Alexander Hamilton

The vital words of Alexander Hamilton, including essays, private correspondence, and public statements. Alexander Hamilton is best known as the United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury and the author of the majority of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays that outlined the basic concepts and premises of the U.S. Constitution. Since the founding of the nation, these essays...

Through a judicious selection of the classic essays from 1787-1788 by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay in defence of the new federal Constitution — together with key writings by the Anti-Federalists — Wootton captures the essentials of the 18th-century American debate on federalism in this modernised edition and frames it with a brilliant and engaging Introduction. The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist...

The Reynolds Pamphlet (1797) is an essay by Alexander Hamilton. Written while Hamilton was serving as Secretary of the Treasury, the pamphlet was intended as a defence against accusations that Hamilton had conspired with James Reynolds to misuse funds meant to cover unpaid wages to Revolutionary War veterans. Admitting to an affair with Maria, Reynolds' wife, Hamilton claims that the...

These papers stand as the most eloquent existing testimonial to democracy. Edited and with an

Written at a time when furious arguments were raging about the best way to govern America, The Federalist Papers had the practical aim of persuading New Yorkers to accept the newly drafted Constitution in 1787. In this they were successful, but their influence also transcended contemporary debate to win them a lasting place in discussions of American political theory. Acclaimed...