSPIRON 510M battery), "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress" and "The Farmer Refuted". He published two additional pieces attacking the Quebec Act[24] as well as fourteen anonymous installments of "The Monitor" for Holt's New York Journal. Although Hamilton was a supporter of the Revolutionary cause at this prewar stage, he did not approve of mob reprisals against Loyalists(Dell INSPIRON 6000 battery). On May 10, 1775, Hamilton saved his college president Myles Cooper, a Loyalist, from an angry mob by speaking to the crowd long enough for Cooper to escape the danger.[25]

[edit]During the Revolutionary War

Alexander Hamilton in the Uniform of the New York Artillery by Alonzo Chappel (1828–1887)

[edit]Early military career

In 1775, after the first engagement of American troops with the British in Boston, Hamilton joined a New York volunteer militia company called the Hearts of Oak, which included other King's College students(Dell INSPIRON 600M battery). He drilled with the company, before classes, in the graveyard of nearby St. Paul's Chapel. Hamilton studied military history and tactics on his own and achieved the rank of lieutenant. Under fire from HMS Asia, he led a successful raid for British cannon in the Battery, the capture of which resulted in the Hearts of Oak becoming an artillery company thereafter(Dell Inspiron 6400 battery). Through his connections with influential New York patriots such as Alexander McDougall and John Jay, he raised the New York Provincial Company of Artillery of sixty men in 1776, and was elected captain. It took part in the campaign of 1776 around New York City, particularly at the Battle of White Plains; at the Battle of Trenton, it was stationed at the high point of town, the meeting of the present Warren and Broad Streets, to keep the Hessians pinned in the Trenton Barracks. (Dell INSPIRON 7000 battery)

[edit]Washington's staff

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, 1787

Hamilton was invited to become an aide to Nathanael Greene and to Henry Knox; however, he declined these invitations, believing his best chance for improving his station in life was glory on the battlefield. Hamilton eventually received an invitation he felt he could not refuse: to serve as Washington's aide, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.[27] Hamilton served for four years as Washington's chief of staff(Dell INSPIRON 700M battery). He handled letters to Congress, state governors, and the most powerful generals in the Continental Army; he drafted many of Washington's orders and letters at the latter's direction; he eventually issued orders from Washington over Hamilton's own signature.[2] Hamilton was involved in a wide variety of high-level duties, including intelligence, diplomacy(Dell Inspiron 710m battery), and negotiation with senior army officers as Washington's emissary.[28] The important duties with which he was entrusted attest to Washington's deep confidence in his abilities and character, then and afterward. At the points in their relationship when there was little personal attachment, there was still always a reciprocal confidence and respect(Dell INSPIRON 8200 battery).

During the war, Hamilton became close friends with several fellow officers. His letters to the Marquis de Lafayette[29] and to John Laurens, employing the sentimental literary conventions of the late eighteenth century and alluding to Greek history and mythology,[30] have been read as revealing a homosocial or perhaps homosexual relationship, but few historians agree. (Dell INSPIRON 8600 battery)

Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown by John Trumbull, oil on canvas, 1820

Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler on December 14, 1780. She was the daughter of Philip Schuyler, a general and wealthy landowner from one of the most prominent families in the state of New York. The marriage took place at Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York(Dell INSPIRON 9100 battery).

Hamilton was also extremely close to Eliza's older sister, Angelica, who eloped with John Barker Church, an Englishman who made a fortune in the American colonies during the Revolution. She returned with him to London after the war, where she later become a joint friend of Maria Cosway and Thomas Jefferson(Dell INSPIRON 9200 battery).

While on Washington's staff, Hamilton long sought command in active combat. As the war drew nearer to a close, he knew that opportunities for military glory were fading. In February 1781, Hamilton was mildly reprimanded by Washington, and used this as an excuse to resign his staff position. He immediately began to ask Washington and others for a field command. This continued until early July 1781(Dell INSPIRON 9300 battery), when Hamilton submitted a letter to Washington with his commission enclosed, "thus tacitly threatening to resign if he didn't get his desired command."[32]

On July 31, 1781, Washington relented and assigned Hamilton as commander of a New York light infantry battalion. In the planning for the assault on Yorktown, Hamilton was given command of three battalions, which were to fight in conjunction with French troops in taking Redoubts #9 and #10 of the British fortifications at Yorktown(Dell Inspiron 9400 battery). Hamilton and his battalions fought bravely and took Redoubt #10 with bayonets, as planned. The French also fought bravely, took heavy casualties, and successfully took Redoubt #9. This action forced the British surrender of an entire army at Yorktown, effectively ending major British military operations in North America.[33]

[edit]Hamilton enters Congress(Dell Inspiron E1505 battery)

After the Battle of Yorktown, Hamilton resigned his commission. He was elected in July 1782 to the Congress of the Confederation as a New York representative for the term beginning in November 1782.[34] Hamilton supported congressmen such as Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris, his assistant Gouverneur Morris (no relation), along with James Wilson and James Madison, to provide the Congress with the independent source of revenue it lacked under the Articles of Confederation(Dell Inspiron E1705 battery).

