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Chapter V - Washington Takes Office,
Alexander Hamilton Balances the Books Washington Takes Office, Alexander Hamilton Balances the Books
While members of Congress forged ahead in the effort to structure a powerful central government, George Washington, a man known for his high integrity, reluctantly accepted the office of President of the United States. At age fifty-seven, gray-haired, partially deaf and almost toothless, Washington described himself as he rode to his inauguration as a "culprit . . . going to his place of execution." At his inauguration he freely confessed to feeling that he faced "an ocean of difficulties, without that competency of political skills, abilities and inclinations which is necessary to manage the helm."
In spite of his feeling that he lacked sufficient qualifications, Washington quickly achieved his first important presidential objective - selecting the men who would head the executive departments. He appointed Henry Knox, a Revolutionary War general, to head the anemic War Department comprised of a "light-weight" army of 672 men and no navy. For the State Department he chose fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, who had just finished his term as Ambassador to France. The critical position of handling government finances went to the president's wartime aide, scholarly Alexander Hamilton, now a successful New York attorney.
Hamilton, the illegitimate son of a Scottish aristocrat and a woman divorced by her husband for adultery and desertion, was born in the British West Indies in 1757. He spent his formative years in poverty, especially after the untimely death of his mother when he was only eleven years old. After her death, he worked as a clerk for a mercantile firm until, with the aid of influential friends and relatives, he was selected to enter King's College, later known as Columbia University. At King's College he wrote a significant anti-British tract for the patriot cause. Later, Hamilton volunteered for service in the patriot army where his self-assurance caught Washington's attention. Subsequently, Washington appointed Hamilton as an aide-de-camp in 1777. At twenty-three he married the wealthy daughter of General Philip Schuyler. Practicing law in New York City after the war, he quickly became a "self-made aristocrat" by serving as collector-of-revenue.
Hamilton's experience as a poor, struggling youth in the West Indies deeply affected his outlook on life in three ways. First of all, as a West Indian Hamilton had no ties to an individual colony or state and expressed little sympathy for local autonomy. Instead, he strongly supported the idea of a central government. Second, Hamilton had a profoundly cynical view of human nature and increasingly stressed that people were motivated entirely by self-interests particularly economic self-interest. As a result, he had no patience with political leaders who lavishly praised the masses' ability to sacrifice for the common good rather than seeking "private advantage." Finally, because of his struggles as a youth Hamilton was extremely ambitious and sought as much recognition and power as possible. At the age of fourteen he precociously wrote, "to confess my weakness, my ambition is prevalent." Hamilton's confidence in his own abilities, his distrust of his fellow man and his belief in the necessity of a strong centralized government made him aptly suited to confront the "monumental task" of resolving the financial dilemma that the United States faced in 1790.
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