Hold the Ham For Hamilton: The Jew(ish) Life of Alexander Hamilton

The purpose of this research is to re-examine the early life of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, particularly the theory that he was raised Jewish. There are few records of Hamilton’s childhood, and he told few stories about it himself, but what little information there is supports this idea. This information would be important for contextualizing Hamilton’s later affinity for the Jewish community, and because it would add a new story to the under-studied field of Jewish-American history. A novel analysis of Hamilton’s writings, including The Federalist Papers, will reveal how Hamilton’s beliefs differed from those of his contemporaries. This new historiography will yield an improved understanding of how Hamilton used religious references in his writings, explore his ties to the Jewish community, and highlight his abstinence from the broadly anti-Semitic culture of the time, thus allowing for a new understanding of Hamilton and his surroundings. In an age where antisemitism is prevalent, a better understanding of a key Founding Father's relationship with Jewish Americans would help to show others that Jewish people have always been part of the American story. This would help to dispel the notion that Jewish people are foreign and not “real” Americans. For these reasons, an analysis of Hamilton’s Jewish background would be interesting to scholars because it would provide a new way to analyze his life.