Founding Father: Alexander Hamilton (Famous Americans Series)

In Episode 8 of "Check This Out!" hosts Amy Contreras and Cece discuss the life of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States. This episode begins with a fun true or false quiz that tests listeners' knowledge about Hamilton's achievements and historical significance.

The episode details Hamilton's contentious relationships with key political figures, including Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, which resulted in the infamous duel with Burr that led to Hamilton's death in 1804. The hosts also share additional facts about his influence, including his role in drafting Washington's farewell address and founding the New York Evening Post.

To close, Amy and Cece highlight three facts to "check out" on your own!  The episode concludes with a catchy poem celebrating Hamilton's contributions to American history, encouraging listeners to continue discovering the stories of influential figures in their past.

Transcript

Cece: Welcome to “Check this out!” A podcast series for kids

Amy: (and their grownups) where we explore interesting people, places, and ponderings that shape the world around us.   My name is Amy Contreras and I’m Cece! Welcome to episode 8 of Check this out!  Don’t forget to hit subscribe before we get into it!  

Today we are going to learn all about Alexander Hamilton. He was a founding father and architect of financial systems that help run our country to this day.  He even has a smash Broadway play about him.  

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What exactly is a founding father? Founding Father is a term used to talk about the men who helped unite the 13 colonies of the United States in the fight for independence from Britain.  Well known founding fathers include; George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Jay.  These men wrote the declaration of independence, brought the colonies together to defeat Britain, and set up the government of the United States.

Cece: I was wondering about that

Alexander Hamilton, The star of today’s episode, and a man who would eventually be remembered as a founding father, had a rough start to life. And although his life was short it sure was interesting.  

Cece: Tell us, tell us! 

 He was born in January of 1755 or 1757 (records vary)  in Charlestown in the British West Indies.  He was born to an unmarried mother, and she died when he was young.  As a teen he moved to St. Croix. 

While in St Croix he published a letter describing a hurricane that hit the island. The letter was so well written the locals realized how smart he was and raised money to send him to school in the colonies.  Thanks to the community in St Croix he emigrated as a teenager from the British West Indies to New York. 

Cece: That must have been one heck of a letter!  

Alexander Hamilton got to the United States in 1772 and attended King’s College in New York.  Before we get into the details of his life let’s see what you already know about Alexander Hamilton… We are going to do a true or false lightning round!  

Cece: Let’s see what you’ve got! 

True or False: Alexander Hamilton’s face appears on the $50 bill 

False! He is on the $10 bill  

True or False: Alexander Hamilton was a lawyer 

True! He started practicing law after the revolutionary war 

True or False: Alexander Hamilton was the Vice President of the United States 

FALSE! He was, however the First Secretary of the Treasury for the US and leader of the federalist political party

True or False: Alexander Hamilton was shot in a duel by Thomas Jefferson 

FALSE! He was shot in a duel, but it was by Vice President Aaron Burr. 

True or False: Alexander Hamilton wrote most of the federalist papers 

True! More on this later, but out of the 85 federalist paper essays Hamilton wrote at least 51 

True or False: Alexander Hamiton is buried in New York 

True!  He lived most of his life in New York.  

If you got all those true or false questions wrong, don’t worry you’ll learn more soon!  

CC Listeners keep your ears open! 

Amy: Because at the end of the episode we will share 3 facts that you can continue to check out on your own. See if you can guess which facts we will highlight at the end.  

Cece: Let’s get into it! 

Alexander was an excellent student and thrived at college.  While he was at Kings College in New York Alexander Hamilton became involved in the brewing revolutionary war.  He publicly defended the Boston Tea Party, joined a student militia, and wrote papers supporting the Continental Congress.  

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You might not have learned about the continental congress yet, but this was an important part of the United States' fight for freedom. The Continental Congress was a group of representatives from the 13 colonies that coordinated a response to the unpopular British policies. 

In 1776 Hamilton became a captain in the war and organized an attack on the British at the Battle of Trenton.  This got him recognized and hired by a famous General at the time. 

Cece: Any idea who it was? 

It was our future 1st president, George Washington!  Alexander Hamilton worked for Washington for 4 years as an aide during the war and the two became close friends.  

The revolutionary war lasted a long time from 1775-1783.  During the war Hamilton married a woman named Elizabeth Schuyler and had 8 children with her. Hamilton was deeply involved throughout the war, fighting in 7 major battles. He worked directly for George Washington, he went on military missions, and served as liaison between Washington and the French Generals who were helping support the war.  He was even given command of a battalion and played a critical role in the siege of Yorktown in 1781.  

Cece: He was a busy guy! 

After the war Alexander Hamilton studied law and became a lawyer in New York.  He practiced law for the rest of his life!  In 1782 Hamilton was elected to the Continental Congress where he fought for a strong central government.   

He was financially minded and in 1784, he helped to establish the Bank of New York to help the economy after the war. 

In 1787, when the Constitutional Convention was in Philadelphia, Hamilton was chosen as one of 3 delegates from New York.  He didn’t have much influence in the creation of the constitution but played a big role in getting it ratified…  

Cece: What does that mean? 

Ratified means when a governing body or person signs a document making it official. 

Cece: oh that’s important! 

After attending the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he wrote the majority of the Federalist Papers. 

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Have you heard of the Federalist papers?  They were essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. They argued for the Constitution’s ratification or making it official.  There were 85 essays in the federalist papers and 51 of them were written by Alexander Hamilton.  These essays helped with ratifying the Constitution because they addressed concerns, explained the principles of the Constitution, and convinced people of its benefits.  

True or False: Alexander Hamilton did not sign the constitution of the United states. 

