Alexander Hamilton: Triumph and TragediesEssay Preview: Alexander Hamilton: Triumph and TragediesReport this essayAlexander Hamilton:Triumphs and TragediesBy Matt FloodTo die a tragic death by the hand of another man- to carve ones way through destiny and shape ones future from the humblest of beginnings- to forge a legacy by a medium only those heralded as our countries “Forefathers” have per chanced to meddle with- these are the makings and the foundations for which great men and the dreams of our country rely upon.
Everyone has heard the name Alexander Hamilton, but few are familiar with his views and actions regarding the survival of the young American republic. He could be recognized for anything from serving our fledgling country by fighting in the New York militia; to serving his community as a lawyer and as a national tax agent; to beginning his political career as a representative for New York at the National Congress. Though most would agree his most important contribution to our struggling republic was to spearhead the project which formed the doctrine helping to establish the foundation in which modern democracy is based, the Articles of Confederation.
Alexanders family history along with his life story is almost as rich as the countrys who he helped to build. “[Alexanders] maternal grandfather, one John Faucette, emigrated from France to the West Indies sometime before 1700, moved to Nevis, became a planter and took a wife- Mary, [with whom he had children]. Confusion reigns as to whether there were one or two Mary Faucettes or two Faucette couples” (Emery 52). There was a “deed of gift”(Emery 54) between John Faucette and Mary Faucette in 1714 and another record of marriage between John Faucette and Mary Uppington of Nevis on August 21, 1718, leading to the possible conclusions either John had multiple lovers of the same first name at or around the same time, or it is uncertain beyond this point in history as to what is truly known about Alexander Hamiltons past. Either way, Mary Faucette (Alexanders grandmother) has been thought to have been plagued with poor luck, so much so that it is even referred to as an “extraordinarily stormy passage” (Emery 54) of a life. Though she appeared to have weathered well- “John Church Hamilton, Alexanders fourth son and first biographer, leaves this record of Rachels impact on her son: He spoke of her as vividly impressed upon his memory as a woman of intelligence, culture and elegance of form” (Emery 55) which must have exuded itself when having experienced much financial difficulty, along with domestic abuse from her husband, John. She was forced to file for separation in February of 1740. John and Mary had at least one daughter, Rachel Faucette. The exact date of Alexanders mothers birth is not on record; however it has been speculated to be the year 1729. Her parents having separated when she was eleven years old, Rachels life was not going to get any better. John fought the separation, he had made Rachel his sole beneficiary and the inheritor of his will. This is the extent to which Rachel knew domestic stability for her life from this point on “is a story of erratic stress” (Emery 55). Forced into marriage at the age of sixteen, she moved with her wealthy husband, Johan Michael Levein, to St. Croix. Johan knew she didnt want him, however, “attracted by her beauty received her hand against her will” (Emery 62). Having children only made a poor situation worse, and fighting among the two increased in severity and frequency, though, theres no way to tell what the subject of these confrontations were about. Most speculate that Rachels stubborn nature ran against Johans desire to dominate and control his wife. What is known is that in 1749 Levein had jailed his wife in the fort at Christiansted; “perhaps his idea of discipline, surely his idea of right. Whatever his intentions, the results were disastrous.” (Emery 69) Rachel, leaving her son who she had birthed for Levein, ran away from this poor situation and fled to the island of St. Kitts, where her mother still lived. Levein didnt divorce his wife for nine years after she left him. The terms of the divorce read that “she had been shameless, rude and ungodly… forgotten her duty… let her husband and child alone… [and] given herself up to whoring with everyone” (Emery 71). Though while still married she had only had two children with one other man. The comments on the divorce papers were most likely nothing more than the last words of scorn from a bitter, burned man.
Apparently her childhood would have an affect on her because all three of her children all grew up with only one parent. Alexander happened to lose his father around the same age his mother lost hers.
Alexander Hamilton, born to James Hamilton and Rachel Faucette, was assumed to be born in 1755 or 1757, it is still unknown the exact year of his birth, though most lean toward 55. Other than adding to the mystery and intrigue of Alexander Hamiltons story, this really has no bearing on his life. Emery, in his account, describes the young Hamilton as “an early and voracious reader”, and that he was a “passionate devotee of books.”(Emery 132) Though apparently his familys lack of financial depth and illegitimate status prevented him from attending public schools regularly. Emery notes that he does fondly recall an experience at a Jewish school in which he was frequently called upon to “rattle off the Decalogue in Hebrew, standing on a table because he was so small.” This shows us that even at a young age Hamilton was considered to have delicate features and a bit of a frail frame. This just contributes to the depth of the beginnings from which he is to later rise and take his place among our countries many great leaders.
Alexanders childhood only declined after his grade school years. His father left unable to withstand the shame of the status his family had procured. After that his mother stooped to borrowing from Alexanders Aunt, who had married into the Lytton family, or better put, into money. Unfortunately, the Lytton family as well, after having loaned Rachel money to provide for her children, suddenly lost their wealth and the next generation of heirs would lose their share of the fortune. Besides that, Alexanders cousin killed himself in 1769. To put proverbial icing on the cake, Rachel ended up back in the fort in which she was once imprisoned, Christiansted, running a shop selling goods bought from her landlord as well as others
Alexanders is often described as an “all-powerful, all-loving character. While he tends to make others look bad, he is also an idealistic man. He does not care if someone is a saint, bad or not, but only if they have a good attitude.
Alexanders’ character has a lot of depth. It would be easy to say that many aspects of his personality are a bit off and that his personality is a bit different from others, especially those that come from his mother and sisters.
Alexander seems to have been attracted to a few more people from his childhood than his mother and sisters, especially when they have been children.
Alexanders’ ability to be unpredictable, hard to master, and have a very strong sense of community does make them interesting to read, because he may fall into a groupthink that has become more of a “meeple-headed wolf” style. His ability to have friends who he doesn’t know what to do with could be a way to break into his social circle and draw back to his father.
Alexander is a fairly successful one-man-band. And while no one could have predicted that from afar this young man could develop into such a genius, his genius is undeniable. As an example, it can seem as if he would develop a very large talent and ability to make people think for themselves, something few people in his contemporaries could realize. The other possibility is that he was influenced by his older brother, the first three of the Lytton sisters, who were actually the only three young children in the castle. However, despite all of that, Alexander didn’t develop such an amazing ability of thinking. And he certainly didn’t try to use his great talent to make people think. Instead, he focused on making people think, often by reading a book about himself, in a way very similar to that of his father.
Aristotle was skeptical of Alexander, especially when he heard he was considered a coward for his arrogance and arrogance towards his sisters.
But it’s difficult to see how he could have developed such a great ability without his older brother.
After a few years, his ability began to shift further. To put it nicely, he began experimenting with other kinds of magic. He did become able to think in very different ways so much so that the next year or two he was living in the castle, one of them having been with the youngest of the Lyttons. This meant the next time he heard the lytton sisters would try to rob him of his brother.
When he arrived in 1871, he met Rachel. He was attracted to Rachel in spite of their friendship and had to ask her to