From the writings of Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804) was appointed the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States in 1789. A major figure in the shaping of the new Republic, Hamilton fought in the Revolutionary War, eventually becoming Lieutenant Colonel in General Washington's Continental Army; served as a member of the Continental Congress; helped found the Bank of New York; and, with James Madison and John Jay, authored the Federalist Papers. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1791.