An indispensable resource for all readers, this book summarizes the founding of America alongside the personal and public life of one of America's most influential Founders through a comprehensive investigation of Hamilton's extensive writings. A product of extremely humble birth, Alexander Hamilton rose to become one of America's leading political figures, helping to determine the direction of nearly all of the seminal events of the founding of the country. The author introduces, provides notes on, and critically evaluates approximately 60 key documents that Hamilton wrote from his youth in the Caribbean through his leadership of the Federalist Party in the 1800s. In examining these writings, the book covers important periods of American history including the American Revolution, the ratification of the Constitution, the formation of the nation's first financial system, and the establishment of political parties. This book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to study the key moments of the revolutionary and founding periods of America through the life and legacy of one of the country's most eminent statesmen. The work concludes with a chronology that provides historical context for the most significant personal and political events in Hamilton's life and a bibliography that offers a basis for further study.