While on Washington's staff, Hamilton had become frustrated with the decentralized nature of the wartime Continental Congress, particularly its dependence upon the states for financial support. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had no power to collect taxes or to demand money from the states(Dell Inspiron Mini 9 battery). This lack of a stable source of funding had made it difficult for the Continental Army both to obtain its necessary provisions and to pay its soldiers. During the war, and for some time after, Congress obtained what funds it could from subsidies from the King of France, from aid requested from the several states (which were often unable or unwilling to contribute), and from European loans. (Dell Latitude D400 battery)

An amendment to the Articles had been proposed by Thomas Burke, in February 1781, to give Congress the power to collect a 5% impost, or duty on all imports, but this required ratification by all states; securing its passage as law proved impossible after it was rejected by Rhode Island in November 1782. Madison joined Hamilton in persuading Congress to send a delegation to persuade Rhode Island to change its mind(Dell STUDIO 1450 battery). Their report recommending the delegation argued the federal government needed not just some level of financial autonomy, but also the ability to make laws that superseded those of the individual states. Hamilton transmitted a letter arguing that Congress already had the power to tax, since it had the power to fix the sums due from the several states(Dell Vostro 1400 battery); but Virginia's rescission of its own ratification ended the Rhode Island negotiations.[36]

[edit]Congress and the Army

While Hamilton was in Congress, discontented soldiers began to pose a danger to the young United States. Most of the army was then posted at Newburgh, New York. Those in the army were paying for much of their own supplies, and they had not been paid in eight months. Furthermore, the Continental officers had been promised(Dell Vostro 1500 battery), in May 1778, after Valley Forge, a pension of half their pay when they were discharged.[37] It was at this time that a group of officers organized under the leadership of General Henry Knox sent a delegation to lobby Congress, led by Capt. Alexander MacDougall (see above). The officers had three demands: the Army's pay, their own pensions, and commutation of those pensions into a lump-sum payment(Dell XPS M1210 battery).

Several Congressmen, including Hamilton and the Morrises, attempted to use this Newburgh Conspiracy as leverage to secure independent support for funding for the federal government in Congress and from the states. They encouraged MacDougall to continue his aggressive approach, threatening unknown consequences if their demands were not met(Dell XPS M1330 battery), and defeated proposals that would have resolved the crisis without establishing general federal taxation: that the states assume the debt to the army, or that an impost be established dedicated to the sole purpose of paying that debt.[38] Hamilton suggested using the Army's claims to prevail upon the states for the proposed national funding system. (Dell XPS 1340 battery) The Morrises and Hamilton contacted Knox to suggest he and the officers defy civil authority, at least by not disbanding if the army were not satisfied; Hamilton wrote Washington to suggest that Hamilton covertly "take direction" of the officers' efforts to secure redress, to secure continental funding but keep the army within the limits of moderation.[40] Washington wrote Hamilton back, declining to introduce the army(Dell XPS M1530 battery);[41] after the crisis had ended, he warned of the dangers of using the army as leverage to gain support for the national funding plan.[42]

On March 15, Washington defused the Newburgh situation by giving a speech to the officers.[38] Congress ordered the Army officially disbanded in April 1783. In the same month, Congress passed a new measure for a twenty-five-year impost—which Hamilton voted against—(Dell XPS M170 battery) [43] that again required the consent of all the states; it also approved a commutation of the officers' pensions to five years of full pay. Rhode Island again opposed these provisions, and Hamilton's robust assertions of national prerogatives in his previous letter were widely held to be excessive.[44] The Continental Congress was never able to secure full ratification for back pay, pensions, or its own independent sources of funding(Dell XPS M1710 battery).

In June 1783, a different group of disgruntled soldiers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sent Congress a petition demanding their back pay. When they began to march toward Philadelphia, Congress charged Hamilton and two others with intercepting the mob.[45] Hamilton requested militia from Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council, but was turned down(Dell XPS M1730 battery). Hamilton instructed Assistant Secretary of War William Jackson to intercept the men. Jackson was unsuccessful. The mob arrived in Philadelphia, and the soldiers proceeded to harangue Congress for their pay. The President of Congress, John Dickinson, feared that the Pennsylvania state militia was unreliable, and refused its help. Hamilton argued that Congress ought to adjourn to Princeton, New Jersey(Dell XPS M2010 battery). Congress agreed, and relocated there.[46]

Frustrated with the weakness of the central government, Hamilton while in Princeton drafted a call to revise the Articles of Confederation. This resolution contained many features of the future US Constitution, including a strong federal government with the ability to collect taxes and raise an army. It also included the separation of powers into the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. (Dell Latitude E5400 battery)

[edit]Return to New York

Hamilton resigned from Congress, and in July 1783 was admitted to the New York Bar after several months of self-directed education.[48] He practiced law in New York City in partnership with Richard Harison. He specialized in defending Tories and British subjects, as in Rutgers v. Waddington, in which he defeated a claim for damages done to a brewery by the Englishmen who held it during the military occupation of New York(Dell Latitude E5500 battery). He pleaded for the Mayor's Court to interpret state law consistent with the 1783 Treaty of Paris which had ended the Revolutionary War.[49]

In 1784, he founded the Bank of New York, now the oldest ongoing banking organization in the United States. Hamilton was one of the men who restored King's College, which had been suspended since the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and severely damaged during the War, as Columbia College(Dell Latitude E6400 battery). His public career resumed when he attended the Annapolis Convention as a delegate in 1786. While there, he drafted its resolution for a constitutional convention, and in doing so brought his longtime desire to have a more powerful, more financially independent federal government one step closer to reality(Dell Latitude E6500 battery).

[edit]Constitution and Federalist Papers

Further information: Federalist Papers

Hamilton shortly after the American Revolution

In 1787, Hamilton served as assemblyman from New York County in the New York State Legislature and was the first delegate chosen to the Constitutional Convention. Even though Hamilton had been a leader in calling for a new Constitutional Convention, his direct influence at the Convention itself was quite limited. Governor George Clinton's faction in the New York legislature had chosen New York's other two delegates(Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery), John Lansing and Robert Yates, and both of them opposed Hamilton's goal of a strong national government. Thus, whenever the other two members of the New York delegation were present, they decided New York's vote; and when they left the convention in protest, Hamilton remained but with no vote, since two representatives were required for any state to cast a vote(Dell XPS M140 battery).

