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On July 4, 1776, the Thirteen Colonies along the east coast of North America officially declared their total independence from Great Britain, in response to decades of King George III overstepping his boundaries by taxing the colonists and stripping them of their natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Since 1775, colonists had been in armed rebellion against the British with no clear idea of what they were fighting for, but now, they had a cause they were willing to die for.

Initially, things seemed bleak for the Americans. The British seemed to win every battle they fought, and nearly captured General George Washington's army in New York. But by a stroke of luck, or perhaps divine intervention, Washington and his men escaped the Redcoats and were pursued south, though they were unable to halt the British advance into Philadelphia, which Congress had to abandon.

Then, on Christmas Day, 1776, Washington and his men launched a raid on Trenton, New Jersey, decimating the Hessian forces there. From that point on, the fledgling United States was never at such a low point. While Washington's men languished over the winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, American troops up north won a series of decisive victories at Saratoga, New York, spurring the French, Spanish, and Dutch to both recognize and send support to the US. To raise more troops, Washington convinced Congress to allow black battalions to be raised, citing the controversial passage of the Declaration of Independence as a reason, with slaves able to join in exchange for freedom. About one-fifth of the total slave population signed up to fight for the rebels or the Crown during the war, each side promising freedom from bondage.

The war slowly but surely turned in favor of the Americans, coalescing in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. On September 5, the French navy destroyed the British fleet in the Battle of the Chesapeake, stranding General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis made a series of tactical blunders that gave the Franco-American allies the upper hand, and he surrendered on October 17, 1781.

While the conflict continued, the bulk of the fighting was over and parliament voted against continuing aggression in North America. At the Peace of Paris in 1783, Britain officially signed a treaty recognizing the United States as a sovereign nation, including the territories of the original Thirteen Colonies and stretching west to the Mississippi River and with fishing rights off the Newfoundland Coast.

The young republic got off to a rough start, and almost imploded after the Articles of Confederation proved themselves to be far too weak to effectively govern a nation. So the statesmen of America convened in Philadelphia once more, and drafted the Constitution, which expertly balanced federal law, states' rights, and the liberties of the people. It was under this Constitution, and its later ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights, that the great men of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson ruled. But the verdict for the next election, the Election of 1808, was anyone's guess.

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, After the American Victory at Yorktown

Alexander Hamilton, First Secretary of the Treasury

​ June 22, 1791

Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton poured over his notes one more time. If he was to get his plans through Congress, he had to be thorough, yet succinct. The damned Republicans–chiefly Jefferson and Madison–were unmoving and unsympathetic when it came to his goals.

Just when he felt ready to go insane, his wife Eliza called out from the hall, “Alexander, it's a beautiful day outside. You've spent far too long cooped up in that office of yours. You should take a walk, and clear your mind.”

Hamilton sat there in his seat, silent.

“Dear, did you here what I just said?” asked his wife, sticking her head into his study.

“Yes, I did. You're right, I need some fresh air,” he conceded, grabbing his coat and hat. Hamilton kissed his wife on the cheek, and left for the streets of Philadelphia.

Eliza had been right–it was a beautiful day out. Hamilton couldn't remember when Pennsylvania had last seen such gorgeous weather. He strode down the street, and was soon enveloped in his own thoughts.

-

Alexander Hamilton crouched in the shadows of the tall swamp grass, clutching his unloaded rifle close to his chest. After years of pestering Washington for a command, he had finally been granted control over three battalions, and just in time for what was shaping up to be the most important battle of the Revolution yet, here at Yorktown.

He glanced over his shoulder, mentally counting his troops. His eyes passed over his French allies, then his two groups of white soldiers, and the last one, a bit farther away from the rest of the force, which consisted entirely of black men. Hamilton had spent the entire war trying to raise a battalion of Africans, and now, at the Revolution's climax, he had gotten his wish. Many, if not most, of the men were former slaves, and had been promised their freedom in exchange for fighting bravely, though some were already freed, hailing from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, and simply wishing to do their parts.

Hamilton stared up at the looming Redoubt No. 9, one of two targets he and his men had been ordered to capture under the cover of darkness, armed only with bayonets–gunshots would alert more Redcoats than the patriots wanted. If anything, he reasoned, having an all-black battalion was an advantage during a covert operation. They would be able to blend into the shadows more easily than a white man.

“On my mark,” whispered Hamilton. “We go in three… two… one… now!”

