Secretary Hamilton

George Washington resigned his military post on December 23rd, 1783.1 Independence had been won but a new country was far from certain. The existing government, operating under The Articles of Confederation, had proven wholly ineffectual. With new challenges arising daily, reformers were meeting in Philadelphia to (as it would turn out) overhaul the system. Amongst their ranks were Washington and Hamilton. Hamilton was selected as a delegate from New York2 and Washington served as the presider over the proceedings.3 

Both staunch Federalists, Washington and Hamilton championed centralized power, viewing it as indispensable in keeping thirteen, often disparate colonies together in a functioning democracy. After the Constitution was written, both of them strongly supported ratification efforts urging the populace that this is what they had fought, bled, and died for. 

After hard-won ratification, the republic now needed an executive. All eyes went to George Washington who was elected unanimously as the first President of the United States.4 To assist him, though, he would need a cabinet. Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first Secretary of the Treasury but as he would prove himself, he acted more in the way of a prime minister in the Washington Administration.5 Not only did the men share a political ideology and intense patriotism, Hamilton also provided Washington with the financial expertise and intelligence that he personally lacked.6 Hamilton would go on to found the First Bank of the United States7 and ultimately pave the way for America to be a leader in capitalism.8 He also helped draft the official Declaration of Neutrality at the outbreak of the French Revolution9 indicating that his influence stretched well beyond just financial matters. In fact, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson resigned his post frustrated that Washington and Hamilton seemed to be an impenetrable pair.10 

Hamilton himself would resign his cabinet post in January 1795. In a poignant and telling letter to Hamilton, Washington wrote, “in every relation, which you have borne to me, I have found that my confidence in your talents, exertions and integrity, has been well placed.”11 Hamilton’s retirement from public life was not the end of the connection, though. As historian Peter R. Henriques assessed, Hamilton remained a “most trusted advisor” to Washington.12 Having decided to set the precedent of executive turnover, Washington resigned the presidency in 1796 at the end of his second term. Together, Hamilton and Washington penned the president’s Farewell Address to the nation.13 In holding and then passing along the reins of government, they helped shape their beloved nation into one championing freedom, republican virtues, and financial strength. 

  1. “Biography of George Washington.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/biography. 
  2. O’Keefe, Kieran J. “Alexander Hamilton,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/alexander-hamilton.
  3. “Biography of George Washington”, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
  4. “Biography of George Washington” 
  5. Henriques, Peter R. “The Great Collaboration: The Increasingly Close Relationship Between George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.” In Sons of the Father: George Washington and His Proteges, edited by Robert M. McDonald. University of Virginia Press, 2013. https://catalog.lib.msu.edu/Record/hlm.ebs1992972e. (pg. 199)
  6. Henriques, “The Great Collaboration”, 199.
  7. O’Keefe, “Alexander Hamilton” 
  8. Henriques, 199
  9. O’Keefe, “Alexander Hamilton”
  10. O’Keefe, “Alexander Hamilton” 
  11. Washington, George. Letter to Alexander Hamilton: 2 February 1795. Founders Online. National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-18-02-0148#:~:text=Philadelphia%20Feby.,ends%20%2C%20170%E2%80%9371).
  12. Henriques, 203
  13. O’Keefe, “Alexander Hamilton”

Secretary Hamilton