Early in the Convention he made a speech proposing a President-for-Life; it had no effect upon the deliberations of the convention. He proposed to have an elected President and elected Senators who would serve for life, contingent upon "good behavior" and subject to removal for corruption or abuse; this idea contributed later to the hostile view of Hamilton as a monarchist sympathizer, held by James Madison. During the convention(Dell XPS 13 battery), Hamilton constructed a draft for the Constitution based on the convention debates, but he never presented it. This draft had most of the features of the actual Constitution, including such details as the three-fifths clause. In this draft, the Senate was to be elected in proportion to the population, being two-fifths the size of the House(Dell XPS 16 battery), and the President and Senators were to be elected through complex multistage elections, in which chosen electors would elect smaller bodies of electors; they would hold office for life, but were removable for misconduct. The President would have an absolute veto. The Supreme Court was to have immediate jurisdiction over all law suits involving the United States, and state governors were to be appointed by the federal government. (Dell XPS 1640 battery)

At the end of the Convention, Hamilton was still not content with the final form of the Constitution, but signed it anyway as a vast improvement over the Articles of Confederation, and urged his fellow delegates to do so also.[51] Since the other two members of the New York delegation, Lansing and Yates, had already withdrawn, Hamilton was the only New York signer to the United States Constitution(Dell XPS 1645 battery). He then took a highly active part in the successful campaign for the document's ratification in New York in 1788, which was a crucial step in its national ratification. Hamilton recruited John Jay and James Madison to write a series of essays defending the proposed Constitution, now known as the Federalist Papers, and made the largest contribution to that effort(Dell XPS 1647 battery), writing 51 of 85 essays published (Madison wrote 29, Jay only five). Hamilton's essays and arguments were influential in New York state, and elsewhere, during the debates over ratification. The Federalist Papers are more often cited than any other primary source by jurists, lawyers, historians, and political scientists as the major contemporary interpretation of the Constitution. (Dell Latitude 131L battery)

In 1788, Hamilton served yet another term in what proved to be the last session of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. When the term of Hamilton's father-in-law Phillip Schuyler was up in 1791, elected in his place was the attorney general of New York, one Aaron Burr. Hamilton blamed Burr for this result, and ill characterizations of Burr appear in his correspondence thereafter(Dell Latitude C400 battery). The two men did work together from time to time thereafter on various projects, including Hamilton's army of 1798 and the Manhattan Water Company.[53]

[edit]Secretary of the Treasury

President George Washington appointed Hamilton as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. He left office on the last day of January 1795. Much of the structure of the government of the United States was worked out in those five years(Dell Latitude C500 battery), beginning with the structure and function of the cabinet itself. Forrest McDonald argues that Hamilton saw his office, like that of the British First Lord of the Treasury, as the equivalent of a Prime Minister; Hamilton would oversee his colleagues under the elective reign of George Washington. Washington did request Hamilton's advice and assistance on matters outside the purview of the Treasury Department(Dell Latitude C510 battery).

In the next two years, Hamilton submitted five reports:

First Report on the Public Credit: Communicated to the House of Representatives, January 14, 1790.

Operations of the Act Laying Duties on Imports: Communicated to the House of Representatives, April 23, 1790.

Second Report on Public Credit – Report on a National Bank. Communicated to the House of Representatives, December 14, 1790.

Report on the Establishment of a Mint: Communicated to the House of Representatives, January 28, 1791(Dell Latitude C540 battery).

Report on Manufactures: Communicated to the House of Representatives, December 5, 1791.

[edit]Report on Public Credit

In the Report on Public Credit, the Secretary made a controversial proposal that would have the federal government assume state debts incurred during the Revolution.[54] This would give the federal government much more power by placing the country's most serious financial obligation in the hands of the federal government rather than the state governments(Dell Latitude C600 battery).

The primary criticism of the plan was from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson[54] and Representative James Madison. Some states, such as Jefferson's Virginia, had paid almost half of their debts, and felt that their taxpayers should not be assessed again to bail out the less provident. They further argued that the plan passed beyond the scope of the new Constitutional government(Dell Latitude C610 battery).

Madison objected to Hamilton's proposal to lower the rate of interest and postpone payments on federal debt as not being payment in full; he also objected to the speculative profits being made. Much of the national debt was in the form of bonds issued to Continental veterans, in place of wages the Continental Congress did not have the money to pay. As the bonds continued to go unpaid(Dell Latitude C640 battery), many had been pawned for a small fraction of their value. Madison proposed to pay in full, but to divide payment between the original recipient and the present possessor. Others, such as Samuel Livermore of New Hampshire, wished to curb speculation, and reduce taxation, by paying only part of the bond. The disagreements between Madison and Hamilton extended to other proposals Hamilton made to Congress(Dell Latitude C800 battery), and drew in Jefferson when he returned from serving as minister to France. Hamilton's supporters became known as Federalists and Jefferson's as Republicans. As Madison put it:

"I deserted Colonel Hamilton, or rather Colonel H. deserted me; in a word, the divergence between us took place from his wishing to administration, or rather to administer the Government into what he thought it ought to be..." (Dell Latitude C810 battery)

Hamilton eventually secured passage of his assumption plan by striking a deal with Jefferson and Madison. Hamilton would use his influence to place the permanent national capital on the Potomac River, and Jefferson and Madison would encourage their friends to back Hamilton's assumption plan. In the end, Hamilton's assumption, together with his proposals for funding the debt(Dell Latitude C840 battery), overcame legislative opposition and narrowly passed the House on July 26, 1790.[56]

[edit]Founding the US Mint

Hamilton helped found the United States Mint; the first national bank; and an elaborate system of duties, tariffs, and excises. Within five years, the complete Hamiltonian program had replaced the chaotic financial system of the Confederation era with a modern apparatus that gave the new government financial stability and investors sufficient confidence to invest in government bonds(Dell Latitude CPI battery).

[edit]Revenue Cutter Service

Hamilton developed a "System of Cutters", forming the Revenue Cutter Service, (later combined with other government entities to form the United States Coast Guard). Coast Guard vessels are still referred to as "Cutters" today.

