Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; he was also a well-respected statesman and a successful military leader. Born out of wedlock in the mid-eighteenth century, he spent his childhood among the lowest rung of the white society in St. Croix. Starting to work at the age of nine, he later received informal education from his mentors before being sent to the King’s College, New York to be trained as a doctor. Here, he was quickly drawn into politics, writing his first published article at the age of seventeen. Later he joined the War of Independence and came close to General Washington, who on becoming President of the United States made him the first Secretary of Treasury. In this new avatar, Hamilton founded the nation’s financial policy, helping the government to tide over the chaos it had inherited from the revolution. A supporter of a strong federal government, he also played a significant role in the ratification of the new constitution and held slavery morally wrong.