Hamilton defends property rights

Image: Alexander Hamilton addressing three judges, Library of Congress

Born in 1757, Hamilton grew up in the West Indies, poor and fatherless. With the support of benefactors, he made his way to New York at the age of fifteen, to study at King’s College (now Columbia University). In 1775, Hamilton joined the Continental Army, where he distinguished himself in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, was appointed lieutenant colonel on George Washington’s staff, and fought at Yorktown. After the Revolutionary War, Alexander Hamilton pursued a career as an attorney in New York, where he specialized in defending the property rights of Tories and argued seminal cases that established legal precedent--one such case was Rutgers v. Waddington. In 1783 New York passed the Trespass Act, which allowed Patriots who had fled their homes and businesses during British occupation to sue and demand back rent from Tories who subsequently occupied the abandoned property. The following year Elizabeth Rutgers, who had abandoned her brewery in 1776, filed suit for compensation from Joshua Waddington, a Tory who ran the establishment from 1778 until 1783. Hamilton represented Waddington, and presented the bold and far-reaching argument that the Trespass Act violated the Treaty of Paris ratified by Congress earlier that year.

At first glance, it may seem odd that Hamilton, a renowned Continental Army colonel, would devote so much of his post-war legal career to the defense of Tories. But it is not surprising when considered in the context of establishing American legal and economic order after the Revolution. Hamilton argued that American commitment to its peace treaty obligations and protection of property rights were essential to maintaining respectful international relations and rebuilding the post-war economy.

Newport Connection

During Alexander Hamilton’s post-Revolutionary War career as a lawyer in New York, he was hired by Gideon Wanton, an aspiring young merchant from Newport. Wanton had moved to Philadelphia towards the end of the Revolutionary War, where he found employment managing the business affairs of M. LeMaigre. On November 18, 1785 Wanton wrote to his sister, Polly, and explained that he was in New York due to a conflict over a bill of exchange, where one of the endorsers refused to pay the bill, forcing him to prosecute. Wanton was about to leave for the West Indies, but the matter would be attended to in his absence: “I have left my affairs in the hands of Col. Hamilton, an eminent attorney in this place.”

Read the full letter, below: 

Image: Letter from Gideon Wanton to his sister, Polly. November 18, 1785. From the Gideon Wanton letters, Redwood Library & Athenaeum.