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Alexander Hamilton Collection

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies on January 11, 1757. He immigrated to the United States in 1772, and he received educational training in the schools of Elizabethtown, N.J., and at King's College (now Columbia University). Hamilton was appointed aide-de-camp to General Washington in 1777; he was a member of the Continental Congress (1782-1783) and an influential member of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787 which adopted the Constitution of the United States. He also put the new United States of America on a sound economic footing as its first and most influential secretary of the Treasury, establishing the First Bank of the United States, public credit and the foundations for American capitalism, and stock and commodity exchanges. Mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr at Weehawken, N.J., he died in New York City the following day on July 12, 1804.

The collection consists of selected correspondence and documents of Alexander Hamilton. Correspondents include Aaron Burr, John Fitzgerald, and John Lillie. Also included is a circular signed by Hamilton regarding an act of Congress for punishment of certain enemies, dated June 17, 1794.

Arranged by accession number.

The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject.

Folder 8 is a gift of Bruce Willsie '86. Various AM.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Finding aid written by James Flannery on February 20, 2006. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.

No appraisal information is available.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2006
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Collection Inventory

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Mrs. Henderson giving an account of the engagements between British and Americans at Fort Detroit, Fort Erie, Niagara, etc. during the War of 1812, 1813 July 4. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to John Lillie regarding his application as a candidate, 1799 January 31. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Transfer of stock to the trustees of the College of New Jersey (photostat), 1794 April 4. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry (photostat), 1799 January 21. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Aaron Burr, 1803 October 10. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to John Fitzgerald, 1793 April 22. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to James Bowne inquiring if Joseph and Philip Palmer are alive and if Leonard Lawrence is executor to his father, 1784 June 17. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Circular signed by Alexander Hamilton about Act of Congress for punishment of certain crimes, 1794 June 17. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

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