Alexander Hamilton

Born: January 11, 1755Born: January 11, 1755
Nevis, British West Indies
Died: July 12, 1804
Weehawken, New Jersey 
The first U.S. secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton was one of the leaders of the nation's first political party, the Federalists (a group who supported a strong central government). Hamilton remains a well-known figure in U.S. history. He is known not only for the great contributions that he made to the early United States but also for his famous duel with Aaron Burr (1756–1836) in 1804, which resulted in his death.


Alexander Hamilton's birth date is disputed, but it is often listed as January 11, 1755. He was born on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies, the illegitimate son (his parents were not married to each other) of James Hamilton, a Scotsman, and Rachel Fawcett Lavien, the daughter of a French physician.
Hamilton's education was brief. He began working between the ages of eleven and thirteen for a trading company in St. Croix, an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1772 he left to attend school in the American colonies. After a few months at an academy in New Jersey, he enrolled in King's College in New York City. Intelligent enough to master most subjects without formal instruction and eager to win success and fame early in life, he left college in 1776 without graduating.


The outbreak of the American Revolution (1775–83), when the thirteen British colonies in North America fought for their freedom, offered Hamilton the opportunity he craved. In 1777 he became a lieutenant colonel (an army officer who is above a colonel) in the Continental Army (the national army fighting for American independence) and assistant to commanding general George Washington (1732–1799). Hamilton became one of Washington's most trusted advisers. Although he played no role in major military decisions, Hamilton's position was one of great responsibility. He drafted many of Washington's important letters, he was sent on important military missions, and he wrote several reports on the reorganization and reform of the army. In December 1780 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a member of one of New York's most distinguished families. Hamilton eventually returned to New York. In 1782 he became a lawyer following a short period of apprenticeship (studying and learning a job from someone already in that position).
Hamilton's ideas on government and society had changed during the Revolution. Having been born in a foreign country gave him a different viewpoint from most people. Working for Washington had allowed him to observe how the weakness of Congress and how state and local jealousies were hurting the war effort. From this point on Hamilton believed in, and tried to work to bring about, a strong central government.Secretary of the treasuryIn September 1789, some six months after the new government was established, Hamilton was named the nation's first secretary of the treasury. This was the most important of the executive departments because the new government's most urgent problem was to find ways to pay the national debt—domestic and foreign—that had grown during the Revolution. Hamilton wrote many reports on the American economy, and many of his suggestions became law. Hamilton's ideas were not exactly original (they were similar to British policies), but they were sensible and took into account the needs of the new country.

Hamilton's importance during this period was not confined to his work as treasury secretary. As the "prime minister" of Washington's administration, he was consulted on a wide range of problems, foreign and domestic. In addition, he is considered the leader of the country's first political party. Hamilton himself disliked the idea of political parties. However, when the debate over his policies revealed disagreement among the members of Congress, Hamilton assumed leadership of the pro-administration group, known as the Federalists.


Hamilton retired from office in January 1795. He returned to his law practice to make money to support his growing family and soon became the most distinguished lawyer in New York City. His interest in public affairs continued, however, and he served as President Washington's adviser. He helped Washington write his famous "Farewell Address" (1796), in which Washington turned down a third term as president. Hamilton remained active in politics as well, speaking out in favor of candidates he liked and criticizing those he opposed.
While many held Hamilton in high regard, others neither liked nor trusted him. During the presidency of John Adams (1735–1826), however, Hamilton continued to have considerable national influence; members of Adams's cabinet often sought and followed his advice. In 1798 they cooperated with George Washington to secure Hamilton's appointment—over Adams's strong opposition—as inspector general and second in command of the U.S. Army, which was preparing for a possible war against France. Since Washington chose not to assume active command, organizing and recruiting these troops fell to Hamilton. His military career came to an abrupt end in 1800 after President Adams sent a peace mission to France that achieved a settlement of the major issues.


Although his interest in national policies and politics was still strong, Hamilton's role in national affairs after 1801 became smaller. He continued to publish his opinions on public affairs in the New York Evening Post. In 1804 he took a stand against a rumored plot by New England and New York Federalists to break up the Union by forming a northern confederacy (a separate union). Hamilton believed that Vice President Aaron Burr (1756–1836), whom he referred to as "the most unfit and dangerous man of the community," was involved with this plan. Hamilton also actively stood against Burr's bid for the New York governorship. After Burr lost the race, he angrily challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton believed that his "ability to be in [the] future useful" demanded that he meet the challenge.

