Kyle Duffy

HST 109

19 March 2019

Critical Source Review #2: Alexander Hamilton

Characters such as Alexander Hamilton play an absolutely pivotal role in the creation

of a nation such as the United States. Hamilton assumed the persona of a wild west ex-

military man in the first stages of the congressional meeting for the new nation. While living

an edgy lifestyle, Hamilton proved to be a financial genius, who’s policy implementations

would raise the United States from an indebted nation with no revenue potential to a regional

power who generates monies based on taxes and tariffs. Alexander Hamilton was the

mastermind behind America’s first financial system, and without him this country would not

have reached the heights that it currently is at today. The United States’ first Treasury

Secretary’s Speeches from the Debates of the New York Ratifying Convention, his Report on

Public Credit, and Eric Foner’s historical writing allow historians to see the importance of

Alexander Hamilton to the new Nation.

Hamilton is well-known for being an ardent Federalist. He believed that a strong

centralized government system would be the key to keeping each of the individual states

accountable for their actions. This absence of this system of the federal government was the

reason why the articles of confederation did not hold in his opinion. During his Speeches

from the Debates of the New York Ratifying Convention, Hamilton states “Instability has been

a prominent and very defective feature in most republican systems. It is the first to be seen,

and the last to be lamented, by a philosophical inquirer. It has operated most banefully in our

infant republics.” In this context, Hamilton is speaking specifically of national identity, and

the idea of having no strong federal system of government would leave the national identity
up to the coalition of states. In a time where slavery was such a cut-throat topic, a strong

federal system with a defined national identity was important to the survival of the nation.

This debate transcript is important to understanding the history of Hamilton’s federalist ideals

because it shows his motivations for pushing a system that many did not think would be

successful.

Another critical publication that is offered to historians from Hamilton is his Report

on Public Credit. It is in this literature that Hamilton’s true genius is put on display for

historians to analyze. Hamilton’s address to the House of Representatives explains his

methods on how to restore the reputation of the nation, and truly establish independence

through financial freedom. This report is important to historians because it shows the

beginning thoughts on a new type of American freedom, that is still important in modern day

politics. Hamilton believed freedom could not be achieved while financially indebted to other

nations and powers. In Report on Public Credit, Hamilton explains why the idea of financial

freedom is so important to the security on stability of a young Nation trying to survive.

Foner’s take on Alexander Hamilton reaffirms his importance to the young nation that

was the United States. In his textbook, Give Me Liberty! 5th Edition, he states “Men like

Madison and Hamilton were nation-builders. They came to believe during the 1780s that

Americans were squandering the fruits of independence and that the country’s future

greatness depended on enhancing national authority.” Foner reiterates Hamilton’s views on

the Federalist system he so passionately defended at the New York ratifying convention.

Foner’s affirmation of the importance of Hamilton’s actions and ideas prove he is an asset to

historians to understanding the decisions made in order to shape the nation as it currently

stands.

Alexander Hamilton is widely a forgotten founding father. Although he appears on

the modern ten-dollar bill, few actually know why the first Treasury Secretary was so
important to the nation. Hamilton’s debate from the New York Ratifying Convention paired

with his Report on Public Credit, reaffirmed by historian Eric Foner in Give me Liberty! 5th

Edition prove that Hamilton is important for historians to understand, if the creation of the

United States is to be adequately recounted.

 Works Cited

Hamilton, Alexander. “Hamilton's Speeches from the Debates of the New York Ratifying

Convention.” Canvas (Arizona State University),

file:///C:/Users/kyled/Downloads/Discussion 11 Hamilton Speeches.pdf.

Hamilton, Alexander. Report on Public Credit. Govt Print. Off., 1908.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! an American History. WW Norton & Co, 2017.