[edit]Sources of revenue

One of the principal sources of revenue Hamilton prevailed upon Congress to approve was an excise tax on whiskey. Strong opposition to the whiskey tax by cottage producers in remote, rural regions erupted into the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794(Dell Latitude CPX battery); in Western Pennsylvania and western Virginia, whiskey was the basic export product and was fundamental to the local economy. In response to the rebellion, believing compliance with the laws was vital to the establishment of federal authority, Hamilton accompanied to the rebellion's site President Washington, General Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee(Dell Latitude D410 battery), and more federal troops than were ever assembled in one place during the Revolution. This overwhelming display of force intimidated the leaders of the insurrection, ending the rebellion virtually without bloodshed.[57]

[edit]Manufacturing and industry

Statue of Hamilton by Franklin Simmons, overlooking the Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, where Hamilton envisioned using the falls to power new factories(Dell Latitude D420 battery)

Hamilton's next report was his "Report on Manufactures". Congress shelved the report without much debate (except for Madison's objection to Hamilton's formulation of the General Welfare clause, which Hamilton construed liberally as a legal basis for his extensive programs). The Report has been often quoted by protectionists since. (Dell Latitude D430 battery)

In 1791, while still Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton worked in a private capacity to help found the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures, a private corporation that would use the power of the Great Falls of the Passaic River in New Jersey to operate mills. Although the company did not succeed in its original purpose(Dell Latitude D500 battery), it leased the land around the falls to other mill ventures and continued to operate for over a century and a half.

[edit]Emergence of parties

During Hamilton's tenure as Treasury Secretary, political factions began to emerge. A Congressional caucus, led by James Madison and William Branch Giles, began as an opposition group to Hamilton's financial programs, and Thomas Jefferson joined this group when he returned from France. Hamilton and his allies began to call themselves Federalists(Dell Latitude D505 battery). The opposition group, now referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party, was then known by several names, including , Republicans,[59] republicans,[60] Jeffersonians, and Democrats.

The Federalists assembled a nationwide coalition to garner support for the Administration, including the expansive financial programs Hamilton had made Administration policy; the Democratic-Republicans built their own national coalition to oppose these Federalist programs(Dell Latitude D510 battery). Both sides gained the support of local political factions; each side developed its own partisan newspapers. Noah Webster, John Fenno, and eventually William Cobbett were prominent editors for the Federalists; Benjamin Franklin Bache and Philip Freneau edited major publications for the Democratic-Republicans(Dell Latitude D520 battery). Coverage by newspapers of both parties was characterized by frequent personal attacks and information of questionable veracity.

In 1801, Hamilton established a daily newspaper, the New York Evening Post under editor William Coleman. It is now known as the New York Post.[61]

[edit]French Revolutionary wars

When France and Britain went to war in early 1793, all four members of the Cabinet were consulted on what to do. They unanimously agreed to remain neutral, and both Hamilton and Jefferson were major architects in working out the specific provisions that maintained and enforced that neutrality. (Dell Latitude D600 battery)

However, during Hamilton's last year in office, policy toward Britain became a major point of contention between the two parties. Hamilton and the Federalists wished for more trade with Britain, which would provide more revenue from tariffs; the Democratic-Republicans preferred an embargo to compel Britain to respect the rights of the United States and give up the forts it still held on American soil in contravention to the Treaty of Paris. (Dell Latitude D610 battery)

To avoid war, Washington in late 1794 sent Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate with the British; Hamilton helped to draw up his instructions. The result was Jay's Treaty, which, as the State Department says, "addressed few US interests, and ultimately granted Britain additional rights".[64] The treaty was extremely unpopular(Dell Latitude D620 battery), and the Democratic-Republicans opposed it for its failure to redress previous grievances and for its failure to address British violations of American neutrality during the war.

Several European nations had formed a League of Armed Neutrality against incursions on their neutral rights; the Cabinet was also consulted on whether the United States should join it, and decided not to(Dell Latitude D630 battery). It kept that decision secret, but Hamilton revealed it in private to George Hammond, the British Minister to the United States, without telling Jay or anyone else. (His act remained unknown until Hammond's dispatches were read in the 1920s). This "amazing revelation" may have had limited effect on the negotiations; Jay did threaten to join the League at one point, but the British had other reasons not to view the League as a serious threat. (Dell Latitude D800 battery)

[edit]Affair

In 1791, Hamilton became involved in an affair with Maria Reynolds that badly damaged his reputation. Reynolds's complicit husband, James, blackmailed Hamilton for money by threatening to inform Hamilton's wife. When James Reynolds was arrested for counterfeiting, he contacted several prominent members of the Democratic-Republican Party(Dell Latitude D810 battery), most notably James Monroe and Aaron Burr, touting that he could expose a top-level official for corruption. Presuming that James Reynolds could implicate Hamilton in an abuse of his position in Washington's Cabinet, they interviewed Hamilton with their suspicions. Hamilton insisted he was innocent of any misconduct in public office, but admitted to an affair with Maria Reynolds(Dell Latitude D820 battery). Since this was not germane to Hamilton's conduct in office, Hamilton's interviewers did not publish about Reynolds. When rumors began spreading after his retirement, Hamilton published a confession of his affair, shocking his family and supporters by not merely confessing but also by inexplicably narrating the affair at an unexpected level of detail. This public revelation damaged Hamilton's reputation for the rest of his life(Dell Latitude D830 battery).

[edit]1796 presidential election

Hamilton's resignation as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795 did not remove him from public life. With the resumption of his law practice, he remained close to Washington as an advisor and friend. Hamilton influenced Washington in the composition of his Farewell Address; Washington and members of his Cabinet often consulted with him(Dell Latitude 2100 battery).