After putting his personal affairs in order, Alexander Hamilton met Burr at dawn on July 11, 1804, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The two men exchanged gunshots, and Hamilton fell, mortally wounded. Many believe that he missed Burr on purpose, leaving himself an open target for Burr's bullet. Hamilton was carried back to New York City, where he died the next afternoon.


http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Hamilton-Alexander.html#b

Benedict Arnold

Although he fought with skill and courage in many campaigns during the American Revolution (1775–83), General Benedict Arnold is best known as the man who betrayed his country.Youth and familyBenedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was one of only two of his mother's eleven children to survive into adulthood. His mother had been a prosperous widow before marrying Arnold's father, a merchant. However, Arnold's father did not manage the family's money well, and they were financially ruined when Arnold was thirteen. He was forced to leave school and go to work learning to be an apothecary, a position similar to that of a modern-day pharmacist.
As a young man, Arnold was a risk-taker who looked for outlets for his energetic and impulsive (taking action before thinking things through) nature. He volunteered for the French and Indian War (1754–63), a war fought between France and England in America for control of the colonial lands, but at eighteen he deserted in order to be with his mother, who was dying. In the 1760s he traded with Canada and the West Indies as a merchant and a sea captain. He took his hot-headed nature to sea with him, fighting at least two duels while on trading voyages. He was a financial success as a trader, but he was also accused of smuggling. In 1767 he married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of a government official in New Haven, Connecticut.Joining the RevolutionNews of the battles of Lexington and Concord (April 17, 1775) in Massachusetts, the first battles of the Revolution, reached Arnold in April 1775. Upon hearing of these events he set out as the head of a company of Connecticut militia for Cambridge, Massachusetts, where George Washington (1732–1799) was gathering an army to fight the British forces. Although he marched to Massachusetts without military orders to do so, Arnold was soon given an official mission. His first military engagement was the attack the next month on Fort Ticonderoga in northeastern New York, where the British had a supply of artillery, a type of large-caliber weaponry that includes cannons. The attack operation was successful, but Arnold got little of the credit for this success. Credit went mostly to Ethan Allen (1738–1789) and the troops Allen commanded, known as the Green Mountain Boys.
Arnold's second assignment was with an expedition against Canada. Leaving Cambridge on September 19, 1775, he led his troops north through Maine into Canada. By land and water and in snow and storms, he reached Quebec, Canada, in early November. There he was joined by another troop, led by General Richard Montgomery, which had come by way of Lake Champlain and Montreal, Canada. Together the two forces assaulted Quebec on December 31, but the attack failed; Montgomery lost his life and Arnold was left with a severe leg wound. Arnold next went to Lake Champlain to prevent the British from using it as a means of traveling from Canada to New York. He lost two naval battles on the lake in October 1776, but he had effectively delayed the British in their southward movement. In the same month Congress made Arnold a brigadier general (an army officer above a colonel).Honor and accusationsThe winter of 1776–77 was an unhappy one for Arnold. His hot temper, impulsiveness, and impatience had earned him many enemies who now made all sorts of charges against him. He was accused of misconduct (poor behavior) on the march through Maine, of incompetence (failure to successfully carry out a mission) on Lake Champlain, and more. Worse yet, in February 1777 Congress promoted five other brigadier generals, all Arnold's juniors, to the rank of major general (an army officer who is above a brigadier general). Only Washington's pleas kept Arnold from resigning from the army. Fortunately, the coming of spring gave him the chance for a successful operation. While visiting his home in New Haven, Arnold heard of a British attack on American supply stations in Danbury, Connecticut. He rounded up the local militia and raced to stop the enemy. Although he got there too late to prevent the destruction of the supplies, he did force the British to flee. A grateful Congress promoted him to major general on May 2, but he was still below the other five in rank. Meanwhile, he faced a formal charge of stealing goods and property from Montreal merchants during the Canadian campaign. He was cleared of the charge, but his anger at the accusation moved him to resign from the army in July 1777.
Once again Washington pleaded with him—this time to rejoin the army. Washington needed him for service in northern New York to block a bold British plan. The British hoped to split New England from the other colonies by sending General John Burgoyne from Fort Ticonderoga down the Hudson River to New York City. Burgoyne not only
failed in his mission but also lost his whole army, which he surrendered at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777. Arnold played a major role in the two battles that led to the British defeat. Burgoyne himself said of Arnold that "it was his doing." Congress rewarded Arnold by restoring his position in rank above the other major generals.
Arnold's next assignment was command of the military post at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which the British had left in June 1778. In April 1779 he married Margaret Shippen, the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphian. (His first wife had died in 1775.) Moving in wealthy social circles, Arnold lived expensively, spent beyond his means, and soon found himself heavily in debt. At the same time he was being charged with a number of offenses connected to using his military office for private gain. He demanded a trial in Congress, which began in May 1779. The verdict, or decision, handed down in December found him not guilty of most charges but ordered Washington to reprimand him. The general did this, but mildly, in April 1780.End as a traitorBy this time Arnold had already started on the road to treason. Personally hurt by Congress's treatment and badly in need of money, he had begun to pass information on American troop movements and strength of units to the British in exchange for money as early as May or June of 1779. Early in the summer of 1780, he thought up a plan to turn over the important post at West Point, New York, to the English for the sum of ten thousand pounds. He persuaded Washington to place him in command there in order to carry out this scheme. However, Arnold's plan fell through when his contact, the British spy Major John André (1750–1780), was captured on September 21, 1780, with documents that showed Arnold was a traitor. André was hanged and Arnold fled to the British lines.
Arnold spent the rest of the war in a British uniform fighting his own countrymen. He went to London in 1781 and died there twenty years later on June 14, 1801, forgotten in England and despised in America. To this day, calling someone a "Benedict Arnold" in America is a way of saying that person has betrayed his or her side.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Arnold-Benedict.html#b

Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut in 1755. He graduated from Yale University, then became a schoolteacher. When war began to brew in the American colonies, he joined a Connecticut regiment, served in the siege of Boston, and was made a captain in 1776. He was then captured by the British in New York City and hanged for espionage on September 21, 1776.

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(born June 6, 1755, Coventry, Conn. [U.S.]—died Sept. 22, 1776, Manhattan Island, N.Y.) American Revolutionary officer who attempted to spy on the British and was hanged.

He attended Yale University, where he graduated in 1773, and became a schoolteacher, first in East Haddam and then in New London. He joined a Connecticut regiment in 1775, served in the siege of Boston, and was commissioned a captain (1776). He went to New York with William Heath's brigade and is said to have participated in the capture of a provision sloop from under the guns of a British man-of-war. Hale was captured on Sept. 21, 1776, by the British while attempting to return to his regiment, having penetrated the British lines on Long Island to obtain information. He was hanged without trial the next day.

Hale is regarded by American Revolutionary tradition as a hero and a martyr. He is supposed to have said before his death, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” a remark similar to one in Joseph Addison's play Cato. In the diary entry of one of the British officers made on the day of Hale's execution, it was said: “He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear.”

http://www.biography.com/people/nathan-hale-9325477

Francis Marion

Francis Marion was born near Georgetown in Berkeley County, South Carolina. After receiving a basic education in local schools, Marion went to sea at age 15 and later served with his brother in the French and Indian War. In the early 1760s, he served under William Moultrie in the fighting against the Cherokee.

Turning from military to domestic matters, Marion became a successful planter in St. John’s Parish. He later received a small inheritance and purchased a larger plantation on the Santee River. Increasing prosperity brought him into active participation in public affairs, where he emerged as an advocate for the rights of American colonists in the face of oppressive British policies.

With the outbreak of war in 1775, Francis Marion became increasingly prominent in the Patriot cause. He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress, the governing body of the colony following the collapse of royal authority. He also fought in a number of the early battles in the South, again under Moultrie, including the clash at Fort Sullivan in February 1776.

In September 1778, Marion was commissioned as the commander of the South Carolina Second State Regiment and in the following year, he fought under Benjamin Lincoln at the second Battle of Savannah. A broken ankle kept Marion out of action during part of 1780 and allowed him to escape capture at the fall of Charleston in May.

