Their Shared Legacy

The occasion of loss provides us with some of the most illustrative correspondence about this consequential relationship. After being caught in a hailstorm, George Washington fell gravely ill, passing away on December 14th, 1799.¹ In the mourning that followed, Alexander Hamilton wrote to George Washington’s widow Martha saying, “I cannot say in how many ways the continuance of that confidence and friendship was necessary to me in my future relations” and that “perhaps it is even a privilege to have a claim to a larger portion of it than others.”² In another letter to Washington’s secretary Tobias Lear, Hamilton opined, “perhaps no man in this community has equal cause with myself to deplore the loss. I have been much indebted to the kindness of the General, and he was an Aegis [shield] very essential to me.”³ These words from Hamilton speak loudly for themselves: George Washington was a defining character in his extraordinary life and work. Hamilton’s “Aegis” protected him and depended on him extensively. Hamilton recognized that much of what he was able to accomplish was intricately tied to his connection with George Washington. 

It is also quite lucky for us that this relationship was fostered. The work of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington helped forge the country and the government we have today. Our strong capitalist system, our three codependent branches of government, and our status as a democratic world superpower has demonstrated the promise of the America that our Founders believed in. This and much more is in part thanks to George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and their tenacious relationship. A quote by historian Peter R. Henriques nicely summarizes this argument: “The remarkably productive alliance between Washington, the Father of the Country, and Hamilton, the Father of American Government (and the Father of American Capitalism), did more than anything else to bring about the modern United States of America.” ⁴  

The Revolutionary War forged their connection, the presidency developed it, and personal sentiments solidified it. Both men appreciated, trusted, and leaned on one another throughout their decades-long connection. Once again borrowing words from Peter R. Henriques, it is clear that “Alexander Hamilton was the indispensable man to the ‘Indispensable Man.’” ⁵ And for our democracy, it was truly an indispensable duo. 

1. “Biography of George Washington.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/biography. 
2. Hamilton, Alexander. Letter to Martha Washington: 12 January 1800. Founders Online. National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-24-02-0140#:~:text=I%20did%20not%20thing%20it,portion%20of%20it%20than%20others.
3. Hamilton, Alexander. Letter to Tobias Lear: 2 January 1800. Founders Online. National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-24-02-0119.
4. 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. 190)
5. Henriques, “The Great Collaboration,” pg. 206.