False! He absolutely did sign the constitution! 

In 1789 he was appointed as the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States by George Washington. As secretary of the treasury he was both the founder and architect of the American financial system.  

Cece, that is a big job! 

Alexander Hamilton had to build plans for fixing the national debt, getting federal credit, expanding manufacturing, and creating the federal bank. In 1790 Hamilton asked that the federal (or central) government take on the war debts of the 13 states but he needed support for his plan in Congress. At the time, two of his key rivals, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wanted the capital further south. So they made a deal: they helped get Hamilton’s economic plan passed, and the capitol moved south to Washington, D.C.

Do you know where the US capitol was before Washington DC? 

Cece: That’s a great question 

Was it 

1. Boston
2. New York
3. Philadelphia 

The answer is B and C New York and  Philadelphia- but that isn’t all.  The US capitol was in 8 different places before it was established permanently in Washington DC.  

Cece I want to check out more about that!  

You should!  

Alexander Hamilton had some famous rivals over the course of his political career.  I’ve mentioned a couple already. Any idea who they were? I’m going to list a few names- see if you can get it right.  Were they…. 

George Washington 

Aaron Burr

John Jay 

Thomas Jefferson

Philip Schyuler 

James Madison 

John Adams 

Phillip Hamilton 

If you guessed his rivals were Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams- you’re right! 

Hamilton had a strong personality that could rub people the wrong way, especially political opponents.  Alexander Hamilton  was the leader of the Federalist Political party.  The main political opponents to the federalist party were Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and they led the Democratic Republican party. This meant they disagreed a LOT! 

John Adams was an important member of the Federalist party, the same party as hamilton- but he and Hamilton did not get along. In 1800 Hamilton wrote an attack on John Adams so he would not be elected president.  This damaged the Federalist party’s chances at winning, and basically handed the election to the Democratic Republican party and Jefferson.  

CC He really didn’t like him! 

No he did not! Even though he was rivals with Thomas Jefferson he liked him more than Aaron Burr.  And in the presidential election of 1800, there was no strong federalist candidate in the running, since Hamilton had told people not to vote for John Adams.  There ended up being a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr for president.  Hamilton had a lot of influence and he wrote letters to people telling them to support Thomas Jefferson in the race.   Jefferson ultimately won the presidency and this added to a series of interactions with Burr that led to their famous duel.  

Cece: Tell me everything 

This was not the only time Hamilton blocked Aaron Burr from getting what he wanted. They had a rocky relationship from when Aaron Burr beat Hamilton’s father-in-law, Gen. Schuyler, for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1791.  Hamilton also opposed Burr from being elected as the Governor of New York in 1804.  Aaron Burr lost the election for governor and was upset with Hamilton. He  demanded a duel to settle their differences.  

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr met in New Jersey on July 11th 1804 to hold their duel.  Think of a duel as a battle between 2 people to settle a fight.  

In the duel Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach.  13 hours later, Hamilton died at home in Manhattan in New York City.  

Cece: How sad 

We covered a lot about Alexander Hamilton.  But that wasn’t nearly everything.  Here are 4 more facts about him. 

1. Alexander Hamilton helped draft George Washington’s farewell address in 1796 
2. In 1801 Hamilton founded the New York Evening Post, which still exists today! 
3. He protected American trade by founding the Revenue Cutter Service to fight against smuggling and this was what is today the U.S. Coast Guard. 
4. Alexander Hamilton’s son Phillip was killed in a duel 3 years before he died in a duel 

Hamilton was in his late 40s when he died from the duel with Burr but he had an impactful life and established a lasting legacy through financial systems and advocacy for the constitution.  

If you’ve been listening to Check this out you know we always like to remind you of 3 facts that you can continue to check out on your own.  

Cece: Here are 3 of our favorite facts.  

1. Alexander Hamilton wasn’t born in the United States- he emigrated when he was young.  Learn more about his childhood and life before he came to New york.  
2. Alexander Hamilton played a key role in the ratification of the constitution through his work on the federalist papers.  Learn about what was in the federalist papers.
3. Alexander Hamilton died from a duel with Aaron burr in 1804 even though he opposed dueling.  He lost his son Philip to a duel 3 years before he himself died.  Learn about what happened to his wife Elizabeth and their 7 remaining children after he was shot.  

Cece: What was your favorite fact? 

At Check this out podcast4kids we don’t just love learning about people, places, and ponderings.  

CC: We also love to rhyme! 

Now let’s end with a poem to help us remember why we talk about famous American and founding father, Alexander Hamilton to this day.  

From a tiny island to New York Hamilton came,
With dreams of greatness he fanned the revolutionary flame.
He helped to win the fight for our land,
Alongside George Washington, he took a stand. 

He built our money systems and banks so we could thrive,
He wrote letters and federalist papers all through his life 

A lawyer at work and a patriot at heart 

He didn’t always make friends but he played his part 

Though he faced a duel that ended his days,
His legacy still lives in so many ways! 

At the “check this out” we know it can be hard to know if information you find online is accurate!  We use verified sources to build the stories you hear about. 

Cece Our sources for this week's episode are 

encyclopedia britannica, mount vernon.org, history.com, national park service and the american library association 

Cece Thanks for listening See you next episode 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Hamilton-United-States-statesman 

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/alexander-hamilton 

https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/ppo/programming/hamilton/exhibitionthemeoverview 

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/alexander-hamilton.htm#:~:text=1789%3A%20Hamilton%20became%20the%20first,and%20established%20the%20national%20debt. 

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/founding-fathers-united-states 

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/alexander-hamilton 

https://www.history.com/news/8-forgotten-capitals-of-the-united-states