Silently, Hamilton vaulted over the dirt structure and landed at the foot of a British soldier. Before he could raise his gun, or make even the slightest sound, the American plunged his blade into the Englishman's chest, silencing him.

Hamilton watched as his own men hopped the redoubt, and a little ways away he saw the French scampering over Redoubt No. 10. He smiled, and followed his men into battle. With every strike and swing, Hamilton and his soldiers brought down unsuspecting guards until someone managed to sound the alarm. Redcoats fell like flies, as Hamilton brought his bayonet down on the head of–

-

“Oh, I am so sorry, sir! I apologize! I did not see you walking there!”

Hamilton snapped out of his daydream and realized he'd collided with a young woman, who was now blushing fiercely.

“Oh, no no that was, well that was my fault,” he replied. “What is a woman such as yourself doing in this part of the city?”

She blushed deeper, her face a burnt scarlet. “I am in desperate need of money. My husband, James Reynolds, has abandoned me and circumstance has forced me to live in a boarding house a few blocks away.”

“Oh,” muttered Hamilton.

“I wonder, sir, if I may trouble you for some money? I fear I may have to resort to… other means if I cannot beg for it.”

It was Hamilton's turn to blush, as he knew exactly what those 'other means' would be. “How much do you need, Miss…?”

“My name is Maria Reynolds, and I think about… thirty dollars should suffice,” she said.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and ruffled around for a little bit. He immediately realized that this was not his normal everyday jacket, but the one he wore on more special occasions. So, he was only a little surprised when he produced thirty-five dollars and sixteen cents. “How about this?” he offered.

Maria Reynolds' eyes went wide at the sight of the cash, and although she nodded, her face had transformed from a flirtatious red to an ashen gray.

“Is everything alright, Mrs. Reynolds?”

“Yes, yes, everything is just perfect,” she stammered, taking the bills. “Um, would you mind walking me back to the boarding house? I feel a bit uncomfortable going myself.”

Hamilton glanced up, and managed to find a clock. His eyebrows shot up when he saw how late it was.

“I'm very sorry, ma'am, but unfortunately I can't. I hadn't realized how late it is–I guess I just got lost in my thoughts–and I promised my wife I'd be home for supper.”

“But–” protested Maria.

“I'm truly sorry! My good luck to you on reuniting with your husband!” exclaimed Alexander Hamilton, tipping his cap to Maria Reynolds and dashing off towards home.

The two would never meet again.

The Election of 1808 was in line with those of 1796 and 1800 in its brutality on both political sides and its importance. After eight years of Thomas Jefferson in office, it was hard to tell if the United States was better-off or worse-off than before the Virginian's election. The Louisiana Purchase had effectively doubled the territory of the United States, and Jefferson had done good work at home and abroad to keep America relatively at peace with the world. However, Jefferson's second term was full of failings and disenchantment, the most glaring issue being the extremely unpopular Embargo Act of 1807, which had cut off nearly all trade to Europe and infuriated the merchants of New England.

The battle came down to two of America's best-known Founding Fathers: Democratic-Republican James Madison, Father of the Constitution and Jefferson's hand-picked successor; and Federalist Alexander Hamilton, First Secretary of the Treasury and George Washington's former right-hand man. A similar battle had gone down before in the Election of 1804, except there, Hamilton and the Federalists had been decimated by the Jeffersonians. Now, there was an opening, and if the Federalists could strike in just the right spot, they could clinch the presidency.

The road to the election was fierce. Madison and Hamilton, former friends who had been torn apart by their differing politics, pulled no punches. Both men read sections from the other's own Federalist papers that supported the opposite's line of thought. The Democratic-Republicans insisted that the 'millionaire's club' that was the Federalist Party would sideline the everyman in favor of the wealthy merchant, and claimed Hamilton would seek an 'imperial presidency'. Meanwhile, the Federalists called out the Democratic-Republicans as being weak and unable to handle the demands of controlling the reins to a nation as large as the United States was–Jefferson's first term, they argued, had been a fluke, and his second term showed his party's true bumbling nature. They also stated that the only way to get the Embargo Act repealed would be to vote the Federalists back into office, for Madison would keep the law intact.

In the end, though, the true force that propelled the winner to victory came not from modern American politics, but a man who hadn't served for close to a decade: John Adams. He had stayed silent during Jefferson's presidency, believing nothing but bad things could come from blindly opposing an administration simply because they employed a different way of thought. Over the course of eight years, Hamilton had transformed the Federalist Party into his own beast, but there were many sticklers who preferred Adams' ways, namely rising figure John Quincy Adams. When the elderly John Adams announced his support for Alexander Hamilton, though, the party was healed of its infighting and threw its whole weight behind their candidate.

