Was Alexander Hamilton a good or bad man?

Answer 1

Good and bad are relative terms; most people are a little (or a lot) of both, neither all good nor all bad. Hamilton was no exception.

Hamilton was an excellent lawyer who played an important role in founding the United States under the current Constitution. He is credited with making others aware of flaws in the Articles of Confederation during the Convention at Annapolis; participating in the Philadelphia Convention (later called the Constitutional Convention), and encouraging ratification of the Constitution by writing many of the Federalist Papers (with James Madison and John Jay); giving Washington good advice on foreign affairs; and successfully managing the government's war debt.

Hamilton was the United States' first Secretary of the Treasury at a time when both State and Federal finances were in disarray due to the cost of the Revolutionary War. Hamilton devised a controversial plan to purchase the states' debt and establish a National Bank, among other things. Although his plan imposed some short-term economic hardship, it eventually stabilized the national economy.

Hamilton was less stellar as a politician and as a person. He was extremely ambitious and vindictive, loved gossip (especially starting rumors), exaggerated his own accomplishments, undermined the honor and success of his political rivals, and was considered argumentative among peers. He was also an elitist who thought common citizens were too ignorant to participate in government, even by voting.