Alexander Hamilton, c. 1798—1801

Alexander Hamilton, c. 1798—1801
by
Charles Willson Peale (1741—1827)

Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, New York, NY.

This is Hamilton as Major General — second in command to Washington — during the Quasi-War with France from 1798 to 1800.

During the war ... Washington thought his way to federalism, long before a Federalist Party existed. He believed in a strong central government, supreme over the states; a strong financial system on the British model, with taxes to fund its debt; a flourishing commerce to create prosperity (and to train seamen for a powerful navy, which would in turn protect shipping); and a strong military. And most officers came out of the experience of the Revolution with the same views.

— Myron Magnet
The Founders at Home: The Building of America, 1735 - 1817 (2014)