Visited: July 2024
Nearby city: New York City, NY
"Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the most ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort to repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free."
-Alexander Hamilton
Federalist Paper No. 8, written November 20, 1787
Hamilton wrote that disunited States under a weak central government (as they largely were under the Articles of Confederation) would inevitably lead to constant wars between the states (much like Europe) and eventual loss of liberty. Thus, Hamilton argued that although it might appear paradoxical, the States needed to adopt a stronger federal government to ensure greater freedom.
Hamilton Grange National Memorial preserves the home of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton lived here from 1802 until his death in 1804. It was the only house that Hamilton ever owned. It is located at St. Nicholas Park, in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem, on the northern end of Manhattan.
Posthumous portrait of Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1806
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755, or 1757. Records are unclear and contradictory, and historians have debated which is the accurate birth year for decades. Hamilton was born out of wedlock on the Caribbean island of Nevis (at the time, part of the British Leeward Islands colony) to Rachel Lavien and James A. Hamilton. James abandoned Rachel and his son, and Rachel died of yellow fever on February 19, 1768, leaving Hamilton an orphan at a young age.
Hamilton was a smart, studious young boy. After his mother's death, he became a clerk for a import-export firm on the island of Nevis. The firm largely traded with New England and the Province of New York. Hamilton proved himself very capable as a trader and expert writer. In 1772, he traveled to New York and enrolled in King's College (now Columbia University). Young Hamilton quickly became caught up in the patriotic fervor sweeping the region and was a strong advocate for independence from Great Britain.
He served as an artillery officer in the American Revolution and fought in the Battle of Princeton in 1777. Hamilton then served as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington for four years. He became one of Washington's most trusted assistants, drafting orders and letters on Washington's behalf, handling intelligence, and managing diplomacy and negotiations with senior army officers as Washington's emissary.
While stationed at the army's winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, he met Elizabeth ("Eliza") Schuyler, the daughter of influential and wealthy Gen. Philip Schuyler. Hamilton and Eliza were married on December 14, 1780 at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. They had eight children.
After the war, Hamilton practiced law in New York and served in the Congress of the Confederation (the governing body of the United States under the Articles of Confederation). At the time, the individual states had much greater power and the centralized Congress of the Confederation was quite weak. Hamilton was very frustrated with the Congress of the Confederation and resigned in 1783, maintaing that it was too weak to be effective and was concerned that the new nation would quickly factionalize and break apart. Hamilton then embarked on a long campaign to adopt a stronger national government.
Hamilton served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Hamilton's contribution to the formation of the Constitution at the Convention was quite limited because the other two delegates from New York, John Lansing and John Yates, did not share Hamilton's goal of a strong federal government. Thus, when all three New York delegates were present, he would usually be outvoted.
After much debate and compromise, the Convention adopted a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. Although Hamilton was not entirely happy with the new Constitution (for instance, Hamilton had unsuccesfully proposed that the President and Senators would serve for life), Hamilton felt it was a vast improvement over the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitution needed to be ratified by the States in order to become law. Hamilton enlisted John Jay and James Madison (a former rival) to write a series of essays to defend the proposed Constitution and to convince state legislatures to ratify it. These essays, known as The Federalist Papers, were instrumental in ratification of the Constitution by the States. Ultimately, Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 essays.
"Why do you write like you're running out of time?"
In 1789, President Geroge Washington appointed his former aide to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton established the U.S. mint, oversaw the formation of the First National Bank to assume the State's war debts, convinced Congress to form the Revenue Cutter Service to protect American shipping, and advocated the Jay Treaty, which formed friendly trade agreements with Great Britain. Hamilton also repeatedly butted heads with Washington's Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton served in Washington's cabinet until 1795 and then resumed the practice of law in New York.
Hamilton eventually soured on Washington's successor, John Adams (even though they were both members of the same political party, the Federalists). Hamilton had presidential ambitions of his own, but these hopes were dashed when, in 1797, an affair with Maria Reynolds was uncovered by the press. To dispel accusations of financial corruption as Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton admitted to the affair.
