欢迎来到VOA在线收网 www.voa365.com
当前位置:VOA NEWS > VOA慢速英语 > 建国史话 >

Alexander Hamilton: Father of American Banking

2016-02-02 08:32来源:未知

音频下载

Drawing of Alexander Hamilton created in 1896. (Library of Congress)
Alexander Hamilton was not a U.S. president, but he was one of the most important early leaders of the U.S.  

 

He fought in the Revolutionary War, wrote powerful arguments to persuade the states to accept the Constitution, and helped create the country’s national banking and economic system.

 

In 1929, the Treasury Department even put Alexander Hamilton’s face on the $10 bill. And in 2015, the musical “Hamilton” became one of the biggest shows on Broadway.

 

But the story of Hamilton’s early life did not make this legacy likely. 

 

A difficult beginning

 

Hamilton was born in 1755 to poor, unmarried parents in the West Indies. He was a bright child and read every book given to him -- in English, Latin and Greek.

 

Hamilton also learned a great deal about business and economics. He talked about becoming a political leader in the North American colonies.

 

When Hamilton was 11 years old, his mother died. Hamilton got a job as an assistant bookkeeper. He learned how to keep financial records.

 

Even though his situation was difficult, others recognized that Hamilton was smart and talented. Hamilton’s boss sent him to New York. He became a student at King’s College, later called Columbia University.

 

Right hand man

 

The American Revolution gave Hamilton the chance to show his abilities. Hamilton supported the colonies’ war of independence against Britain. He became an aide to the colonies’ lead general, George Washington.

 

Even though Hamilton was young – in his early 20s – Washington trusted him as an excellent writer and thinker. Hamilton wrote the general’s letters. He had to use all his political and communication skills to get money and supplies for the Revolutionary Army.

 

Love and marriage … and money

 

During the war, Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler. She was a member of one of the nation’s wealthiest families.

 

Over time, Eliza and Alexander Hamilton made homes in New York and Philadelphia and raised eight children.

 

Bank of the United States

 

After the Revolutionary War, Hamilton became a lawyer in New York. He used the power of his pen again – this time, to defend the U.S. Constitution.

 

Hamilton was one of the authors of “The Federalist Papers.” The series of newspaper articles urged the newly independent states to adopt the Constitution and create a strong central government.

 

After the states agreed to ratify the Constitution, George Washington became the country’s first president. He asked Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury.

 

The role of Secretary of the Treasury was critical in the early days of the new nation. America’s most urgent problem was figuring out ways to pay its debts. The country had borrowed or promised a lot of money during the Revolutionary War.

 

Hamilton proposed a national bank. Congress approved the idea in 1791. The bank had $10 million in capital. It could lend the government money and pay off state debts. Hamilton’s system also created a federal system to collect taxes.

 

But not everyone accepted Hamilton’s views. Many of President Washington’s advisors – called his cabinet – opposed Hamilton.

 

Opponents expressed many objections to Hamilton’s Bank of the United States. Generally, members of Congress from the northern states supported the idea, while those from southern states opposed it.

 

Another political leader, Thomas Jefferson, said the Bank exceeded the powers of the Constitution.

 

Hamilton defended the Bank. He argued for a broad interpretation of the Constitution. He thought it permitted the federal government to do what it needed to do to strengthen the country’s economic system.

 

Hamilton largely won his political arguments. He became the leader of nation’s first political party, called the Federalist Party.

 

The Federalists, located mainly in the commercial Northeast, supported a strong national government. They laid the foundation of a national economy, created a national judicial system and set up principles of foreign policy.  

 

Trouble again

 

But while Hamilton’s public life was succeeding, his private life was running into trouble.

 

Hamilton confessed to having an affair – to not being faithful to his wife. His oldest son fought a duel to defend Alexander Hamilton’s honor and was killed. 


Hamilton eventually resigned from George Washington’s administration. And he publicly disagreed with other politicians, including the new president, John Adams, and a man named Aaron Burr.

 

Many who disagreed with Hamilton united in an opposition party called the Republicans, or sometimes the Democrat-Republicans. Thomas Jefferson was their leader.

 

Even though Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed about most things, in the presidential election of 1800 Hamilton supported Thomas Jefferson over the other leading candidate, Aaron Burr. Hamilton trusted Jefferson not to abuse the power of the presidency.

 

But Aaron Burr was angry that Hamilton had cost him the election. Later, when Burr ran for governor of New York, Hamilton opposed him again. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel.

