Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton served as an officer in the Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, an author of the Federalist essays, and the first United States secretary of the Treasury. He designed policies to fund federal and state debts, establish reliable public credit, create a national bank, collect customs revenue, and encourage manufacturing. His program helped define the financial powers of the new federal government and produced a lasting argument with advocates of agrarianism and narrower national power. He is useful for debates about industrial policy, sovereign debt, banking, and state capacity.