Francis Marion responded to the British victory at Camden in August 1780 by leading a series of successful nighttime guerilla-style raids against the British supply and communication lines, and against small concentrations of British or Loyalist soldiers. Frustrated opponents, including Benastre Tarleton, failed to track down the elusive “Swamp Fox” as Marion had become known. In December 1780, he was promoted to brigadier general under Nathanael Greene.

In 1781, Marion participated in the protracted fighting in the Carolinas that culminated at Eutaw Springs in September. The Americans were forced from the field, but British losses compelled them to pull back to Charleston and their war plan deteriorated rapidly in the following weeks.

After the war, Francis Marion served in the South Carolina Senate and sponsored legislative measures designed to provide fair treatment for the remaining Loyalists. In 1790, he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention and was a supporter of the new federal governing document.

He died on his estate on February 27, 1795.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1289.html

Horatio Gates

(born c. 1728, Maldon, Essex, England—died April 10, 1806, New York, New York, U.S.), 

English-born American general in the American Revolution (1775–83) whose victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga (1777) turned the tide of victory in behalf of the Revolutionaries.

Gates first served in North America in the French and Indian War (1754–63), emerged as a major, and returned to England. In 1772 he immigrated to the region that is now West Virginia. Sympathizing with colonial complaints against the crown, in 1775 he was made adjutant general of the Continental Army, and in 1777 he superseded General Philip Schuyler in northern New York. In the two battles of Saratoga his army forced General John Burgoyne to surrender, partly, however, because of the previous maneuvers of Schuyler and the initiative of General Benedict Arnold. Congress next elected Gates president of the Board of War. At the same time a group of army officers, among them GeneralThomas Conway, became involved in a plan to replace General George Washington with Gates. The “Conway Cabal” soon collapsed, and in the spring of 1778 Gates returned to his command in New York. Transferred to the south (June 1780), Gates was disastrously defeated by Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina, on August 16. An official inquiry into his conduct was ordered but charges were never pressed. After the war Gates freed his slaves, moved to New York, and served one term in the state legislature.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/226856/Horatio-Gates

John Adams

Born: October 30, 1735
Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts
Died: July 4, 1826
Quincy, Massachusetts 

John Adams, the second president of the United States and the first vice president, also helped in the early years of the republic as a lawyer, writer, congressman, and public speaker. As president, he kept the country at peace when many were calling for war with France. Adams later described his peace decision as "the most splendid diamond in my crown."


John Adams was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735, the first of three children born to John Adams and Susanna Boylston Adams. His father was a modest but successful farmer and local officeholder. After some initial reluctance, Adams entered Harvard and received his bachelor's degree in 1755. For about a year he taught school in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Although he gave some thought to entering the ministry, Adams decided to study law instead. While developing his legal practice, he participated in town affairs and contributed essays to Boston newspapers. In 1764 he married Abigail Smith of Wey-mouth, Massachusetts, who was to provide him with important support and assistance during the full life that lay ahead.

By 1765 Adams had become known for his skills as a lawyer. After Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, which imposed taxes on printed materials in the American colonies that many viewed as unfair, he moved into the center of Massachusetts political life. He contributed an important series of essays to the Boston newspapers and prepared a series of anti-Stamp Act resolutions for the Braintree town meetings. These resolutions were copied widely throughout the province. In April 1768 Adams moved to Boston and eventually was elected the city's representative to the Massachusetts legislature.
In the spring of 1771, largely for reasons of health, Adams returned to Braintree, where he divided his attention between farming and law. Within a year, however, he was back in Boston. In 1774 he was one of the representatives from Massachusetts to the First Continental Congress. As a representative he helped write letters of protest to Great Britain. He also continued to write newspaper articles about the colonies and their disputes with Britain.


