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2 Introduction Elizabethtown, New Jersey, Hamilton enrolled at King’s College (now Columbia University) on an accelerated learning plan. Hamilton thrived as a young college student. His roommate Robert Troup later recalled that he “was studious and made rapid progress in the lan- guages and every other branch of learning to which he applied himself” (Schachner 1947, 212). In his spare time he poured over the books in the King’s College library. In addition to the works directly required for his studies, Hamilton immersed him- self in the natural rights writings of theorists such as Locke, Grotius, Pufendorf, Montesquieu, Bur- lamaqui, Hobbes, Blackstone, and Hume. During his time in New Jersey and New York, he also fell in with a number of the country’s leading Whigs, including Elias Boudinot, William Livingston, and John Jay. Shortly after Hamilton enrolled at King’s Col- lege, colonial fervor against the British government came to a head. During his first year, Hamilton witnessed the Boston Tea Party, the Sons of Lib- erty protests throughout the colonies, the passage of Britain’s disciplinary Coercive Acts, and the meeting of the first Continental Congress in Phil- adelphia. As a young, ambitious college student, he was deeply interested in the political issues of the day. By mid-1774, he began speaking at political rallies, energetically supporting the patriotic cause. In the winter of 1774–1775, Hamilton published his first major political tracts, A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress and The Farmer Refuted. Engaging in a polemical battle with Samuel Seabury, an Anglican minister and Tory, Hamilton vigorously and effectively defended the Continen- tal Congress and its imposition of an embargo on commercial relations with Britain. In these essays he demonstrated that, in spite of his youth, he had developed a mature knowledge of trade, political theory, law, and military strategy. Hamilton’s support for the Patriots’ cause and the revolutionary activity of the Sons of Liberty, although enthusiastic, was not blind or unlimited. On at least two occasions, he risked his personal reputation by publicly resisting and denouncing the actions of mobs that sought to harm the person and property of loyalist Tories. Hamilton believed that the lawless and destructive nature of mob rule would disgrace the cause of liberty and would ulti- mately deprive the colonists of their justification for resisting British oppression in the first place. Thus, while he heartily endorsed the Revolution, he continually encouraged a spirit of moderation and respect for legal order. Before completing his college degree, Ham- ilton, consumed with the revolutionary affairs of the budding nation, devoted himself to full-time military activity. He formed a volunteer drill com- pany along with several of his former classmates and began to study artillery. In early 1776, he was appointed captain of a New York artillery company and, at the end of the year, he and his men report- edly crossed the Delaware with General George Washington for the surprise dawn attack on the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey. Section III: During the War During the early years of the Revolution, Ham- ilton, having helped plant the theoretical seeds of American independence, turned his attention to full-time military service. As captain of the New York Provincial Company of Artillery, he exhib- ited remarkable initiative, insight, and leadership ability. With the help of his friend Hercules Mul- ligan, he personally recruited soldiers to staff his company and then exerted great effort to ensure that those under his command were not only well disciplined and trained but also well outfitted and compensated. As an ambitious immigrant of illegitimate birth himself, Hamilton sought to recognize and reward dedication, ability, and achievement rather than social status. When he officially requested per- mission from the New York Provincial Congress to grant promotions based on merit regardless of social class or rank, his actions inspired others to