It came close. For all of Jefferson's pitfalls, he was still immensely popular, and his influence would not go understated. But the people of the United States of America were tired of his policies. They wanted someone new in office, someone who could handle the growing issues of neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars and the problems of the economy. And so, by a slim margin of just nine electoral votes, the people elected Alexander Hamilton as the fourth President of the United States.

Alexander Hamilton entered office in a divided nation. While the Executive and Judicial Branches belonged to the Federalists, the House had a majority Democratic-Republican attendance and the Senate was almost an even split. It would be extremely difficult to pass any major legislation, and while the Federalist Party was resolved of its Adams/Hamilton split, it was still healing, and the president couldn't count on every black-and-white (a nickname that came to be applied to the Federalists under the Hamilton Administration) to support him. To pacify the supporters of Adams, the presidential cabinet reached across the partisan divide to ensure every Federalist was on Hamilton's side. The largest example of this was the nomination of John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams and the greatest believer in his father's politics, as Secretary of State.

The first item on the table was the removal of the Embargo Act of 1807. The law was repealed with bipartisan support, the only policy of Hamilton's publicly supported by the Democratic-Republicans. From there on out, it would be an uphill climb to get anything through Congress.

The next issue was that of West Florida. The United States had had its eyes on the two Floridas since independence, and Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe had held that the Louisiana Purchase included the land, something Spain did not agree with. Hamilton, favoring the growing doctrine of Manifest Destiny as much as his Democratic-Republican counterparts, agreed with this notion. In 1809, Hamilton sent William Wykoff to West Florida in hopes of getting the settlers there to request annexation. This inspired the West Florida Conference, where the people of the region discussed staying a part of Spain, becoming an independent republic, or joining the United States as part of the Mississippi Territory. As the convention went on, word got around that the colonial governor had requested military aid from Spain, which infuriated the West Floridians. In turn, the Conference immediately declared the Republic of West Florida and requested American military aid, which Hamilton eagerly provided. For nine long years, a guerilla warfare campaign ravaged the area, as the Spaniards attempted to put down the insurrection, until the United States themselves stepped in…

The question of the National Bank had divided America since George Washington's time in office, and now, the time arose that something could be done about it. As per the original agreement, the Bank had a twenty-year-long charter, lasting from 1791 to 1811. Luckily for Hamilton, the vote to extend the charter was coming up during his term. Unsurprisingly, the politically split Senate came to a tie when voting on the matter. Vice-President Charles Pinckney broke the tie in favor of the Federalists, and the bank's charter was extended for another two decades. The mere existence of a national bank would, in the near future, become a major debate in American history, but for now, it provided the federal government a safe place to store funds, even during economic hardships.

The most defining event of Hamilton's first term, however, was the death of Charles Pinckney. In November 1810, the vice-president got into a heated argument with New York senator Aaron Burr over the latter's treasonous background and attempts to build secessionist movements in both New England and Louisiana. The battle escalated over the course of six months, continuing on through letters and public meetings, until Burr felt his honor had been so throughly tarnished that he bid Pinckney an invitation to an illegal duel in May 1811. Burr and Pinckney showed up in Rockville, Maryland on the early morning of May 16, 1811, and dueled. Burr shot first, and struck Pinckney in the center of his chest. The next morning, the vice-president died in his bed in Washington, D.C.

This raised a problem: what happens when the vice-president, or even the president, dies in office? Hamilton answered this by designating his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, as the next vice-president, without even consulting Congress. This caused immense backlash, and with the next elections looming, Hamilton backed down. Statesman James Monroe penned a constitutional amendment to clearly delineate the chain of command in the Executive Branch, should the worst happen. He proposed that the president, if removed from office due to death or impeachment, would be succeeded by the vice-president, then the Secretary of State, and so on. When the vice-president dies or is removed, the president can then nominate another candidate in much the same way he would a judge, needing only confirmation from the Senate. The proposed Thirteenth Amendment was quickly approved of by the necessary number of states, and in 1812 John Quincy Adams became the new vice-president.