In the election of 1796, under the Constitution as it stood then, each of the presidential electors had two votes, which they were to cast for different men. The one who received most votes would become President, the second-most, Vice President. This system was not designed with the operation of parties in mind, as they had been thought disreputable and factious(Dell Latitude 2110 battery). The Federalists planned to deal with this by having all their Electors vote for John Adams, the Vice President, and all but a few for Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina (who was on his way home from being Minister to Spain, where he had negotiated a popular treaty); Jefferson chose Aaron Burr as his vice presidential running mate(Dell Latitude E4300 battery).

Adams resented Hamilton's influence with Washington and considered him overambitious and scandalous in his private life; Hamilton compared Adams unfavorably with Washington and thought him too emotionally unstable to be President. Hamilton took the election as an opportunity: he urged all the northern electors to vote for Adams and Pinckney, lest Jefferson get in(Dell Vostro 1310 battery); but he cooperated with Edward Rutledge to have South Carolina's electors vote for Jefferson and Pinckney. If all this worked, Pinckney would have more votes than Adams, Pinckney would become President, and Adams would remain Vice President; but it did not work. The Federalists found out about it (even the French minister to the United States knew), and northern Federalists voted for Adams but not for Pinckney(Dell Vostro 1320 battery), in sufficient numbers that Pinckney came in third and Jefferson became Vice President.[66] Adams resented the intrigue, since he felt his service to the nation was much more extensive than Pinckney's.[67]

[edit]Quasi-War

During the Quasi-War of 1798–1800, and with Washington's strong endorsement, Adams reluctantly appointed Hamilton a major general of the army (essentially placing him in command, since Washington could no longer leave Mt. Vernon) (Dell Vostro 1510 battery). If full-scale war broke out with France, Hamilton argued that the army should conquer the North American colonies of France's ally, Spain, bordering the United States.[68]

To fund this army, Hamilton had been writing incessantly to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., his successor at the Treasury; William Loughton Smith, of the House Ways and Means Committee; and Senator Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts. He directed them to pass a direct tax to fund the war. Smith resigned in July 1797, as Hamilton scolded him for slowness, and told Wolcott to tax houses instead of land. (Dell Vostro 1520 battery)

The eventual program included a Stamp Act like that of the British before the Revolution and other taxes on land, houses, and slaves, calculated at different rates in different states, and requiring difficult and intricate assessment of houses. This provoked resistance in southeastern Pennsylvania, led primarily by men who had marched with Washington against the Whiskey Rebellion, such as John Fries. (Dell Vostro 2510 battery)

Hamilton aided in all areas of the army's development, and officially served as the Senior Officer of the United States Army as a Major General from December 14, 1799, to June 15, 1800. The army was to guard against invasion from France. Hamilton also suggested that its strategy involve marching into the possessions of Spain, then allied with France, and potentially even taking Louisiana and Mexico(Dell Vostro 1014 battery). His correspondence further suggests that when he returned in military glory, he dreamed of setting up a properly energetic government, without any Jeffersonians. Adams, however, derailed all plans for war by opening negotiations with France.[71] Adams had also held it proper to retain the members of Washington's cabinet, except for cause; he found, in 1800 (after Washington's death) (Dell Inspiron 1410 battery), that they were obeying Hamilton rather than himself, and fired several of them.[72]

[edit]1800 presidential election

Statue of Hamilton in the United States Capitol rotunda

Main article: United States presidential election, 1800

In the 1800 election, Hamilton worked to defeat not only the rival Democratic-Republican candidates, but also his party's own nominee, John Adams.

In November 1799, the Alien and Sedition Acts had left one Democratic-Republican newspaper functioning in New York City; when the last one, the New Daily Advertiser, reprinted an article saying that Hamilton had attempted to purchase the Philadelphia Aurora and close it down(Dell Vostro 1014N battery), Hamilton had the publisher prosecuted for seditious libel, and the prosecution compelled Mr. Greenleaf to close it.[73]

Aaron Burr had won New York for Jefferson in May; Hamilton proposed a rerun of the election under different rules, with carefully drawn districts, each choosing an elector,[74] so that the Federalists would split the electoral vote of New York. John Jay, a Federalist, who had given up the Supreme Court to be Governor of New York(Dell Vostro 1015 battery), wrote on the back of the letter the words, "Proposing a measure for party purposes which it would not become me to adopt," and declined to reply.[75]

John Adams was running this time with Thomas Pinckney's elder brother Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Hamilton, however, toured New England, again urging northern electors to hold firm for this Pinckney, in the renewed hope of making Pinckney President; and he again intrigued in South Carolina(Dell Vostro 1015N battery). This time, the important reaction was from the Jeffersonian electors, all of whom voted both for Jefferson and Burr to ensure that no such deal would result in electing a Federalist. (Burr had received only one vote from Virginia in 1796.)

In September, Hamilton wrote a pamphlet called Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States that was highly critical of Adams, though it closed with a tepid endorsement. He mailed this to two hundred leading Federalists(Dell Inspiron 1088 battery); when a copy fell into the Democratic-Republicans' hands, they printed it. This hurt Adams's 1800 reelection campaign and split the Federalist Party, virtually assuring the victory of the Democratic-Republican Party, led by Jefferson, in the election of 1800; it destroyed Hamilton's position among the Federalists.[76]

On the Federalist side, Governor Arthur Fenner of Rhode Island denounced these "jockeying tricks" to make Pinckney President(Dell Inspiron 1088N battery), and one Rhode Island elector voted for Adams and Jay. Jefferson and Burr tied for first and second; Pinckney came in fourth.[77]