In the election of 1800, Adams lost, and Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied the electoral vote. In order to break the tie, the presidential election would be decided by the House of Representatives. Many Federalist congressmen voted for Burr over Jefferson, and Jefferson failed to reach a majority ballot after ballot. Although not a member of Congress, Hamilton had political influence over many members from New York and New England. Although Hamilton despised Jefferson, he considered Burr to be unprincipled and a "mischievous enemy." Therefore, he considered Jefferson to be "the lesser of two evils." Hamilton wrote to many members of Congress, urging them to support Jefferson. Finally, on the 36th ballot, Jefferson was able to secure the election and became the third President and Burr became the Vice President.
In 1800, Hamilton acquired a large tract of land on the north end of the island of Manhattan. He commissioned architect John McComb Jr. to design a country home on the land. The house was completed in 1802. It's a two-story frame Federal-style house. It is rectangular with porticos on the front and rear facades. A ranger-led tour of the home is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hamilton called his home "The Grange" after the name of his grandfather's estate in Scotland.
sitting room in the Grange
dining room
a church across from the home
grounds at St. Nicholas Park
Hamilton did not live in this house very long. In April 1804, Aaron Burr ran for Governor of New York as a Federalist (even though he had run for President in 1800 as a Anti-Federalist/Republican). Hamilton, always distrustful of Burr, actively worked to support Morgan Lewis in the Governor race (even though Lewis was a Jeffersonian Republican). Burr lost the election.
Shortly after the election, a newspaper published an article that recounted that, at a dinner party, Hamilton had loudly and vociferously expressed his distaste of Burr to the party goers. Burr, upset from his loss, demanded an apology from Hamilton. Hamilton refused, stating that he could not recall an instance of insulting Burr. Burr then challenged Hamilton to a duel. Prior to the duel, Hamilton wrote that he intended to "delope" by intentionally and deliberately missing his first shot in a pistol duel in an attempt to abort the conflict. Essentially, Hamilton planned to "throw away" his shot.
The duel was held on July 11, 1804 along the banks of the Hudson River. Although there is some dispute, eyewitnesses recounted that it appeared that Hamilton "deloped" by shooting well over Burr's head, as he had indicated that he would. However, Burr had no such intention. Burr's shot hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen above his right hip. The shot proved lethal. Hamilton died the next day, on July 12, 1804. He was either 47, or 49, years old.
The city of New York halted all city business for Hamilton's funeral, and thousands attended the two-mile procession route.
Burr fled to South Carolina, where his daughter lived with her husband's family, but eventually returned to Washington DC to complete his term as Vice President(!) Although a grand jury in New Jersey indicted Burr for murder, the indictment was quashed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Ultimately, Burr faced no legal consequences for his role in the duel. However, his political career was over.
Hamilton's final resting place is at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan.
a mourning scarf made to commemorate Hamilton's life
Hamilton's grave
Eliza's resting place.
Eliza never remarried. In 1806, she founded the Orphan Asylum Society. She raised funds, collected goods, and oversaw care and education of over 700 orphans. Eliza also dedicated her life to preserving her husband's memory, organizing all of his writings, letters, and papers. Eliza passed away on November 9, 1854, at the age of 97.
Trinity Church
The Grange remained in the Hamilton family for 30 years and was then sold several times. St. Luke's Episcopal Church bought the house in 1889. The church relocated the house to the church's property and used it as a chapel and rectory. The church sold the house to the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society in 1924, who then sold it to the National Park Service in 1960. The home was moved to its present location in 2008.
Hamilton has appeared on the $10-bill since 1928.
Despite his many achievements, by the late 20th century, Hamilton was perhaps not as well-known as much as other Founding Fathers like Washington, Jefferson, Madison, or Ben Franklin. However, all that changed in 2015, thanks to the mega-hit Broadway musical. For example, in 2014, Hamilton Grange had approximately 21,000 visitors. In 2015 (the year the musical premiered), there were 35,000 visitors. In 2016, the home had 85,348 visitors! Since then, the site averages 61,530 visitors per year.
We had a great time visiting the home and highly recommend it.
For more info: https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm
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