The final years of Alexander Hamilton's first term in office were ones that would forever alter the course of American history. For far too long, the British had been ruining the business of American merchants by cutting off trade to mainland Europe. Even more inexcusable was the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy. Tensions escalated, and the Democratic-Republicans in Congress became more and more agitated about starting a war with England to forcibly end these transgressions, and possibly even take part of Canada as a concession. Hamilton grew worried, and reasoned that if he could mop this one last issue up before the 1812 elections, he'd be a shoe-in to win the presidency once more. He sent a letter to London, which kindly requested the King and Parliament stop meddling in American affairs and return their captured sailors, lest Britain lose another ally in times as trying as the Napoleonic Wars. In response, he got… nothing. No reply came back from England, and for months Hamilton stalled Congress, insisting something–anything–would soon be coming.

The Democratic-Republican War Hawks were having none of it, and the Federalists were none to happy either. Sure, they reasoned, Britain was a great trade partner, but if she didn't respect the rights of America as a sovereign nation, then she would have to answer the consequences. Reluctantly, on September 1, 1812, Alexander Hamilton asked Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which they happily agreed to do.

​ “Gentlemen of the United States Congress, it brings me great displeasure to ask this of you, but I must do what is the best for our nation and our interests. I ask of you to declare war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, who has proven to have betrayed and made fools of us yet again. I promise, if you do agree to levee war, that I will not let my ideals blind me to reality, and will serve my nation with all my strength to bring an end to British tyranny, once and for all.”​ –President Alexander Hamilton, requesting Congress to declare war on Britain, September 1, 1812

​ July 16, 1812

The HMS Leopard bucked and twisted in the storming waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The wind whipped up the sails and sent the ship spinning. Waves crashed over her decks, carrying unfortunate men overboard to Davy Jones' Locker. It was a nightmare incarnate.

Captain Salusbury Humphreys stumbled as a rush of water swept his feet out from under him. He grabbed a slick rope and managed to hold on as the waves crashed over him, taking his hat with them. The captain spluttered and gasped, but managed to return to his feet.

“Captain! What do we do?” yelled a crew member, hanging onto a mast for dear life.

“For God's sake, I don't know!” replied Humphreys. “We need to keep the ship on as steady a course as possible!”

A young man, no older than thirteen, dashed up the steps from below deck and sprinted across the ship to the side of the captain.

“Captain! I've been sent here to tell you that we have very important cargo aboard this ship, and that it's a matter of life and death that you get us safely to Canada!” he shouted, hard to hear over the roaring oceans.

“Goddammit, boy! I don't care if we've got the Holy Grail downstairs! Whatever cargo we have comes second to keeping us alive!”

The boy frowned. “But sir–”

“But what?” yelled Humphreys.

“Sir, the cargo we're carrying is not jewels or weapons–it's a letter from Parliament, addressing the President of the United States. I was told it was the only thing that could stop war between us and the Americans!”

“…Alright, son, I'll try my hardest. You best get below decks now, before another tidal wave makes our days any worse!” commanded the captain.

Another wave jostled the ship, and suddenly, the deck turned sideways.

“She's listing! Listing to the port side!” screamed one of the crew.

“What do we do, what do we do?” exclaimed another.

“Everyone, just shut up and keep yourselves calm!” demanded Humphreys. “Do whatever you can to keep us from tipping!”

A particularly large wall of water slammed into the starboard side of the HMS Leopard, and the ship was sent careening sideways. In one terrifying motion, it flipped over and capsized, sending its crew and captain overboard, to a watery grave below.

Twinkling in an airtight, locked metal box, the letter from London to Washington agreeing to halt the impressment of Americans into the Royal Navy and a reconciliation between the US and Britain sank to the bottom of the open seas.

The First Anglo-American War, better known as the Canadian War, came to dominate Alexander Hamilton's presidency. The British, occupied by Napoleon on the European continent for much of the conflict, simply wished to hold off the American onslaught, though the King was very confused as to why they had declared war when he had sent a letter stating they would stop the practice of impressment. The United States, meanwhile, had its eyes on Canada, as they had since the Revolution, and was prepared to do anything to get it. They did not think the war would be difficult, and former President Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying that the conquest of Canada was merely “a matter of marching”.

The war began in the east, when American troops entered Lower Canada and marched to Montreal and Quebec in a two-pronged attack. This drive was meant to cut off British access to the Saint Lawrence River, and as a result the Great Lakes and Upper Canada. The Americans made it to Chateauguay, but not further, before British forces and the Canadian militia showed up to stop them. The United States had figured the recent non-Loyalist wave of American immigrants to the region would favor them, but as it turned out, they did not, and for the entire war in Lower Canada the US faced harsh resistance, never capturing either of the target cities.