Jefferson had beaten Adams, but both he and his running mate, Aaron Burr, had received 73 votes in the Electoral College. With Jefferson and Burr tied, the United States House of Representatives had to choose between the two men. (As a result of this election, the Twelfth Amendment was proposed and ratified, adopting the method under which presidential elections are held today.) (Dell Vostro A840 battery) Several Federalists who opposed Jefferson supported Burr, and for the first 35 ballots, Jefferson was denied a majority. Before the 36th ballot, Hamilton threw his weight behind Jefferson, supporting the arrangement reached by James A. Bayard of Delaware, in which five Federalist Representatives from Maryland and Vermont abstained from voting, allowing those states' delegations to go for Jefferson(Dell Vostro A860 battery), ending the impasse and electing Jefferson President rather than Burr. Even though Hamilton did not like Jefferson and disagreed with him on many issues, he was quoted as saying, "At least Jefferson was honest." Hamilton felt that Burr was dangerous. Burr then became Vice President of the United States. When it became clear that he would not be asked to run again with Jefferson(Dell Vostro A860N battery), Burr sought the New York governorship in 1804 with Federalist support, against the Jeffersonian Morgan Lewis, but was defeated by forces including Hamilton.[78]

In 1801, Hamilton announced his intention to withdraw from the Federalist Party if Burr became its presidential candidate in 1804. In 1802, he began to organize "The Christian Constitutional Society", the first principle of which, even before supporting the Constitution, was "the support of the Christian religion".(Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 battery)

[edit]Burr–Hamilton duel

Hamilton fighting his fatal duel with Vice President Aaron Burr (the depiction is inaccurate: only the two "seconds" actually witnessed the duel)

Hamilton's tomb in the graveyard of Trinity Church at Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan

Main article: Burr-Hamilton duel

Soon after the 1804 gubernatorial election in New York—in which Morgan Lewis, greatly assisted by Hamilton, defeated Aaron Burr—the Albany Register published Charles D. Cooper's letters(SONY PCG-5G2L battery), citing Hamilton's opposition to Burr and alleging that Hamilton had expressed "a still more despicable opinion" of the Vice President at an upstate New York dinner party.[80][81] Burr, sensing an attack on his honor, and surely still stung by his political defeat, demanded an apology. Hamilton refused because he could not recall the instance(SONY PCG-5G3L battery).

Following an exchange of three testy letters, and despite attempts of friends to avert a confrontation, a duel was scheduled for July 11, 1804, along the west bank of the Hudson River on a rocky ledge in Weehawken, New Jersey. This was the same dueling site at which Hamilton's eldest son, Philip, had been killed three years earlier(SONY PCG-F305 battery).

At dawn, the duel began, and Vice President Aaron Burr shot Hamilton. Hamilton's shot broke a tree branch directly above Burr's head. A letter that he wrote the night before the duel states, "I have resolved, if our interview [duel] is conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire"(SONY PCG-5J1L battery), thus asserting an intention to miss Burr. The circumstances of the duel, and Hamilton's actual intentions, are still disputed. Neither of the seconds, Pendleton or Van Ness, could determine who fired first. Soon after, they measured and triangulated the shooting, but could not determine from which angle Hamilton fired. Burr's shot, however, hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen above the right hip(SONY PCG-5J2L battery). The bullet ricocheted off Hamilton's second or third false rib, fracturing it and caused considerable damage to his internal organs, particularly his liver and diaphragm before becoming lodged in his first or second lumbar vertebra. Chernow considers the circumstances to indicate that Burr fired second, after having taken deliberate aim(SONY PCG-5K2L battery).

If a duelist decided not to aim at his opponent there was a well-known procedure, available to everyone involved, for doing so. According to Freeman, Hamilton apparently did not follow this procedure; if he had, Burr might have followed suit, and Hamilton's death might have been avoided(SONY PCG-5L1L battery). It was a matter of honor among gentlemen to follow these rules. Because of the high incidence of septicemia and death resulting from torso wounds, a high percentage of duels employed this procedure of throwing away fire.[80] Years later, when told that Hamilton may have misled him at the duel, the ever-laconic Burr replied, "Contemptible, if true." (SONY PCG-6S2L battery)

The paralyzed Hamilton, who knew himself to be mortally wounded, was ferried back to New York[83]and taken to the Greenwich Village home of his friend William Bayard Jr., who had been waiting on the dock. After final visits from his family and friends and considerable suffering, Hamilton died on the following afternoon, July 12, 1804 at Bayard's home at what is now 80-82 Jane Street. (SONY PCG-6S3L battery)Gouverneur Morris, a political ally of Hamilton's, gave the eulogy at his funeral and secretly established a fund to support his widow and children. Hamilton was buried in the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in Manhattan.

[edit]Legacy

Alexander Hamilton on the Series 2004A $10 Federal Reserve Note, based on an 1805 portrait by John Trumbull

The Hamilton Grange National Memorial, now located in St. Nicholas Park. The Grange is the only home Hamilton ever owned and is where he was living at the time of his death(SONY PCG-6V1L battery).

From the start, Hamilton set a precedent as a cabinet member by formulating federal programs, writing them as reports, pushing for their approval by arguing for them in person on the floor of the United States Congress, and then implementing them. Hamilton and the other Cabinet members were vital to Washington(SONY PCG-6W1L battery), as there was no president before him (under the Constitution) to set precedents for him to follow in national situations such as seditions and foreign affairs.

Another of Hamilton's legacies was his pro-federal interpretation of the US Constitution. Though the Constitution was drafted in a way that was somewhat ambiguous as to the balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently took the side of greater federal power at the expense of the states(SONY PCG-7111L battery). As Secretary of the Treasury, he established—against the intense opposition of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson—the country's first national bank. Hamilton justified the creation of this bank, and other increased federal powers, under Congress's constitutional powers to issue currency, to regulate interstate commerce, and to do anything else that would be "necessary and proper"(SONY PCG-71511M battery). Jefferson, on the other hand, took a stricter view of the Constitution: parsing the text carefully, he found no specific authorization for a national bank. This controversy was eventually settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in McCulloch v. Maryland, which in essence adopted Hamilton's view, granting the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers(SONY PCG-6W3L battery), specifically the doctrine of implied powers.

