1789

George Washington becomes the nation's first president and nominates Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate swiftly confirms him without debate; Hamilton's father-in-law, General Philip Schuyler, one of New York's senators, votes for his son-in-law's confirmation. A confirmed Anglophile, Hamilton watches the start of the French Revolution with trepidation.

September: The House of Representatives directs Hamilton to submit a plan for the support of the public credit when Congress reconvenes in January 1790. Hamilton works to organize chaotic national finances, collecting information, establishing standards and procedures, and devising a plan for restoring the financial health of the near bankrupt American republic.

1791

February: Madison, Jefferson and Attorney General Edmund Randolph object to Hamilton's plan for a national bank, declaring it an unconstitutional extension of the powers of the federal government. Washington asks Hamilton to defend the proposal, which he does in a lengthy treatise arguing that the Constitution gives Congress "implied powers." Washington signs the bill into law.

Convinced that the strong central government Hamilton advocates is a threat to both state and individual liberty, Jefferson and Madison form the Republicans, a partisan alliance that becomes the nation's first opposition political party.

In an election for the New York Senate seat, an ambitious -- and many would say unscrupulous -- Republican, Aaron Burr, defeats incumbent Philip Schuyler, beginning a political rivalry between Burr and Hamilton. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Treasury continues to churn out reports, advocating a federal mint and promoting manufacturing. That summer he begins an affair with Maria Reynolds, whose swindler husband will eventually extort some $1,000 (well over $10,000 in 2006 dollars) in hush money from Hamilton.

1793

April: Washington issues a proclamation of neutrality towards France, refusing to join France in its declaration of war on Great Britain. Hamilton defends the decision in seven newspaper essays signed "Pacificus." Madison responds in a series of essays under the name "Helvidius."

August: A yellow fever outbreak begins in Philadelphia, causing most of its residents, including Washington and Hamilton, to flee the city. By the time the epidemic subsides in late October, about 5,000 people will have died. Both Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth contract the disease but eventually recover. Jefferson resigns as Secretary of State and returns to Virginia, leaving Hamilton in a commanding position in Washington's cabinet.

1795

January 19: Hamilton submits his final financial report to Congress and resigns as Treasury Secretary soon afterward. He and his family leave Philadelphia in February and return to New York, where Hamilton, whose government salary has never matched his expenses, returns to the law.

1797

Schuyler defeats Burr and is re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, a pamphlet published by James Callender accuses Hamilton of financial and marital improprieties with Maria Reynolds, leading Hamilton to make a stunning printed confession. In his "Observations on Certain Documents," published on August 25, Hamilton angrily denies that the money paid to Maria's husband was for financial speculation or that he used his position as Treasury secretary for any personal gain or corrupt purpose. "My real crime," Hamilton admits, "is an amorous connection with his wife for a considerable time," and he prints many love letters detailing the adultery. While candid, Hamilton's confession humiliates his wife, disheartens his supporters, and delights his foes. "It is worth all that fifty of the best pens in America could have said [against] him," one opponent writes to Jefferson. But Washington, now in retirement at Mount Vernon, stands by Hamilton.

August: A sixth child, William Stephen, is born to the Hamiltons.

1799

June 3: Hamilton's father James dies.

November: A seventh child, Eliza, is born to the Hamiltons.

December 14: Hamilton's longtime patron George Washington passes away. "Perhaps no friend of his has more cause to lament on personal account than myself," Hamilton writes.

1801

February 17: After months of political intrigue and a week of deliberation, the House makes Jefferson president on the 36th ballot. With some Federalist acquiescence, ten state delegations back Jefferson, while four support Burr and two abstain. Republicans will hold the presidency for the next 24 years.

November 16: The New York Evening Post, a newspaper Hamilton and a number of other leading Federalists has founded, publishes its first issue.

November 23: Philip Hamilton, who in an attempt to defend his father's honor challenges George Eacker to a duel, is mortally wounded at Weehawken, New Jersey, and dies the next day. Hamilton, who has unwittingly encouraged his son's actions, is devastated, and grief drives Philip's sister Angelica insane.

1804

March: Dropped by Jefferson and his allies from the Republican re-election ticket, after four years of distrust Burr decides to run for New York governor. Both Jefferson and Hamilton oppose him, and Burr loses by a wide margin.

April: A published letter asserts that Hamilton has expressed a "despicable opinion" of Burr without providing specifics.

June 18: Burr writes to Hamilton demanding an explanation, which Hamilton does not provide. Hamilton wants to respond to a specific insult -- which Burr cannot provide. A series of letters over the next few days escalate tensions until arrangements are made for a duel on July 11, to be held at Weehawken.

July 11: Hamilton is mortally wounded by Burr and dies the next day after suffering considerable physical agony.

July 14: Hamilton's body, accompanied by enormous crowds, is the centerpiece of a massive funeral procession, ending with Hamilton's burial at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. Elizabeth, now widowed and with her youngest child just two years old, is left in desperate financial straits, a situation somewhat ameliorated by the death of her father four months later. Despite her own financial difficulties, she takes part in many charitable activities throughout her widowhood.

1854

November 9: Elizabeth, who has outlived her husband by five decades, dies at the age of 97.