After the battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts on April 17, 1775, began the Revolutionary War (1775–83), Adams returned to Congress. At this time he believed that independence from Britain would probably be necessary for the American colonies. Congress, however, was not yet willing to agree, and Adams fumed while still more petitions were sent off to England. The best chance of promoting independence, he argued, was for the various colonies to adopt new forms of government. Many provinces sought his advice on setting up these new governments.
By February 1776 Adams was fully committed to American independence. In May, Congress passed a resolution stating that measures should be taken to provide for the "happiness and safety" of the people. Adams wrote the introduction that in effect spelled out the principle of independence. He contributed little to the actual content of the Declaration of Independence but served as "the pillar of its support on the floor of the Congress," according to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). On another committee Adams drew up a model treaty that encouraged Congress to enter into commercial alliances (business deals), but not political alliances, with European nations. Exhausted by his duties, he left Philadelphia in mid-October for Massachusetts. For the next year or so he traveled from Massachusetts to Philadelphia to serve in Congress.Foreign assignmentsIn November 1777, Congress elected Adams commissioner to France, and in February he left Boston for what would prove to be an extended stay. Adams spent the next year and a half trying to secure badly needed loans for Congress. He sent numerous long letters to friends and family describing European affairs and observed the French court and national life. After coming home to Massachusetts, Adams was asked by Congress to return to Europe to help negotiate the terms of a peace agreement, which would mark the end of the American Revolution, and then to work on a commercial treaty with Great Britain. The treaty of peace was signed on September 3, 1783.
Before returning permanently to the United States, Adams spent three years as American minister to the Court of Saint James in London. He was unable to make much progress there because relations between the United States and Britain just after the American Revolution were so strained. He also did not have the full support of Congress. Adams eventually resigned and returned to Boston.The presidencyOnce back in Boston, Adams began the final stage of his political career. He was elected vice president in 1789 and served for two terms under President George Washington (1732–1799). Adams was unhappy in this post; he felt that he lacked the authority to accomplish much. In 1796, despite a strong challenge from Thomas Jefferson and the choice of his own Federalist Party (an early political party that supported a strong federal government) to run a candidate against him, Adams was elected as the second president of the United States.
Adams took office on March 4, 1797. From the beginning his presidency was a stormy one. His cabinet proved difficult to control, and many foreign policy problems arose. The French Revolution (1787–99) and fighting between England and France caused many Americans to take the sides of both those countries. Still others wanted the United States to remain neutral. Adams found himself caught in the middle.
Although anti-French feelings were running high, President Adams committed himself to a plan of peace with France. This decision enraged most of his opponents. The president's attempts to keep peace made sense; America was still young and not fully established, and entering into an unnecessary war could have been a disaster. Many members of his own Federalist Party were opposed to him, however, and in the end Adams lost the next election to Jefferson by a narrow margin. He was so disappointed over his rejection by the American people that he refused to stay to welcome his successor into office.
John Adams spent the remainder of his life at home on his farm. He retained a lively interest in public affairs, particularly when they involved the rising career of his son, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), who would also become president. Adams divided his time between overseeing his farm and writing letters about his personal experiences as well as more general issues of the day. He died at the age of ninety–one in Quincy, Massachusetts, just a few hours after Jefferson's death, on July 4, 1826.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Adams-John.html

Alexander Hamilton

Born: January 11, 1755
Nevis, British West Indies
Died: July 12, 1804
Weehawken, New Jersey 
American statesman

The first U.S. secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton was one of the leaders of the nation's first political party, the Federalists (a group who supported a strong central government). Hamilton remains a well-known figure in U.S. history. He is known not only for the great contributions that he made to the early United States but also for his famous duel with Aaron Burr (1756–1836) in 1804, which resulted in his death.

Birth and early life

Alexander Hamilton's birth date is disputed, but it is often listed as January 11, 1755. He was born on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies, the illegitimate son (his parents were not married to each other) of James Hamilton, a Scotsman, and Rachel Fawcett Lavien, the daughter of a French physician.
Hamilton's education was brief. He began working between the ages of eleven and thirteen for a trading company in St. Croix, an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1772 he left to attend school in the American colonies. After a few months at an academy in New Jersey, he enrolled in King's College in New York City. Intelligent enough to master most subjects without formal instruction and eager to win success and fame early in life, he left college in 1776 without graduating.