Hamilton's policies as Secretary of the Treasury greatly affected the United States government and still continue to influence it. In 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States Navy was still using intership communication protocols written by Hamilton for the Revenue Cutter Service. His constitutional interpretation, specifically of the Necessary and Proper Clause(SONY PCG-7113L battery), set precedents for federal authority that are still used by the courts and are considered an authority on constitutional interpretation. The prominent French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who spent 1794 in the United States, wrote, "I consider Napoleon, Fox, and Hamilton the three greatest men of our epoch(SONY PCG-7133L battery), and if I were forced to decide between the three, I would give without hesitation the first place to Hamilton", adding that Hamilton had intuited the problems of European conservatives. Talleyrand, who helped demolish the First French Republic, would have preferred to have a coalition of European monarchies curtail the solitary republicanism of the United States, which would permit the peaceful recreation of the French colonial empire of Louis XIV(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery); he believed himself and Hamilton in general agreement.[85]

Opinions of Hamilton have run the gamut: both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson viewed him as unprincipled and dangerously aristocratic. Aaron Burr and Hamilton became personal enemies. Herbert Croly, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Theodore Roosevelt directed attention to him at the end of the 19th century in the interest of an active federal government, whether or not supported by tariffs(SONY PCG-7Z2L battery). Several nineteenth- and twentieth-century Republicans entered politics by writing laudatory biographies of Hamilton.[86]

By the time of the American Civil War, Hamilton's portrait began to appear on US currency, including the $2, $5, $10, and $50 notes. His likeness also began to appear on US postage in 1870. His portrait has continued to appear on US postage and currency, and most notably appears on the modern $10 bill(SONY PCG-8Y1L battery). Hamilton also appears on the $500 Series EE Savings Bond. The source of the face on the $10 bill is John Trumbull's 1805 portrait of Hamilton, in the portrait collection of New York City Hall.[87] On the south side of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. is a statue of Hamilton.

On March 19, 1956, the United States Postal Service issued the $5 Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Hamilton(SONY PCG-8Y2L battery).

The only home Hamilton ever owned was a Federal style mansion designed by John McComb Jr., which he built on his 32 acre country estate in Harlem in upper Manhattan. He named the house-which was completed in 1802- the "Grange" after his grandfather Alexander's estate in Ayrshire, Scotland. The house remained in the family until 1833 when his widow sold it to Thomas E. Davis(SONY PCG-8Z2L battery), a British born real estate developer for $25,000. Part of the proceeds were used by Eliza to purchase a new townhouse from Davis (Hamilton-Holly House) in Greenwich Village with her son Alexander Hamilton Jr. The historic structure, first moved from its original location in 1889, was moved again in 2008 to a spot in St. Nicholas Park on land that was once part of the Hamilton estate(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery). The Grange was restored to its original 1802 appearance in 2011, and is maintained by the National Park service as Hamilton Grange National Memorial.

[edit]Family

Grave of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton (1757–1854) at Trinity Church

Hamilton's widow, Elizabeth (known as Eliza or Betsy), survived him for fifty years, until she died in Washington, D.C. in 1854; Hamilton referred to her as the "best of wives and best of women". An extremely religious woman, Eliza spent much of her life working to help widows and orphans. She co-founded New York's first private orphanage, the New York Orphan Asylum Society(SONY PCG-7112L battery). Despite the Reynolds affair, Alexander and Eliza were very close, and as a widow she always strove to guard his reputation and enhance his standing in American history.

Hamilton and Elizabeth had eight children, including two named Phillip. The elder Philip, Hamilton's first child (born January 22, 1782), was killed in 1801 in a duel with George I. Eacker, whom he had publicly insulted in a Manhattan theater. The second Philip, Hamilton's last child, was born on June 2, 1802(SONY PCG-6W2L battery), right after the first Philip was killed. Their other children were Angelica, born September 25, 1784; Alexander, born May 16, 1796; James Alexander (April 14, 1788 – September 1878);[91] John Church, born August 22, 1792; William Stephen, born August 4, 1797; and Eliza, born November 26, 1799. (SONY PCG-5K1L battery)

[edit]On slavery

Rob Weston has described modern scholarly views on Hamilton's attitude to slavery as viewing Hamilton as anything from a "steadfast abolitionist" to a "hypocrite"; Weston's view is that he was deeply ambivalent. Nevertheless, he attended meetings of the New York Manumission Society(SONY VGP-BPS4 battery).

Hamilton's first polemic against King George's ministers contains a paragraph that speaks of the evils that "slavery" to the British would bring upon the Americans. McDonald sees this as an attack on actual slavery; such rhetoric was quite common in 1776, and varied from the stand that slavery was wrong for free-born Americans of British descent to a recognition of the evils of black slavery. (SONY VGP-BPS2 battery)

During the Revolutionary War, there was a series of proposals to arm slaves, free them, and compensate their masters. In 1779, Hamilton's friend John Laurens suggested that such a unit be formed, under his command, to relieve besieged Charleston, South Carolina; Hamilton proposed to the Continental Congress to create up to four battalions of slaves for combat duty, and free them. Congress recommended that South Carolina (and Georgia) acquire up to three thousand slaves, if they saw fit(SONY VGP-BPS3 battery); they did not, even though the South Carolina governor and Congressional delegation had supported the plan in Philadelphia.[93]

Letter from Alexander Hamilton, 1779

Hamilton argued that blacks' natural faculties were as good as those of free whites, and he answered objections by citing Frederick the Great and others as praising stupidity in soldiers; he argued that if the Americans did not do this, the British would (as they had elsewhere). One of his biographers has cited this incident as evidence that Hamilton and Laurens saw the Revolution and the struggle against slavery as inseparable. (SONY VGP-BPS5 battery) Hamilton later attacked his political opponents as demanding freedom for themselves and refusing to allow it to blacks.[95]

