Alexander Hamilton was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Father, economist, and political philosopher. He led calls for the Philadelphia Convention, was one of America’s first Constitutional lawyers, and cowrote the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation.

where did he come from? Born on a small island in the Caribbean He received nothing from his father save his family name, and his mother died when he was only 13. Since his parents were never married Hamilton could not attend catholic school. To get through this he got tutoring from a Jewish school (something that no good christian at the time would permit themselves to do) and read all the books from his bygone parents library. When he was about 16 he got a job with a local import/export merchant, where he began to meet many of the well to do merchants trying to ship their goods off the island. He so impressed these wealthy families that only a year later they paid for him to travel to New Jersey to receive a real education. If you’re interested in the rest of the story check out Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow