This post is another reminder to save the date for the extraordinary Alexander Hamilton exhibition that is coming to the Cotilla Gallery at Nova Southeastern University next month.
The exhibit will open at 2:00 pm on 3/17 (St. Patty’s Day) with refreshments and a presentation about Alexander Hamilton’s extraordinary legal legacy.
Feel free to RSVP for the 2:00 presentation and free refreshments by using the following link to the NSU website: http://sherman.library.nova.edu/sites/spotlight/event/alexander-hamiltons-legacy/
The talk will provide an overview of the museum quality items on display in the exhibit, many of which have never been available to the public.
Among other things, the presentation will discuss Alexander Hamilton’s career, including his detailed reports and recommendations to Congress as the nation’s first Secretary of Treasury.
While many musical fans are familiar with Hamilton’s role as Treasury Secretary and leader of the Federalist party, the Hamilton musical does not fully explore Hamilton’s legal career.
After the Revolutionary War, Alexander Hamilton joined the New York bar in 1783. Understanding the need to protect minority rights and unify the country, he represented “loyalists” who were faced with property confiscation and job discrimination. Click here for a discussion of Hamilton’s work representing loyalist clients.
Hamilton also represented runaway slaves and co-founded the New York Manumission Society. Click here for a discussion of Hamilton’s work as an abolitionist.
In early 1796, Hamilton was called upon by Attorney General William Bradford to represent the federal government before the Supreme Court in an important case addressing the constitutionality of a tax that Hamilton had proposed as Secretary of Treasury.
In the case of Hylton v. United States, 3 U.S. 171 (1796), Hamilton successfully defended his handiwork in the first case testing the constitutionality of an act of Congress. The Court unanimously agreed with Hamilton that the Carriage Act was constitutional. Read more about Hamilton’s work at the Supreme Court by clicking here.
A copy of the Carriage Act that Hamilton litigated at the Supreme Court will be on display, along with the Act Creating the U.S. Mint, the Act Creating the Coast Guard, the Residence Act Establishing Washington, D.C., the Act Creating the Bank of the United States, and the Whiskey Tax. Of course, no Hamilton exhibition would be complete without Hamilton’s bold financial plans, including his Assumption Plan and Act Making Provision for the Debt of the United States. Each of these Acts are part of Hamilton’s extraordinary legacy.
This talk is part of a series of programs supporting the exhibit Alexander Hamilton: Immigrant, Patriot, Visionary.
The lecture series continues with the following programming in March and April:
- David Wells Roth will be speaking about his Revolutionary War art and patriot publisher Isaiah Thomas on March 24 @ 2:00;
- Professor Tim Dixon’s will discuss Hamilton: A Heroic Life on April 2 @ 7:00; and
- Rand Scholet from the AHA Society who will be closing out the exhibition with a talk about Hamilton: the Man vs. the Musical on April 14 @ 2:00 (singing may be heard).
