This is part of my "Learning something new...." history series using United States postage stamps as our history book.

To read previous posts in this series, simply click here.

The next stamp in our history book is the 30¢ denomination featuring Alexander Hamilton 
(1755-1804), issued in 1870:

Along with being a Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton founded the Bank of New York in 1784 and was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington. He was one of America's first Constitutional lawyers and co-wrote the Federalist Papers with James Madinson and John Jay. As a New Yorker, he was a driving force behind the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which resulted in the Constitution of the United States of America as we know it. However, he was the only New Yorker to sign the Constitution.

Interestingly, historians are not sure about his birth date although it seems that a majority now say that he was born in 1755. Not knowing the birth year of such a historically significant person certainly leads one to wonder about "facts" about other leading figures in history, such as "facts" supposedly contained in The Bible.

Other interesting facts about Alexander Hamilton:

1. When asked his age, he was never definitive.
2. Graduated from King's College, now Columbia University.
3. Served as General George Washington's Chief of Staff during the Revolutionary War.
4. Many historians now believe that Hamilton had homosexual feelings and/or relationships with the Marquis de Lafayette and his good friend John Laurens.
5. During the Constitutional Convention, he was considered a monarchist because of his support for having a President and Senators who were elected but served for life.
6. Although he wasn't totally satisfied with the Constitution, he signed it because it was a significant improvement upon the Articles of Confederation.
7. Hamilton also had a significant role in founding the United States Mint and the United States Coast Guard, then known as the Revenue Cutter Service.
8. He convinced Congress to pass a whiskey tax which led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.
9. Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Vice-President Aaron Burr. The two of them had never gotten along because of their widely divergent political views.
10. Hamilton was a proponent of a strong Federal government and was instrumental in establishing a national bank, a controversial decision that was affirmed by the Supreme Court and resulted in the Supreme Court's doctrine of implied powers which rules to this day.
11. At various times, Hamilton's portrait has been on the $2, $5, $10, and $50 currencies.
12. Hamilton's second wife founded the New York Orphan Asylum Society, New York's first private orphanage.
13. As early as the Fall of 1781, Hamilton supported government intervention in favor of business. Hmmmmmm......
14. The main classroom building for the humanities at Columbia University is named Hamilton Hall, also the name of the main administration building at the United States Coast Guard Academy

__________
Sources:

1. "The Young Hamilton: A Biography," by James Flexner
2. "Was Alexander Hamilton a Christian Statesman?", by Douglas Adair and Marvin Harvey
3. "Age of Federalism," by Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick
4. "Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America," by Thomas Fleming
5. "Alexander Hamilton," by Broadus Mitchell
6. "Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation," by Richard Morris, ed.
7. "The Federalist Papers," by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
8. Wikipedia
9. Arago: People, Postage, and the Post
10. 1847USA: Knowledge is Power

We are ActiveRain!

**********

Fifteen recent blog posts

1. Here are all the entries in the ActiveRain Nature & Marketing contest
2. The U.S. Supreme Court gets its feet wet with the Establishment Clause
3. Guerrilla Marketing: How do you set the right price for your services?
4. How would you like an $11,000 fine for blogging? - Featured
5. Learning something new.... - Winfield Scott
6. Learn to think like your prospects
7. Speechless Sunday: The power of flowers
8. A simple ten-question psychological profile test
9. Speechless Sunday at the San Diego Zoo: Spread those wings!
10. Persistency and consistency
11. Learning something new.... - Daniel Webster
12. Do you have some spare time? Try updating your contact information
13. Clients' morning at the San Diego Zoo
14. Look what I just did!
15. Here they are Folks! The winners of the ActiveRain Nature & Marketing contest!

Helpful blog posts for ActiveRain newbies

1. How to get 500 points with your ActiveRain success story
2. Free help for Active Rain newbies
3. 10 ways to get a featured post at ActiveRain
4. How to keep people from reading your Active Rain blog
5. How do you get people to comment on your blog?
6. Using Active Rain more effectively by finding Power Partners
7. Quit putting huge, gigantic, monster pictures in your blog. Now! (Help on resizing them)
8. Using YouTube videos without slowing down page loading
9. How to use the Active Rain system more efficiently

Need help with marketing? Join the Guerrilla Marketing Tactics Group.

Inspired by nature? Join the Inspired By Nature Group.

Classical music lover? Join the Classical Music Group.

Want to share a good book? Join the Active Rain Book Club