American Revolution

The outbreak of the American Revolution (1775–83), when the thirteen British colonies in North America fought for their freedom, offered Hamilton the opportunity he craved. In 1777 he became a lieutenant colonel (an army officer who is above a colonel) in the Continental Army (the national army fighting for American independence) and assistant to commanding general George Washington (1732–1799). Hamilton became one of Washington's most trusted advisers. Although he played no role in major military decisions, Hamilton's position was one of great responsibility. He drafted many of Washington's important letters, he was sent on important military missions, and he wrote several reports on the reorganization and reform of the army. In December 1780 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a member of one of New York's most distinguished families. Hamilton eventually returned to New York. In 1782 he became a lawyer following a short period of apprenticeship (studying and learning a job from someone already in that position).
Hamilton's ideas on government and society had changed during the Revolution. Having been born in a foreign country gave him a different viewpoint from most people. Working for Washington had allowed him to observe how the weakness of Congress and how state and local jealousies were hurting the war effort. From this point on Hamilton believed in, and tried to work to bring about, a strong central government.

Secretary of the treasury

In September 1789, some six months after the new government was established, Hamilton was named the nation's first secretary of the treasury. This was the most important of the executive departments because the new government's most urgent problem was to find ways to pay the national debt—domestic and foreign—that had grown during the Revolution. Hamilton wrote many reports on the American economy, and many of his suggestions became law. Hamilton's ideas were not exactly original (they were similar to British policies), but they were sensible and took into account the needs of the new country.
Hamilton's importance during this period was not confined to his work as treasury secretary. As the "prime minister" of Washington's administration, he was consulted on a wide range of problems, foreign and domestic. In addition, he is considered the leader of the country's first political party. Hamilton himself disliked the idea of political parties. However, when the debate over his policies revealed disagreement among the members of Congress, Hamilton assumed leadership of the pro-administration group, known as the Federalists.

Well-known lawyer and army general

Hamilton retired from office in January 1795. He returned to his law practice to make money to support his growing family and soon became the most distinguished lawyer in New York City. His interest in public affairs continued, however, and he served as President Washington's adviser. He helped Washington write his famous "Farewell Address" (1796), in which Washington turned down a third term as president. Hamilton remained active in politics as well, speaking out in favor of candidates he liked and criticizing those he opposed.
While many held Hamilton in high regard, others neither liked nor trusted him. During the presidency of John Adams (1735–1826), however, Hamilton continued to have considerable national influence; members of Adams's cabinet often sought and followed his advice. In 1798 they cooperated with George Washington to secure Hamilton's appointment—over Adams's strong opposition—as inspector general and second in command of the U.S. Army, which was preparing for a possible war against France. Since Washington chose not to assume active command, organizing and recruiting these troops fell to Hamilton. His military career came to an abrupt end in 1800 after President Adams sent a peace mission to France that achieved a settlement of the major issues.

Retirement and the fatal duel

Although his interest in national policies and politics was still strong, Hamilton's role in national affairs after 1801 became smaller. He continued to publish his opinions on public affairs in the New York Evening Post. In 1804 he took a stand against a rumored plot by New England and New York Federalists to break up the Union by forming a northern confederacy (a separate union). Hamilton believed that Vice President Aaron Burr (1756–1836), whom he referred to as "the most unfit and dangerous man of the community," was involved with this plan. Hamilton also actively stood against Burr's bid for the New York governorship. After Burr lost the race, he angrily challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton believed that his "ability to be in [the] future useful" demanded that he meet the challenge.
After putting his personal affairs in order, Alexander Hamilton met Burr at dawn on July 11, 1804, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The two men exchanged gunshots, and Hamilton fell, mortally wounded. Many believe that he missed Burr on purpose, leaving himself an open target for Burr's bullet. Hamilton was carried back to New York City, where he died the next afternoon.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Hamilton-Alexander.html#b

Patrick Henry

• Born May 29, 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia
• Protested British tyranny
• Symbol of American struggle for liberty
• Served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress
• Five-term governor of Virginia
• Delivered the famous "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech. 
• Died June 6, 1799 at Red Hill Plantation, Virginia

Early Years

Patrick Henry was born in Hanover County, Virginia in 1736, to John and Sarah Winston Henry. A symbol of America's struggle for liberty and self-government, Patrick Henry was a lawyer, patriot, orator, and willing participant in virtually every aspect of the founding of America. He was twice married, to Sarah Shelton, and to Dorothea Dandridge.

