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Historical Performances

Call Janie Guill
Empire  for Liberty, LLC
(434) 664-9202    EST

bchrystal@hotmail.com

Hamilton Speaks

Alexander Hamilton
January 11, 1757* - July 12, 1804

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The goal of this page is to give you the sense of the man who is one of the United States’ greatest founding fathers. Who was Alexander Hamilton? How did he think? What did he consider important? These are the issues we explore here. Please join us on a search for the essence of this great man!

*A division exists amongst scholars regarding Hamilton’s birth year. We use the year Hamilton himself quoted as his birth year.

Who was Alexander Hamilton?

Hamilton is one of our top five founding fathers. (The five are George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.) Some argue Hamilton comes in second—George Washington being the top founder.

Here are a few of Alexander Hamilton’s accomplishments:

  • George Washington’s primary aide-de-camp during a critical portion of the Revolutionary War.
  • Instrumental in the victory at Yorktown, Virginia, which helped defeat the British.
  • Critical contributor and supporter of the Constitution. 
  • The organizer and primary writer of a series of 85 newspaper articles entitled The Federalist. Goal: Educate the people and influence the ratification of the new Constitution.
  • Member of President George Washington’s first cabinet as the Secretary of the Treasury.
  • Designed a financial system to manage the national debt and to raise the economy to a healthy level and allow the U.S. to play in the financial world with European powers.
  • A critical interpreter of the Constitution. He believed in ‘implied powers.’
  • One of the founders of the New York Manumission Society.
  • Remained George Washington’s friend, trusted advisor, and occasional speech writer until Washington’s death in 1799.
  • Hamilton helped to establish the Coast Guard and West Point.
  • As a lawyer, he helped to establish truth as a defense in libel cases.
  • A self-made man and dreamer. Hamilton was on his own at the age of twelve. It is a fascinating story to read how he transformed himself from a merchant clerk on St. Croix to General George Washington’s senior aide-de-camp and later, to become the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Hamilton Quote to Ponder:

We hear constantly a great deal, which is rather calculated to awake our passions, and create prejudices, than to conduct us to truth, and teach us our real interests.

- Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention on Representation June 21, 1788

Alexander Hamilton's Rules for Living

Each of us has a set of rules we live by. Most of us do not have them written down nor are we consistent in following our own rules. If you study someone’s life, you can generally tell what he considered important by the type of decisions he made and, specifically, by the actions he took. Hamilton was extraordinary in that he wrote a great deal so we have a lot of information to mine. In some cases, he actually phrased a thought as a rule for living.

Click here to see the PDF file of Alexander Hamilton's 'Rules for Living'.

Selection of Quotations by Alexander Hamilton

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Perjury is, no doubt, a most heinous and detestable crime, and for my part, I had rather suffer anything than have my wants relieved at the expense of truth and integrity.

--A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress, New York, December 15, 1774

What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws—the first growing out of the last.

—TULLY No. III. Dunlap and Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser, August 28, 1794

It is a maxim of my life to enjoy the present good with the highest relish and to soften the present evil by a hope of future good.

—Letter to Elizabeth Schuyler, Bergen Country, New Jersey, July 6, 1780

Reading List

If we had to limit our selection to just a handful of books, here are the ones we would select:

There are several online libraries where you can read Hamilton’s own words: the letters he wrote, the reports he submitted to Congress, etc. If you are looking for a historian’s view of Hamilton, then here are some great books:

Alexander Hamilton, American by Richard Brookhiser (Paperback, 256 pages–April 12, 2000). The review on Amazon.com says it all: “The man on the $10 bill is probably the most overlooked Founding Father. This book—not a names-and-dates biography, but an appreciation and assessment in the tradition of Plutarch—should help change that.”

Alexander Hamilton: A Biography by Forrest McDonald. This is a stellar, somewhat scholarly, book by one of America's wisest historians!

Alexander Hamilton: Writings (Library of America) by Alexander Hamilton (Hardcover–Sep 27, 2001) Edited by Joanne B. Freeman. Excellent selection of Hamilton’s letters, speeches, reports to Congress, articles for newspapers. It includes his portion of the Federalist Papers. To understand Hamilton, one must read his original writings!

Hamilton Quote to Ponder

In popular governments ‘tis useful that those who propose measures should partake in whatever dangers they may involve.

—Letter to Angelica Church, Bedford Pensylvania October 23. 1794

Hire Bill Chrystal as Hamilton for your next event!

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"We had a chance to see Bill’s expertise in action and it was impressive! The conference went extremely well in large part due to the wonderful presentation that Bill made as Alexander Hamilton. Comments such as “Loved Hamilton!” and “best conference yet” were offered on the course evaluations. We were very, very pleased in all regards."

—Robert Klosiewicz, Director of Human Resources for the Delaware Family Courts

For more information, call Janie Guill at (434) 664-9202 or write her and Bill at bchrystal@hotmail.com. Thank you!