35 - Alexander Hamilton (NY)

#35 - Alexander Hamilton (NY)
Birthplace: British West Indies
Age at Convention: 30

1) Religion
-- Presbyterian in early life
-- May have used Christianity for political ends
-- Proposed a Christian Constitutional Society

2) Slavery
-- Wrote of the evils of slavery that Britain would bring to America
-- Argued that blacks natural faculties were as good as whites
-- Perhaps saw the Revolution and the struggle against slavery as inseparable
-- Attacked political opponents for demanding freedom for themselves but refusing it to blacks
-- May have owned slaves; did buy & sell on behalf of others

3) Upbringing
-- Illegitimate son of common law marriage
-- Father was a poor itinerant Scottish merchant
-- Mother was a planter's daughter
-- Mother & Presbyterian clergymen provided basic education

References:
1) http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/hamilton.html
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#On_slavery

Running tabulation:
1) Religiously Active (15) or Primarily Secular (6)
2) Abolitionist (9), Partial Abolitionist (8) or Non-Abolitionist (4)
3) Wealthy (6) or Middle-Class/Poor (15)