Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was a
Founding Father of the United States, chief
staff aide to General
George Washington, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the
U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation's financial system, the founder of the
Federalist Party, the world's first voter-based political party, the Father of the
United States Coast Guard, and the founder of
The New York Post. As the first
Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of the
George Washington administration. Hamilton took the lead in the funding of the states' debts by the Federal government, the
establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. He led the Federalist Party, created largely in support of his views; he was opposed by the
Democratic-Republican Party, led by
Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison, which despised Britain and feared that Hamilton's policies of a strong central government would weaken the American commitment to
Republicanism.