Alexander Hamilton
General Washington's Secretary of the Treasury
Mr. Madison and Mr. Jenks have the honor of introducing two distinguished gentlemen who bring the very intriguing Alexander Hamilton to life. It is unlikely that you will find both Scott MacScott and Ian Rose portraying Mr. Hamilton simultaneously in the company of President Madison, although each allows Mr. Hamilton's talents and personality to shine in their interpretations of him.
Portraying Alexander Hamilton
Scott MacScott
"The best teacher of history is one who has lived it."
Scott has been guiding educational tours for 26 years and has portrayed Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Sam Adams on Living History tours from Boston to Colonial Williamsburg, including Monticello, Mount Vernon and Fort Ticonderoga for the past 15 years. Scott is well-known in the tourism industry from his position as the Chairman of the International Association of Tour Managers (IATM), was awarded the coveted Certificate of Tour Management (CTM) by the Breda University of the Netherlands. He holds Professional Guiding licenses in New York, Washington DC and Williamsburg Virginia. Scott is a native New Yorker and a professional First-person Historical Interpreter featured in numerous historical movies and educational publications. Scott lives in a house he built in the Catskills Mountains with his wife Andrea and son Alexander.
Discover the original American Spirit by strolling with Scott MacScott as Alexander Hamilton on an interactive, fun and educational living history walking tour for all ages in New York City by visiting Relive1776.com. If you home school, Scott has special programs for your students. Other services offered by Scott, as well as more information about him can be found at TourManager.com or TheTravels.com.
Portraying Alexander Hamilton
Ian Rose
Ian Rose has been representing historical figures since 1994 and for the past 15 years, he has been playing Alexander Hamilton at a variety of different venues across the United States. Ian’s appearances as Hamilton have seen him at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California, arguing Constitutional cases before The People’s Court Judge Marilyn Millian in New York City, as well as in presentations for the State Department, the Newseum, before the actual Constitution at the National Archives, and at the White House.
In addition, he has appeared as Col. Hamilton in the documentaries: First Faith, Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton, and Fractured Union for Mount Vernon. Ian has also interpreted continental soldiers for History First Hand and for American Historical Theatre.
He is a graduate of Western Illinois University and a veteran of many Shakespeare Festivals.
Alexander Hamilton
First Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Hamilton, born January 11, 1755 (per Hamilton himself) in Charlestown, Nevis (British West Indies) was the grandson of Alexander Hamilton the laird of Grange in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was orphaned by the death of his mother, Sarah Faucette, and abandonment by his father James who was the fourth son of the laird.
Taken in after his mother's death first by a cousin and then by a merchant family, he was eventually sponsored by a group of wealthy benefactors to pursue his education in New York City. In New York, he attended King's College, today's Columbia University, until the British occupation of the city during the War for Independence forced the college to close its doors.
During the War for Independence Hamilton came to the notice of General George Washington, eventually becoming the General's senior Aide-de-Camp. Washington valued Hamilton's discretion and talents so much that Hamilton had to beg, and ultimately threaten to resign his commission, in order to be transferred to a field command.
After the War, Hamilton became involved in the politics of the newly independent United States as a delegate from New York to the Congress of the Confederation. Finding the decentralized national government of the new nation too weak for his tastes, Hamilton resigned and went into the private practice of law. Yet, he was drawn back into politics when his father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, appointed him as one of the three delegates to the Federal Convention tasked with revising the Articles of Confederation.
Typically, the two members of the New York delegation appointed by Governor George Clinton outvoted Hamilton on various articles proposed to the delegates in general session. However, when the final vote came on the new document - the Constitution of the United States - on September 16, 1787 - Hamilton was the only New York delegate present and the only one to sign it for transmission to the states for ratification.
Hamilton's work in bringing the new Constitution into effect wasn't finished when the delegates adjourned. The next phase was securing ratification from nine states. New York promised to be difficult as Governor George Clinton and many of his political allies were firmly in favor of the old Articles of Confederation. To inform the citizens of New York and encourage ratification, Hamilton joined with John Jay and James Madison under the pen name Publius to write the collection of essays that are referred to as the Federalist Papers. Even today, this collection of essays is considered as one of the definitive interpretations of the United States Constitution.
With the final ratification of the Constitution the new government was formed with Gen. Washington elected the first President with John Adams as his Vice President. Named as the first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton. In this capacity, he also established taxes, import tariffs, and organized the nation's debt that was left from loans taken to fund the needs of the War of Independence, including those of the individual states. To collect tariffs on shipping, he established the Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of today's Coast Guard.
Although they had worked together to establish the new government under the Constitution, Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Madison became intense political rivals with Hamilton founding the Federalist Party, and Jefferson and Madison establishing the Democratic-Republican party. The latter party rose to power during the years after the presidency of John Adams.
In 1804, Hamilton and Jefferson's Vice President, Aaron Burr, were at odds over Burr's reputation. The dispute came to a head with the duel between the men which resulted in Hamilton's death a few days later from injuries sustained in the duel."
More information about Hamilton can be found on Wikipedia and in the bibliography provided with the article about him.