Alexander Hamilton: A Resource Guide

American Memory Historical Collections

An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera

The Printed Ephemera collection comprises 28,000 primary-source items dating from the seventeenth century to the present and encompasses key events and eras in American history. Search the bibliographic records and the full-text option to find items related to Alexander Hamilton, including a copy of a Hamilton's report to the Marquis de Lafayette from the Battle of Yorktown that was published in The Pennsylvania Packet or The General Advertiser in 1781.

Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, 1933-Present

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States, including the Hamilton Grange National Memorial. Named after his family's ancestral home in Scotland, Hamilton lived in "the Grange" from 1802-04.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875

This collection contains a large selection of congressional material related to Alexander Hamilton's political career as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1782-83, and 1788), delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), member of the New York state ratification convention (1788), and secretary of the treasury (1789-95). Search this collection by date and publication to find materials related to Hamilton.

• The Journals of the Continental Congress documents Hamilton's service as a delegate to the Continental Congress during the years 1782-83 and 1788.
• The Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789 includes more than 160 letters to, from, or referring to Alexander Hamilton.
• Farrand's Records contains the documentary records of the Constitutional Convention, including a summary of Hamilton's speech on a plan of government that was delivered on June 18, 1787.
• Elliot's Debates documents Hamilton's role the New York state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788, including his speeches on June 21 and June 27. Elliot's Debates also contains a copy of the address issued at the conclusion of the Annapolis Convention in 1786, which was drafted by Hamilton and asked the states to send delegates to Philadelphia in May 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation.

The American State Papers contains the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789 to 1838, covering the time that Hamilton served as the secretary of the treasury (1789-95).

A selection of highlights from the American State Papers includes:

• First Report on Public Credit, January 14, 1790.
• Second Report on Public Credit, December 13, 1790.
• Report on a National Bank, December 13, 1790.
• Report on the Establishment of a Mint, January 28, 1791.
• Report on Manufactures, December 5, 1791.

George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress

The George Washington Papers contain more than 1,900 items to, from, or referring to Alexander Hamilton. Many of these materials document Hamilton’s work as George Washington's aide-de-camp during the American Revolution, as well as Hamilton's service as secretary of the treasury in the Washington administration. To find them, go to the collection’s search page, change the number of possible hits to 2,000, and search on the exact phrase Alexander Hamilton (do not put quotation marks around the words).

Among the collection’s Hamilton-related materials are:

• Hamilton's report to the Marquis de Lafayette on October 15, 1781, during the Battle of Yorktown.
• A letter from Washington to Alexander Hamilton on November 10, 1787, thanking Hamilton for sending a copy of the pamphlet written by "Publius" and discussing the new Constitution.
• Hamilton's opinion on the constitutionality of establishing a National Bank dated February 21, 1791.
• A letter from Hamilton to Washington on February 3, 1795, announcing his resignation as secretary of the treasury.

The James Madison Papers

The James Madison Papers contain more than 30 items to, from, or referring to Alexander Hamilton. To find them, go to the collection’s search page and search in both descriptive information and full text on the exact phrase Alexander Hamilton (do not put quotation marks around the words).

Among the collection’s Hamilton-related materials are:

• A letter from Hamilton to Madison on May 19, 1788, coordinating strategy regarding the ratification of the Constitution in New York and Virginia.
• A letter from Hamilton to Madison on June 8, 1788, discussing the antifederalists at the New York state ratification convention and Hamilton's fears of "an eventual disunion and civil war" if the Constitution is rejected.

The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress

The Thomas Jefferson Papers contain more than 130 items to, from, or referring to Alexander Hamilton. Most of these materials document the period during Washington's presidency when Hamilton served as secretary of the treasury and Jefferson was secretary of state. To find them, go to the collection’s search page and search on the exact phrase Alexander Hamilton (do not put quotation marks around the words).

Among the collection’s Hamilton-related materials are:

• A summary of Hamilton's plan of government proposed at the Constitution Convention on June 18, 1787.
• A copy of Hamilton's notes on weights and measures, June 1790.
• The minutes of a meeting given to President George Washington on July 12, 1793, in which Jefferson, Hamilton, and Henry Knox discussed armed vessels arriving in U.S. ports.

Words and Deeds in American History

In honor of the Manuscript Division's centennial, its staff selected approximately 90 representative documents from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. This collection contains Alexander Hamilton's notes for a speech proposing a plan of government at the Constitutional Convention.