Alexander Hamilton began on the island of St. Croix. His father left when he was young and his mother was unable to truly support the family. For this reason, Hamilton began working in a mercantile business at the age of 10. There was a hurricane in the Caribbean that he wrote about that got him noticed and sent to school in New York in 1772 (Ripper 2008, p. 124). He served in the war as part of the artillery company and was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel by General Washington. In 1780 he married Elizabeth Schuyler, who came from a wealthy family. He ended up becoming a lawyer and was unstoppable for years. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay For 20 years he "promoted a vision of America that united government, people, and finance in a secular trinity," and there was such great significance to this that he ended up becoming the face of the dollar bill. 10 dollars (Ripper 2008, p. 124). He believed in having more federal union, which in turn led him to support the Constitutional Convention. Although he did not play a major role in the convention, he collaborated with James Madison and John Jay to write the best essays in support of the Constitution that helped secure its ratification. In addition to helping establish it, he helped build the Bank of New York and became Secretary of the Treasury. He was a great promoter of manufacturing, banking and large-scale trade. He was able to convince President Washington and Congress to adopt the “Bank of the United States (1791), the assumption of all state and national debts arising from the Revolutionary War (1790), close relations with Great Britain, and closer relations weak with France, and excise taxes on alcohol of 7 cents a gallon (1791), and expanded presidential powers” ​​(Ripper 2008, p. 125). The people who benefited from Hamilton's plans were primarily the central states and New England, not the South. Hamilton's excise tax on alcohol led people in the West to side with Jefferson in thinking that the federal government was too strong for the nation. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Eventually the people who didn't pay their taxes had to go to court, but those people in return started a rebellion. Hamilton and the governor of Virginia with a militia to stop the rebellion, and Hamilton believed that “martial display of force was exactly what the federal government needed” (Ripper 2008, p. 127). One of the only things Jefferson and Hamilton could agree on was moving the capital permanently to the Potomac River in “exchange for approving Hamilton's demand that the government assume the public debt” (Ripper 2008, page 128). In 1795 Hamilton left Washington to return to practicing law. On July 11, 1804, Hamilton took part in a duel between Aaron Burr to settle a dispute in which he was shot and ultimately died the next day. Hamilton was not the best at politics, but he certainly had great influence in the finances of the newly independent nation.