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Alexander Hamilton was truly a rare combination: active influential politician and powerful original thinker.
He played a critical role in the formation of the United States as delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787; coauthor, with James Madison and John Jay, of the Federalist Papers; and the first secretary of the treasury.
His economic writings contributed to the transformation of America from a handful of small, isolated agrarian states into the powerful industrial nation of today.
His writings on the presidency helped shape an office at once powerful enough to deal with the major problems of domestic and foreign policy and yet not so powerful as to threaten political liberty.
Here, in one volume, are the most important of Hamilton’s political and economic writings and speeches.
Reissued 40 years after its first publication, this compendium now includes a new introductory essay by Adam J. White and Gary J. Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute.
“The first secretary of the Treasury and architect of our monetary system, Alexander Hamilton had that rare ability to combine knowledge and action into practical, principled policies, a skill which has never been more sorely needed than it is today. I am heartened to see, at last, a one-volume collection of Hamilton’s papers, highlighting principles that are as relevant to the vitality of the republic now as they were when they first appeared some 200 years ago.”
—William E. Simon, former secretary of the treasury
“Professor Frisch’s careful selection of Hamilton’s works and his elucidating introduction of them are timely as we consider the limits of executive power.”
—Robert A. Rutland, editor of The Papers of James Madison
“Anyone interested in the history of our country, of our earliest attempts to form a viable government, of our Constitution—indeed, of our national banking system—will surely want to read Professor Frisch’s volume on Alexander Hamilton’s writings and speeches.”
—Willard C. Butcher, chairman of the board, Chase Manhattan Bank
Contents
Foreword to the 2026 Edition, Gary J. Schmitt and Adam J. White
Foreword to the 1985 Edition, William J. Baroody, Jr
Preface to the 1985 Edition
Introduction: The Political Thought of Hamilton’s Statesmanship
The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775
Letter to James Duane, September 3, 1780
Letter to Robert Morris, April 30, 1781
The Continentalist Papers, An Introduction
The Continentalist No. I, July 12, 1781
The Continentalist No. II, July 19, 1781
The Continentalist No. III, August 9, 1781
The Continentalist No. IV, August 30, 1781
The Continentalist No. V, April 18, 1782
The Continentalist No. VI, July 4, 1782
Second Letter from Phocion, April 1784
Speech in the New York Assembly, January 19, 1787
Speech in the Constitutional Convention on a Plan of Government, June 18, 1787
Hamilton’s Plan of Government, June 18, 1787
Remarks in the Constitutional Convention on the Term of Office for Members of the Second Branch of the Legislature, June 26, 1787
Remarks in the Constitutional Convention on the Equality of Representation in the Congress, June 29, 1787
Letter to George Washington, July 3, 1787
Remarks in the Constitutional Convention on the Election of the President, September 6, 1787
Remarks in the Constitutional Convention on the Signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1787
Conjectures about the New Constitution, September 17–30, 1787
The Federalist Papers, An Introduction
The Federalist No. 1, October 27, 1787
The Federalist No. 9, November 21, 1787
The Federalist No. 23, December 18, 1787
The Federalist No. 31, January 1, 1788
The Federalist Nos. 70–77, An Introduction
The Federalist No. 70, March 15, 1788
The Federalist No. 71, March 18, 1788
The Federalist No. 72, March 19, 1788
The Federalist No. 73, March 21, 1788
The Federalist No. 74, March 25, 1788
The Federalist No. 75, March 26, 1788
The Federalist No. 76, April 1, 1788
The Federalist No. 77, April 2, 1788
The Federalist No. 78, May 28, 1788
The Federalist No. 84, May 28, 1788
Hamilton’s Remarks and Speeches at the New York Ratifying Convention, An Introduction
Remarks in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 20, 1788
First Speech of June 21 in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 21, 1788
Third Speech of June 21 in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 21, 1788
Remarks in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 24, 1788
Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 25, 1788
Remarks in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 27, 1788
Speech in the New York Ratifying Convention, June 28, 1788
Letter to George Washington, September 1788
Opinion on the Constitutionality of an Act to Establish a National Bank, February 23, 1791
Conversation with Thomas Jefferson, August 13, 1791
Report on Manufactures, December 5, 1791
Letter to Edward Carrington, May 26, 1792
The Vindication [of the Funding System] No. III, May–August 1792
George Washington to Alexander Hamilton, July 29, 1792
Letter to George Washington containing Objections and Answers respecting the Administration of Government, August 18, 1792
Letter to George Washington, September 9, 1792
Amicus, September 11, 1792
The Catullus Essays, An Introduction
Catullus No. II, September 19, 1792
Catullus No. III, September 29, 1792
Catullus No. IV, October 17, 1792
Metellus, October 24, 1792
The Defence No. I, 1792–1795
Defense of the President’s Neutrality Proclamation, May 1793
Pacificus No. I, June 29, 1793
Pacificus No. IV, July 10, 1793
The Tully Letters, An Introduction
Tully No. III, August 28, 1794
Tully No. IV, September 2, 1794
Views on the French Revolution, 1794
The Defence of the Funding System, July 1795
Letter to George Washington, March 29, 1796
Letter to George Washington containing Hamilton’s Draft of Washington’s Farewell Address, July 30, 1796
Letter to William Hamilton, May 2, 1797
Letter to Oliver Wolcott, Junior, June 29, 1798
Hamilton’s Draft of a Letter from George Washington to James
McHenry, December 13, 1798
Letter to Marquis de Lafayette, January 6, 1799
Letter to Tobias Lear, January 2, 1800
Letter concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams Esq. President of the United States, October 24, 1800
Letter to Gouverneur Morris, December 26, 1800
Letter to James A. Bayard, December 27, 1800
Letter to James A. Bayard, January 16, 1801
An Address to the Electors of the State of New York, March 21, 1801
The Lucius Crassus Criticism of Jefferson’s Message to Congress of December 8, 1801, An Introduction
The Examination No. XII, February 23, 1802
The Examination No. XIV, March 2, 1802
The Examination No. XV, March 3, 1802
The Examination No. XVI, March 19, 1802
Remarks on the Repeal of the Judiciary Act, February 11, 1802
Letter to the New York Evening Post, February 24, 1802
Letter to Gouverneur Morris, February 29, 1802
Letter to James A. Bayard, April 6, 1802
Letter to James A. Bayard, April 16–21, 1802
Letter to Timothy Pickering, September 16, 1803
Appendix
George Washington to Alexander Hamilton, August 28, 1788
Index