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ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Charles Willson Peale1755/1804

Independence National Historical Park, National Park Service

Independence National Historical Park, National Park Service
Philadelphia, PA, United States

Hamilton was born in Nevis, British West Indies. He immigrated to America as a child and graduated from King's College (now Columbia). A precocious intellect, Hamilton contributed extensively to the anti-parliamentary pamphlet war in New York. At the beginning of the Revolution, he was commissioned a captain and fought on Long Island and at Trenton and Princeton. He gained Washington's attention and progressed swiftly from a staff secretary to the General's Aide-de-Camp. In 1781, he left Washington's staff for a regimental command and led a successful attack on the British at Yorktown.

After the war, Hamilton studied law and served a year in the Continental Congress. In 1786, he was elected to the New York legislature and the Annapolis Convention. He proposed the idea of a constitutional congress and attended the federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He wrote many of the essays in support of a federal, representative government.


In 1789, Hamilton was appointed United States secretary of the treasury. He implemented a plan to organize the new nation's economic system. He designed the first national bank and planned for the assumption and funding of the wartime debt. The rift between Hamilton and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson led to the resignation of both from office (Hamilton's in 1795). Although no longer in office, he remained a viable political force, particularly in blocking the election of Aaron Burr to the presidency in 1800. Long-simmering hostilities between Hamilton and Vice President Burr led to a duel between them. Hamilton was mortally wounded and died on July 12, 1804.

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  • Title: ALEXANDER HAMILTON
  • Creator: by Charles Willson Peale, from life
  • Date Created: 1755/1804
  • Contributor: Independence National Historical Park, National Park Service
  • Original Source: http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/image_gal/indeimg/hamilton.html
  • Source: Independence NHP
  • Portrait Figure Birth and Death Dates: c. 1790-1795
  • Ownership History: Listed in the 1795 Peale Museum catalog. Purchased by the City of Philadelphia at the 1854 Peale Museum sale.
  • National Park Service Catalog Number: INDE 11877
  • Measurements: H 24, W 20 in (H 61, W 50.8 cm)
  • Materials: Oil on canvas.
  • About This Portrait: Hamilton was at the height of his career when Charles Willson Peale painted his portrait for the Philadelphia Museum. The portrait appears to be a hastily done sketch re-worked sometime after the initial sitting. Only the face is painted in detail, and the hair and body don't exhibit the same degree of completion as Peale's other works from the same period. The ruddy palate used for the flesh tones is typical of the artist's work produced in the early 1790s.
Independence National Historical Park, National Park Service

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