John Henry educated young Patrick at home, including teaching him to read Latin, but Patrick studied law on his own. In 1760, he appeared in Williamsburg to take his attorney's examination before Robert Carter Nicholas, Edmund Pendleton, John and Peyton Randolph, and George Wythe, and from that day forward, Patrick Henry's story is inseparable from the stream of Virginia history.

Powerful words resonated

In 1763, arguing the famed Parson's Cause in Hanover County, Patrick Henry proclaimed that a king who would veto a good and necessary law made by a locally elected representative body was not a father to his people but "a tyrant who forfeits the allegiance of his subjects." Henry amplified his idea to the point of treason in defending his resolutions against the Stamp Act in the House of Burgesses May 30, 1765.

Carried away by the fervor of his own argument, the plainly dressed burgess from Louisa County exclaimed that "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third..." At this point, cries of treason rose from all sides, but with hardly a pause, Henry neatly "baffled the charge vociferated" and won the burgesses for his cause. Five of his resolutions approved, the new leader in Virginia politics saddled his lean horse and took the westward road out of Williamsburg. (After his departure, one of the resolutions was overturned.) Henceforth, Patrick Henry was a leader in every protest against British tyranny and in every movement for colonial rights.

Actions marked the beginning of revolution in Virginia

In March 1775, Patrick Henry urged his fellow Virginians to arm in self-defense, closing his appeal (uttered at St. John's Church in Richmond, where the legislature was meeting) with the immortal words: "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."

Strong believer in citizens' right to bear arms

Henry's call to arms was carried over the protests of more conservative patriots and was one of the causes of the order for Lord Dunmore, the royal governor, to remove some gunpowder from the Magazine. Henry, "a Quaker in religion but the very devil in politics," mobilized the militia to force restitution of the powder. Since Henry's action followed the British march on Concord by only a few hours, it is said to mark the beginning of the American Revolution in Virginia.

Served in public office for nearly 30 years

Henry served in the Virginia House of Burgesses; he was a member of the Virginia committee of Correspondence, a delegate to the Virginia Convention, and a delegate to the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention. He played a prominent role in the May 6, 1776, convention and became the first governor of the commonwealth under its new constitution. Patrick Henry served five terms as governor of Virginia. He died in 1799 at his home on Red Hill Plantation.

http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biohen.cfm

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was born on September 27, 1722 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of twelve children born to Samuel and Mary Fifield Adams. However, only two of his siblings would survive beyond age three. He was a second cousin to John Adams, the second president of the United States. Samuel Adams' father was involved in local politics, even serving as a representative to the provincial assembly.
Education:

Adams attended Boston Latin School and then entered Harvard College at the age of 14. He would receive his bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard in 1740 and 1743 respectively. Adams tried numerous businesses including one he started on his own. However, he was never successful as a commercial businessman. He took over his father's business enterprise when his father died in 1748. At the same time, he also turned to the career that he would enjoy for the rest of his life: politics.
Samuel Adams' Personal Life:

Adams married in 749 to Elizabeth Checkley. Together they had six children. However, only two of them, Samuel and Hannah, would live to adulthood. Elizabeth died in 1757 soon after giving birth to a stillborn son. Adams then married Elizabeth Wells in 1764.
Early Political Career:

In 1756, Samuel Adams became of Boston's tax collectors, a position he would keep for almost twelve years. He was not the most diligent in his career as a tax collector, however. Instead, he found that he had an aptitude for writing. Through his writing and involvement, he rose as a leader in Boston's politics. He became involved in numerous informal political organizations that had a large control over town meetings and local politics.
Beginning of Samuel Adams' Agitation Against the British:

After the French and Indian War that ended in 1763, Great Britain turned to increased taxes to pay for the costs that they had incurred for fighting in and defending the American colonies. Three tax measures that Adams opposed were the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Townshend Duties of 1767. He believed that as the British government increased its taxes and duties, it was reducing the individual liberties of the colonists. This would lead to even greater tyranny.
Samuel Adams' Revolutionary Activity:

Adams held two key political positions that helped him in his fight against the British. He was the clerk of both the Boston town meeting and the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Through these positions he was able to draft petitions, resolutions, and letters in protest. He argued that since the colonists were not represented in Parliament, they being taxed without their consent. Thus the rallying cry, "No taxation without representation."
Adams argued that colonists should boycott English imports and supported public demonstrations. However, he did not support the use of violence against the British as means of protest and supported the fair trial of the soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.