 

Duel to the death

 

At dawn on July 11, 1804, Hamilton and Burr fought a duel on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, near Manhattan. They fired pistols from ten paces. Hamilton fell to the ground. He was carried to his Manhattan home and died the next day.


Just three years earlier, Hamilton’s son had been shot on the same spot.

 

Today, Americans remember Alexander Hamilton as the architect of America’s banking and economic system. He was the first secretary of the treasury and created America’s central bank.

 

Hamilton’s system gave the new nation the ability to issue paper money, lend the government money and promote business and industry by extending credit.

Even though many disagreed with the power Hamilton gave the central government, he helped place the United States on an equal financial footing with the nations of Europe.


Words in This Story

 

argument – n. a statement or series of statements for or against something

 

legacyn. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

 

bookkeepern. a person whose job is to keep the financial records for a business

 

financialadj. relating to money

 

wealthiest adj. having a lot of money and possessions

 

ratify v.  to make (a treaty, agreement, etc.) official by signing it or voting for it

 

treasuryn. the place where the money of a government, club, etc., is kept

 

urgentadj. very important and needing immediate attention

 

federaladj.  of or relating to a form of government in which power is shared between a central government and individual states, provinces, etc.

 

foundationn. something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something

 

judicialadj.  of or relating to courts of law or judges

 

confessv. to admit that you did something wrong or illegal

 

dueln.  a fight between two people that includes the use of weapons (such as guns or swords) and that usually happens while other people watch

 

resignv.  an act of giving up a job or position in a formal or official way

 

pacen.  a single step or the length of a single step — usually plural

 

architect n. a person who designs and guides a plan, project, etc.

 

footingn. used to describe the kind of relationship that exists between people, countries, etc.

 

(责任编辑:v365)
最新新闻
  1. 网传日月光Q4产能利用率降至70%
  2. 新型存储器已经开始增长,到20
  3. 市场人士透露:联发科在汽车芯片
  4. 【VOA在线闲聊】三星收购Arm会步英
  5. Nikola召回迄今为止生产的93辆Nik
  6. 蚂蚁数科两项区块链专利完成一对
  7. 蔚来申请注册“NIO CERTIFIED 蔚来官
  8. 获小米超千万投资 改装车公司工
  9. 法拉第未来首款电动汽车FF 91再次
  10. 消息称LG显示计划明年生产920万块
  11. 宝马面向欧洲市场推出最小的跨界
  12. 美国副总统哈里斯承诺就电动汽车
  13. 知情人士透露称马斯克和推特CE
  14. 因苹果缩减订单 台积电或修改明
  15. LG推出一项新技术,以开放局域网
  16. 小米13正式上线:骁龙8Gen2发布1
  17. 米家3 KG迷你洗衣机售价699元
  18. 苹果公司官方非常兴奋:印度将生
  19. 中国广电在全国31个省区开通广电
  20. 华为 Mate 50 Pro国外上市:售价远高
  21. 特斯拉柏林超级工厂回收工厂发生
  22. 华为 Mate 50原价4999
  23. iPhone 14销售比上一代下降了11%
  24. 2021至2025中国台湾将投350亿元新台
  25. 华为Mate50Pro预定5 G芯片,苹果公司
  26. 锐龙7000核显性能实测 单核及多核
  27. 索尼PS5最新更新:6 nm制程功率与
  28. 华为会议马上就要开始了!一种全
  29. 小米再次成为了冠军!该系列产品
  30. 还能吸收病毒?!戴森首个产品也
  31. 小米又推出了一款新产品,售价
  32. Imagination携手百度飞桨创建Model
  33. 奔驰要不要再加价?2024将发布
  34. TikTok在英国或被罚款2900万美元 被
  35. iPhone15PM改用 ULTRA:笔记本和 iPa
  36. 因库存不断提升存储芯片持续降价
  37. 预计小米Civi2将推出五款新产品
  38. 可靠商务桌面电脑推荐:联想M4
  39. 受飓风影响:NASA撤回阿尔忒弥斯
  40. 《三体》影迷们疯狂了!
  41. 4090设计实在是太离谱了!
  42. Meta试图Facebook和Instagram账户添加到
  43. 苹果公司在技术上遭受重大挫折,
  44. 我国成功发射遥感三十六号卫星,
  45. 骁龙8Gen2+120 W快速充电!小米13系
  46. 屏幕下手机价格大跌,灵动岛安卓
  47. 亚马逊宣布下月举办新会员促销活
  48. 酷睿i9-13900K预告片,5.8 GHz稳定!
  49. 美国流媒体巨头Netflix宣布在芬兰
  50. 外科手术机器人 商业化将加快世