As the United States tripped over itself in the east, Britain made great gains out west. Their detachment at Saint Joseph Island received word of the declaration of war before their American counterparts at Fort Mackinac, and simply by firing one shot in the air, the startled Americans surrendered. The British used this advantage to move large numbers of friendly natives to aid them at Amherstburg, an island which totally controlled access to the Old Northwest and, in English hands, gave the Crown total domination of the fur trade.

The tide of Redcoats swept along the lakes, and decided now was the perfect time to strike at Fort Detroit. Though initially fearful of greater numbers and Indian massacre tactics, the Americans at Detroit pulled themselves together and, with their superior numbers, managed to repulse the attack. Over the course of many months, the British continued to lay siege not only to Fort Detroit, but Fort Dearborn (which they captured) and Fort Meigs (which they did not). In 1813, Captain Oliver Perry led the American navy to a resounding victory in the Battle of Lake Erie, and soon after, General William Henry Harrison launched an assault on Lower Canada once more. American troops stampeded in from the Niagara front and Fort Detroit, and cut a path of conquest as far north as York, where the Indian leader Tecumseh was killed, sending the British's native allies into disarray.

In the South, things were going differently. Major General Andrew Jackson led a combined force of militiamen from the Carolinas, Tennessee, and the Mississippi Territory, as well as warriors from the Creek Confederacy against the English and the Creek rebel group the Red Sticks. During the Battle of Mobile, a Creek warrior by the name of Malatche saved the life of General Jackson, which gave birth to a friendship and a lifelong admiration of the native tribes of North America on the part of Jackson. Nevertheless, the Red Sticks fought brutally, and in November 1813 they invaded Fort Mimms, just north of Mobile, massacring almost five hundred American men, women, and children. This event became a rallying point of the United States, and Jackson pursued the Red Sticks all across the Mississippi Territory, eventually defeating them soundly at the Battle of the Alabama River.

Desperate, and with the wars in Europe finally at a close in 1814, Britain threw more support behind the war in North America than ever before. The Royal Navy was called in, and three naval invasions in the South were planned, through New Orleans, Charleston, and the nation's capital, at Washington, D.C.

Great Britain selected Washington as their first target, hoping that the capture and destruction of the capital would crush American spirits and force them to sue for peace–and if it didn't, then hopefully the subsequent capture of Baltimore would. The Royal Navy ploughed through whatever little defenses the US had managed to put up in the Potomac, and on June 28, 1814, they invaded Washington, D.C. The battle was perhaps the most ferocious of the entire conflict, with federal troops and Maryland and Virginian militias fighting block by block, the Capitol Building and White House on the horizon. At a certain point, when the fighting came to close, Hamilton ordered the city evacuated and left with his guards to fight the British. He became the only US president to ever fight in a war while in office, wielding two pistols from his days in the Revolution.

Back in the White House, First Lady Elizabeth Hamilton refused to leave without saving the priceless artifacts of American culture inside. At her orders, White House servants carried out famous paintings (including one of George Washington) and copies of documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. A few hours later, the building was set ablaze by British troops, and half of the structure collapsed. In the early hours of the next morning, the Union Jack was raised over D.C.

Although Washington was captured, the United States refused to surrender, and the British knew full well that they couldn't hold the city for long. Quickly, they decided to forgo the planned landings at Charleston and New Orleans, and sent the full brunt of the navy to take Baltimore. General Andrew Jackson, on his way north to be deployed in another attempt to capture Montreal, happened to be in Fort McHenry that day. On July 4, 1814, the Royal Navy began its twenty-seven-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, in which all lights in Baltimore were extinguished, the only glow given off by the exploding shells, illuminating the flag still flying over the fort. Watching from a nearby ship, captured American lawyer Francis Scott Key transcribed the events in a poem known as the 'Defense of Fort McHenry', later set to music to become 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. The British attack had failed, and the very next day American troops led by Andrew Jackson retaliated against the Royal Navy, boarding their ships and fighting on the decks until the English gave themselves up. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland requested an armistice on July 7, 1814, which brought an end to hostilities between the two powers. Many weeks passed, and in that time Britain realized further conflict in North America would be both unwise and frivolous, and they soon requested to negotiate peace talks with the US.