In 1772, Adams was a founder of a committee of correspondence meant to unite Massachusetts towns against the British. He then helped expand this system to other colonies.

In 1773, Adams was influential in fighting the Tea Act. This Act was not a tax and, in fact, would have resulted in lower prices on tea. The Act was meant to aid the East India Company by allowing it to bypass the English import tax and sell through merchants it selected. However, Adams felt that this was just a ploy to get colonists to accept the Townshend duties that were still in place. On December 16, 1773, Adams spoke at a town meeting against the Act. That evening, dozens of men dressed as Native Americans, boarded three tea ships that sat in Boston Harbor and threw the tea overboard.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, the British increased their restrictions on the colonists. Parliament passed the "Intolerable Acts" that not only closed the port of Boston but also limited town meetings to one per year. Adams saw this as further evidence that the British would continue to limit the colonists' liberty.

In September, 1774, Samuel Adams became one of the delegates at the First Continental Congress held in Philadelphia. He helped draft the Declaration of Rights. In April, 1775, Adams, along with John Hancock, was a target of the British army advancing on Lexington. They escaped, however, when Paul Revere famously warned them.

Beginning in May, 1775, Adams was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He helped write the Massachusetts state constitution. He was part of the Massachusetts ratifying convention for the US Constitution.

After the Revolution, Adams served as a Massachusetts state senator, lieutenant governor, and then governor. He died on October 2, 1803 in Boston.

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/biographiesaf/p/samuel_adams.htm

Thomas Paine

"These are the times that try men's souls. "This simple quotation from Founding Father Thomas Paine's The Crisis not only describes the beginnings of the American Revolution, but also the life of Paine himself. Throughout most of his life, his writings inspired passion, but also brought him great criticism. He communicated the ideas of the Revolution to common farmers as easily as to intellectuals, creating prose that stirred the hearts of the fledgling United States. He had a grand vision for society: he was staunchly anti-slavery, and he was one of the first to advocate a world peace organization and social security for the poor and elderly. But his radical views on religion would destroy his success, and by the end of his life, only a handful of people attended his funeral.
Brief Biography
On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. His father, a corseter, had grand visions for his son, but by the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. The young Paine began apprenticing for his father, but again, he failed. So, now age 19, Paine went to sea. This adventure didn't last too long, and by 1768 he found himself as an excise (tax) officer in England. Thomas didn't exactly excel at the role, getting discharged from his post twice in four years, but as an inkling of what was to come, he published The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), arguing for a pay raise for officers. In 1774, by happenstance, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who helped him emigrate to Philadelphia.

His career turned to journalism while in Philadelphia, and suddenly, Thomas Paine became very important. In 1776, he published Common Sense, a strong defense of American Independence from England. He traveled with the Continental Army and wasn't a success as a soldier, but he produced The Crisis (1776-83), which helped inspire the Army. This pamphlet was so popular that as a percentage of the population, it was read by or read to more people than today watch the Super Bowl.
But, instead of continuing to help the Revolutionary cause, he returned to Europe and pursued other ventures, including working on a smokeless candle and an iron bridge. In 1791-92, he wrote The Rights of Man in response to criticism of the French Revolution. This work caused Paine to be labeled an outlaw in England for his anti-monarchist views. He would have been arrested, but he fled for France to join the National Convention.
By 1793, he was imprisoned in France for not endorsing the execution of Louis XVI. During his imprisonment, he wrote and distributed the first part of what was to become his most famous work at the time, the anti-church text, The Age of Reason (1794-96). He was freed in 1794 (narrowly escaping execution) thanks to the efforts of James Monroe, then U.S. Minister to France. Paine remained in France until 1802 when he returned to America on an invitation from Thomas Jefferson. Paine discovered that his contributions to the American Revolution had been all but eradicated due to his religious views. Derided by the public and abandoned by his friends, he died on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City.