The historic event will take place simultaneously on Wall Street at the Museum of American Finance in NYC and at the Hamilton Museum in Charlestown, Nevis. Many important dignitaries are expected to attend both events and to offer live greetings to all watching worldwide on the Internet. The Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis, Denzel Douglas; and the Premier of Nevis, Joseph Parry, have both been officially invited to lead the celebration on Nevis.
In New York City it is expected that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other New York City officials and prominent Caribbean and business leaders will be invited to the Museum of American Finance to have their greetings broadcast to Nevis and around the globe.
Evelyn Henville, executive director of the Alexander Hamilton Museum on Nevis, expressed her enthusiasm for this international effort. “I believe this celebration and the live broadcast will be valuable to our efforts to broaden appreciation for and interest in Nevis and all of St. Kitts & Nevis,” said Henville.
“Alexander Hamilton For the 21st Century” is the theme organizers are using to mark the historic date.
Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757, on the island of Nevis, British West Indies. In 1777, Hamilton became General George Washington’s assistant. In 1788, he convinced New Yorkers to agree to ratify the U.S Constitution. He then served as the nation’s First Secretary of the Treasury.
At the time, the nation was facing great foreign and domestic debt due to expenses incurred during the American Revolution. Ever a proponent for a strong central government, during his tenure as treasury secretary, Hamilton butted heads with fellow cabinet members who were fearful of a central government holding so much power. Lacking their state loyalties, Hamilton went so far as to turn down New York’s opportunity to house the nation’s capitol in favor of securing backing for his economic program, dubbed the “dinner table bargain.”
It was Hamilton’s belief that the Constitution gave him the authority to create economic policies that strengthened the central government. His proposed fiscal policies initiated the payment of federal war bonds, had the federal government assume states’ debts, instituted a federal system for tax collection and would help the United States establish credit with other nations.
Hamilton stepped down from his position as secretary of the treasury in 1795, leaving behind a far more secure U.S. economy to back a strengthened federal government.
On July 12, 1804, in New York City, Hamilton died of a gunshot wound that he sustained during a duel with Aaron Burr.