Peace deliberations took place in the neutral site of Geneva, Switzerland. There, the United States faced a challenge. While they had won the war, resoundingly so in the South, in the North things had not gone as well. Canada was still far out of their grasp, with York being the only major city held by the Americans in the region, and British troops had been making gains in New York before being repulsed. To not push their luck, the United States requested the following as per the Treaty of Geneva:

1) Funds to repay the damages caused to the nation's capital at Washington, D.C. and the seizure of ships taken before the war.

2) The removal of all British troops from forts and towns in the United States, particularly the Great Lakes region.

3) The recognizing of American claims to the northern borders of Massachusetts (Maine).

4) The control of the island of Bermuda.

The United Kingdom agreed to all the stipulations, and hurriedly so, as Napoleon had just returned to Europe. However, though the British gave up their official claim to Bermuda, they left their troops and ships stationed there. For decades, the United States did nothing, until the island in the Atlantic became a flashpoint of conflict…

Hamilton's re-election in 1812 had been a landslide victory due to his hardening stance on Great Britain, and when the fervor of an honorable war in which the United States could prove its strength to the world was factored in, Hamilton became as popular as Jefferson overnight. With the full support of America behind him, Alexander Hamilton's second term was a whirlwind of action, reaction, and triumph.

Immediately on the heels of the Treaty of Geneva, Hamilton made one of the most impassioned speeches in American history before Congress. What he said would later be transcribed and reworked into the Hamilton Doctrine, one of the most important philosophies to be held in America, alongside freedom, equality, and Manifest Destiny:

“We have soundly defeated the most powerful nation on Earth now twice over. We have proven not only that the United States of America can weather any hardship, but that the republican way of government can as well. With this newfound power in our hands, we cannot afford to sit back and let opportunity pass us by. We must spread the ideals of our great nation to the rest of the hemisphere and the world. We shall not stand for continued oppression of free peoples under the thumb of tyrants. We shall make this world free. And we shall start with the Western Hemisphere.”

The Hamilton Doctrine was initially met with contempt by the great European empires, who still saw the United States as all bark and no bite. However, the people subject to rule under the Spaniards and Portuguese and fighting for independence saw the proclamation as a wake up call to rise against their oppressors. Even slaves, they themselves 'peoples under the thumb of tyrants', saw hope, and the Hamilton Doctrine is seen as a turning point in the history of abolitionism.

Victory in the Canadian War sent the now Federalist-dominated Congress into high spirits, and they were prepared to sign bills into law as fast as Hamilton could propose them. He got a major protective tariff through first in 1815, bringing it up from the wartime level of 25% to almost double that, at 40%; as a result industrial efforts blossomed like never before, and Democratic-Republican opposition with it. The Federalists defended the Tariff of 1815 vigorously, arguing that its passage helped to diversify and sustain the United States' economy, and though it eventually passed, nearly every Democratic-Republican voted against it.

Efforts were made in the wake of the unpreparedness of the Canadian War to ensure nothing like the embarrassing first year of failure up north that had cost America control of all British possessions in North America would happen again. Both the Army and Navy were permanently expanded, something both parties managed to agree upon.

The final thing on Hamilton's list was expanding the federal government's role in internal improvements such as roads, dams, and waterways. His biggest push was the long-proposed canal to be dug from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The plan split the nation, and faced significant pushback as the glory of beating Great Britain faded and sectionalist partisan debate returned to the forefront of the American political system. A canal from Albany to Erie, the Democratic-Republicans said, was a matter of intrastate politics, as it never left the state of New York. To remedy this, Hamilton and the Federalists proposed an expansion of the canal, to allow it to connect Lake Erie, the Hudson, and the Connecticut River. The project would then be completed in stages, first connecting the Hudson to Oneida Lake, then Oneida Lake to Lake Erie, and then finally going back to connect the canal to the Connecticut River. This quieted some voices, but the proposal remained in limbo when Hamilton left office in 1817, awaiting the next Federalist to enter the White House. But the wait would be long, as James Madison trounced John Quincy Adams in the Election of 1816, and the Democratic-Republicans were in control once again.

The importance of the Hamiltonian presidency can not go understated, however. In eight short years, one man transformed a millionaire's club too in love with Great Britain to see a foot in front of itself into the strongest political party in the United States. He'd taken the nation just as far, too, having overseen its transition from a little experimental state sandwiched between the Atlantic and the Mississippi to a confident nation ready to step forward into the bright future of tomorrow, and destroy anyone who got in their way.