“[T]he man on the ten dollar bill is the father of the United States Treasury system, a signer of the Constitution, one of the principal authors of the Federalist Papers, and the loser of it infamous duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. Less well known is Alexander Hamilton's earlier career as an officer in the Continental Army. Yet Hamilton's early experience in public service is important, not only because it was the springboard to his later career, but because it also profoundly influenced his values ​​and thinking” (Hamilton).Alexander Hamilton was born as a British subject on the island of Nevis. in the West Indies on January 11, 1755. His father, James Hamilton – a Scottish merchant from St. Kitts – was the younger son of a minor Scottish nobleman. His mother, Rachel Fawcett Levine, was married to a Danish landowner from St. Croix named John Michael Levine. Mrs. Levine left her husband John and subsequently divorced him on June 25, 1759, two years after Alexander's birth. His parents soon separated. However, Alexander grew up with his mother and brother James, living on the edge of poverty. He had no further contact with his father and, when his mother died in 1768, he was orphaned at the age of 11 (Hamilton). Hamilton found employment as a merchant's apprentice with the help of his aunts. At the age of fifteen, his employers paid attention to his honesty and intelligence and were impressed. Therefore, they worked with his aunts to send him for formal schooling in New York. First, he attended Francis Barber Preparatory School in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Hamilton always displayed an unusual ability to impress older, influential men: he thus acquired his social position in Elizabethtown with surpassing speed...... middle of paper ...... July 11 1804, they shot each other on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Hamilton was mortally wounded and died the next afternoon (Famous People). Works Cited “Hamilton, Alexander (1757-1804). » The American Revolution 1775-1783: an encyclopedia. 1985. Center for History Studies. Internet. November 19, 2013.Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. 1st. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. “Alexander Hamilton” e-book. 2013. Biography Channel website. November 20, 2013, 11:15 a.m. “Alexander Hamilton.” Famous people. Internet. November 20, 2013. .Finseth, Ian. “The Rise and Fall of Alexander Hamilton.” Xroads Virginia. [email protected], Internet. November 20th 2013..