541From Alexander Hamilton to ———, 6 August 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, August 6, 1787. Introduces “a son of Mr. Israel, who is going to Philadelphia to endeavour to effect the settlement of his fathers demand upon the Administrator of Barnard Levi.” ALS , Charles Roberts Autograph Collection of the Haverford College Library, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
542Statement of Expenses Incurred by Alexander Hamilton and Egbert Benson in Attending the Annapolis Convention, [8 May … (Hamilton Papers)
The People of the State of New York To Egbert and Alexander Hamilton Drs. For our expences in attending the Convention at Annapolis in September last £113 . . 1.4 including the journey thither and back New York to Wit. Egbert Benson and Alexander Hamilton severally make oath and first the said Egbert Benson saith that of the above mentioned sum he did disburse Thirty six pounds three shillings...
543H. G. Letter XI, 6 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
One of the circumstances stated to you in mine of the 26th of February, to shew that the Governor is unfriendly to the UNION, is that he prejudged and condemned the new Constitution before it was framed. This fact has been long since given to the public; to which no other answer, that I have heard, has been made by his Excellency, or his friends, than that he as a citizen had a right to...
544New York Ratifying Convention. First Speech of July 15, [15 July 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
Ham[ilton]—They were ready to go as far as they thought safe, in recommendatory & explanatory Amend[ment]s —& secure the Constitu[tio]n—& that Many of the Amend[ment]s we have proposed—they suppose wrong—yet they will bring forward Amend[ment]s & will be pledged for to obtain those which they bring forward—as far as they can—Reads a form of adoption —Reads a list of amend[ment]s which they...
545New York Assembly. Motion for Leave to Bring in a Bill, [3 February 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Hamilton moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the charter of the Corporation for the relief of Widows and Children of Clergymen in communion of the Church of England, in America. Ordered , That leave be given accordingly. Mr. Hamilton, according to leave, brought in the said bill, entitled An act to amend the Charter of the Corporation for the relief of the Widows and Children of...
546New York Ratifying Convention. First Speech of July 17, [17 July 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
Ham[ilton] Scarce any new reasons to be offered; they are short—& must have their force it may do good—cannot do evil. While men hope , they never became enraged. Both parties hope to succeed, therefore will not heat. Things have changed since we came here—therefore decent we should consult our constituents. Good may come—& no evil can come. Takes notice of an objectn by gent We are to take no...
547New York Assembly. Remarks on an Amendment to an Act to Empower Justices of the Peace to Try Causes to the Value of Ten … (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Harpur moved for a clause to be added to the bill, in substance, that no freeholder or citizen shall hereafter be imprisoned for any sum less than ten pounds, but that execution shall issue and remain in force against the debtor, till from time to time by different seizures of his effects, the creditor shall be satisfied and fully paid. Col. Hamilton confessed that his own judgment was not...
548The Federalist No. 76, [1 April 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
To the People of the State of New-York. THE President is “to nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate to appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not otherwise provided for in the Constitution. But the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior...
549New York Assembly. Report on a Letter from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, [10 March 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Hamilton from the Committee to whom was referred the letter from the Honorable John Jay, Esquire, Secretary for foreign affairs, reported, that it is the opinion of the said Committee, that so much of the act, entitled, An act for granting a more effectual relief in cases of certain Trespasses , as makes all actions to be brought upon the said act transitory, and as declares that no...
550New York Ratifying Convention. Remarks (John McKesson’s Version), [27 June 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
It is more natural to the Mind of man to examine the Powers by which money is to be taken from him—than the necessity or reasons of those powers— In Regard to the Safety and Liberty of the People you are to constitute it to preserve Liberty with Power to preserve it self and with sufficient Checks— 1. This Govt. has represents elected only for two years—this the peoples Govt. 2d. A Senate for...
551Third Draft of an Act for Raising Certain Yearly Taxes Within This State, [9 February 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Whereas from the impossibility of finding any determinate rule for ascertaining the comparitive abilities of counties districts and individuals to pay taxes the mode of taxation heretofore in use in this state of quotas and assessments has been found by experience to be productive of great inequalities and inconveniences and has proved inadequate to the exigencies of the state: And Whereas...
552H. G. Letter XII, 8 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
The seventh of the circumstances enumerated in proof of his Excellency’s enmity to the Union is, That he has continued his opposition to the new constitution even since its adoption by this state. There are two kinds of opposition, direct and indirect. The Governor must have been an idiot to have rendered himself chargeable with the first kind. It would have brought the resentment of the whole...
553New York Ratifying Convention. Second Speech of July 17, [17 July 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
Ham[ilton]—gave reasons why we would be out of the Union— Amend[ment]s have been proposed—with a desire to conciliate and assuage—therefore not adopted on expedience—but the amend[ment]s proposed for expedience—in Massachusetts—now a fed[era]l representation this not fav[orabl]e to amend[ment]s Connecticut—an election—Antis—left out— N. Ham. adopted—after an ad[journmen]t Pennsylvania—2/3ds...
554New York Assembly. Remarks on an Act Concerning Murder, [8 February 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
On that part of the bill, which required that women who clandestinely were delivered of children and the same die, or be born dead, that the mother within one month thereafter, should before a magistrate be obliged to produce one witness at least, to prove that the child was not murdered; and in default of concealing the same, to be deemed guilty of murder. Mr. Hamilton observed, that the...
555The Federalist No. 7, [17 November 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
To the People of the State of New-York. It is sometimes asked, with an air of seeming triumph, what inducements could the States have, if disunited, to make war upon each other? It would be a full answer to this question to say—precisely the same inducements, which have, at different times, deluged in blood all the nations in the world. But unfortunately for us, the question admits of a more...