In January 1785, he attended the second meeting of the New York Manumission Society (NYMS). John Jay was president and Hamilton was secretary; he later became president.[96] He was a member of the committee of the society that put a bill through the New York Legislature banning the export of slaves from New York; (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) however, three months later, Hamilton returned a fugitive slave to Henry Laurens of South Carolina.[98]

Hamilton never supported forced emigration for freed slaves; it has been argued from this that he would be comfortable with a multiracial society, and that this distinguished him from his contemporaries.[99] In international affairs, he supported Toussaint L'Ouverture's black government in Haiti after the revolt that overthrew French control, as he had supported aid to the slaveowners in 1791—both measures hurt France. (SONY VGP-BPS8A battery)

Hamilton may have owned household slaves himself (the evidence for this is indirect; McDonald interprets it as referring to paid employees). He supported a gag rule to keep divisive discussions of slavery out of Congress, and he supported the compromise by which the United States could not abolish the slave trade for 20 years.[101] When the Quakers of New York petitioned the First Congress (SONY VGP-BPL8 battery) (under the Constitution) for the abolition of the slave trade, and Benjamin Franklin and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society petitioned for the abolition of slavery, the NYMS did not act.[102]

[edit]On economics

Alexander Hamilton is sometimes considered the "patron saint" of the American School of economic philosophy that, according to one historian, dominated economic policy after 1861.[103] He firmly supported government intervention in favor of business, after the manner of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, as early as the fall of 1781. (SONY VGP-BPS9 battery)

Hamilton opposed the British ideas of free trade, which he believed skewed benefits to colonial and imperial powers, in favor of US protectionism, which he believed would help develop the fledgling nation's emerging economy. Henry C. Carey was inspired by his writings. Some say[who?] he influenced the ideas and work of the German Friedrich List(SONY VGP-BPS9/S battery).

From the 1860s onwards members of Japan's Meiji leadership, after touring America's post-Civil War political and industrial landscape, embraced Hamilton's words and work as being applicable to their own need to modernize. Within the Grant Administration they found Hamiltonian advocates who opened up American financial and manufacturing operations for Japanese inspection(SONY VGP-BPS9A battery). The Meiji leadership sent their sons to study American finance and industry in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and other centers of commerce. These Japanese leaders found Hamilton's words and work also being used by Bismarck's administration in Germany, having been brought to Germany by Friedrich List in the 1840s after List had spent time in exile in Philadelphia(SONY VGP-BPS9A/B battery). Later Hamilton's reports to Congress could be found in libraries not only in Japan but in Taiwan and Korea, after they came under the colonial rule of Meiji Japan. Post-1945 leaders in both countries (i.e., South Korea) used Hamilton's Report on Credit to establish their own modern financial systems.

[edit]Hamilton's religion

During much of his life, Hamilton remained quite religious.[105] Biographer Ron Chernow argues that this was the source of his aggressive abolitionism. Hamilton, as a youth in the West Indies(SONY VGP-BPS9/B battery), was an orthodox and conventional Presbyterian of the "New Light" evangelical type (as opposed to the "Old Light" Calvinists); he was being taught by a student of John Witherspoon, a moderate of the New School.[106] He wrote two or three hymns, which were published in the local newspaper.[107] Robert Troup, his college roommate, noted that Hamilton was "in the habit of praying on his knees night and morning." (SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery)

From 1777 to 1792, Hamilton appears to have been completely indifferent, and made jokes about God at the Constitutional Convention.[109] During the French Revolution, he had an "opportunistic religiosity", using Christianity for political ends and insisting that Christianity and Jefferson's democracy were incompatible.[109] After his misfortunes of 1801, Hamilton further asserted the truth of Christianity(SONY VGP-BPL9 battery); he also proposed a Christian Constitutional Society in 1802, to take hold of "some strong feeling of the mind" to elect "fit men" to office, and he wrote of "Christian welfare societies" for the poor. He was not a member of any denomination. After being shot, Hamilton spoke of his belief in God's mercy, and of his desire to renounce dueling; Bishop Moore administered communion to Hamilton. (SONY VGP-BPS10 battery)

[edit]Hamilton on US postage

The first postage stamp to honor Hamilton was issued by the US Post Office in 1870. The portrayals on the 1870 and 1888 issues are from the same engraved die, which was modeled after a bust of Hamilton by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi[111] The Hamilton 1870 issue was the first US Postage stamp to honor a Secretary of the Treasury(SONY VGP-BPL10 battery). The 3-cent red commemorative issue, which was released on the 200th anniversary of Hamilton's birth in 1957, includes a rendition of the Federal Hall building, located in New York City.[112]

[edit]Memorials

Hamilton's statue on the south side of the treasury building.

Alexander Hamilton served as one of the first trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in New York state. When the Academy received a college charter in 1812, the school was formally renamed Hamilton College. There is a prominent statue of Alexander Hamilton in front of the school's chapel (SONY VGP-BPS11 battery) (commonly referred to as the "Al-Ham" statue) and the Burke Library has an extensive collection of Hamilton's personal documents.

Columbia University, Hamilton's alma mater, has official memorials to Hamilton on its campus in New York City. The college's main classroom building for the humanities is Hamilton Hall, and a large statue of Hamilton stands in front of it. The university press has published his complete works in a multivolume letterpress edition(SONY VGP-BPL11 battery). Columbia University's student group for ROTC cadets and Marine officer candidates is named the Alexander Hamilton Society.

The main administration building of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, is named Hamilton Hall to commemorate Hamilton's creation of the United States Revenue Cutter Service, one of the predecessor services of the United States Coast Guard.

The U.S. Army's Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn is named after Hamilton as is Hamilton Heights, a neighborhood in upper Manhattan(SONY VGP-BPL12 battery).

A statue, by James Earle Fraser, was dedicated on May 17, 1923, on the south terrace of the Treasury Building, Washington, D.C.