556The Federalist No. 11, [24 November 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
To the People of the State of New-York. The importance of the Union, in a commercial light, is one of those points, about which there is least room to entertain a difference of opinion, and which has in fact commanded the most general assent of men, who have any acquaintance with the subject. This applies as well to our intercourse with foreign countries, as with each other. There are...
557Draft of an Act Acknowledging the Independence of Vermont, [14 March 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
An act to empower and direct the Delegates of this State in Congress to accede to ratify and confirm the Sovereignty and Independence of the People of the Territory commonly called and known by the name of the State of Vermont. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the Authority of the same that the Delegates of...
558New York Ratifying Convention. First Speech of June 28 (Francis Childs’s Version), [28 June 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
The hon. Mr. Hamilton . Mr. Chairman, in the course of these debates, it has been suggested, that the state of New-York has sustained peculiar misfortunes, from the mode of raising revenues by requisitions. I believe we shall now be able to prove, that this state, in the course of the late revolution, suffered the extremes of distress on account of this delusive system. To establish these...
559New York Ratifying Convention. Third Speech of June 28 (John McKesson’s Version), [28 June 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
These Resolutions were introduced to shew that it was the settled opinion of the Legislature as well before as after the Confederation that the Powers of Congress were inadequate— Mentioning the Subject of a Dictator was not necessary— The Gent. says he is for an energetic fœderal Govt —what is it If what we Contend for by this System A Measure of Impost was once passed in this State—but...
560The Federalist No. 50, [5 February 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
To the People of the State of New-York. IT may be contended perhaps, that instead of occasional appeals to the people, which are liable to the objections urged against them, periodical appeals are the proper and adequate means of preventing and correcting infractions of the Constitution . It will be attended to, that in the examination of these expedients, I confine myself to their aptitude...
561Constitutional Convention. Remarks on the Election of the President, [6 September 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Hamilton said that he had been restrained from entering into the discussions by his dislike of the Scheme of Govt. in General; but as he meant to support the plan to be recommended, as better than nothing, he wished in this place to offer a few remarks. He liked the new modification, on the whole, better than that in the printed Report. In this the President was a Monster elected for seven...
562Constitutional Convention. Remarks on the Manner of Ratifying the Constitution, [10 September 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Hamilton concurred with Mr. Gerry as to the indecorum of not requiring the approbation of Congress. He considered this as a necessary ingredient in the transaction. He thought it wrong also to allow nine States as provided by art XXI. to institute a new Government on the ruins of the existing one. He wd. propose as a better modification of the two articles (XXI & XXII) that the plan should...
563Motion Intended to Be Made at a Meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati, 11 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
[ New York ] March 11, 1789 . At a meeting of the New York Society of the Cincinnati “held on the 11th of March, at the Holland Lodge, Hamilton informed the Society that he intended to move at the next meeting, for the following By-Law, to be annexed to those already established by the Society, to wit: ‘That each Treasurer of the Society, before he enters upon the execution of his office,...
564Report of a Committee of the New York State Society of the Society of the Cincinnati, [6 July 1786] (Hamilton Papers)
The Committee to whom were referred the proceedings of the Society of the Cincinnati, at their last General Meeting, beg leave to report: that they have attentively considered the alterations proposed at that meeting to be made in the original Constitution of the Society; and though they highly approve the motives which dictated those alterations, they are of opinion it would be inexpedient to...
565New York Assembly. Remarks on an Act for the Relief of Arthur Noble, [9 February 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
The intention of this bill was to enable the commissioners of the land office to convey to Mr. Noble, two townships of ten miles square, at one shilling per acre, for the purpose of settling Irish emigrants. On considering this bill by paragraphs, some conversation arose in which Gen. Malcom, Col. Hamilton, and Mr. Jones were the principal speakers. Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Jones were both of...
566New York Ratifying Convention. Fourth Speech of July 19, [19 July 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
Ham[ilton]—is willing those who are now scrupulous may be exempted— but does not wish to encourage this idea— Gilbert Livingston MS Notes, MS Division, New York Public Library. See “New York Ratifying Convention. First Speech of July 19,” note 1 . H’s remarks concerned the fifteenth proposal of the “Bill of Rights,” which reads as follows: “That any person religiously scrupulous of bearing...
567New York Ratifying Convention. Notes for a Speech, [20 June 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
I Various Interests Navigating and Non Navigating— Great and Small— Struggle for Commercial point two thirds Struggle for equal power— Some small states non navigating— Hence tendency to combination Necessity of accommodation— Oeconomy— Relate difficulties on this point As to the ratios of representation I Character of slaves mixed persons & property II In many states persons included in census...
568The Federalist No. 12, [27 November 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
To the People of the State of New-York. THE effects of union upon the commercial prosperity of the States have been sufficiently delineated. Its tendency to promote the interests of revenue will be the subject of our present enquiry. The prosperity of commerce is now perceived and acknowledged, by all enlightened statesmen, to be the most useful as well as the most productive source of...
569New York Assembly. Report on a Letter from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, [16 March 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. Hamilton, from the Committee appointed to consider of and report on the letter from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, to his Excellency the Governor, and the papers accompanying the same, together with the act of the Legislature, entitled, An act relative to Debts due to Persons within the Enemies Lines , reported, that it is the opinion of the Committee, that the said act ought to be...
570Continental Congress. Amendment to Supplement to Land Ordinance, [28 May 1788] (Hamilton Papers)
That the persons intitled to lands by virtue of such warrants shall be at liberty to locate them on any part of the two tracts or districts of land reserved and set apart for the purpose of satisfying the military bounties due to the late army provided that each location be made either in contact with some point or part of the external boundary of the said tracts respectively or of some prior...