HAMILTON MAKES HEADLINES
Nevis Weighs In On Their Native Son
Nevis (left), Alexander Hamilton and the $10 bill (center), Hamilton’s Birthplace & Museum of Nevis History (right)
New York, NY, July 1, 2015… Recently in Washington, it was announced that Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America as well as the founder of the U.S. Mint, the nation’s first Treasury secretary and the founder of Hamiltonian Economics, and whose image is on the US $10 bill, will now be shared with the a portrait of a famous American woman who has yet to be declared.
As expected, this has created quite the stir within the general public both domestically and in Nevis, Hamilton’s birth island. Many of which are against Secretary Jack Lew’s decision to bring Hamilton to the chopping block. Comments such as, “You would not even have a national currency without the efforts of the truly brilliant Alexander Hamilton” by Craig Marr, riddle the internet and social media, while former Federal Reserve chief, Ben Bernanke said this about the proposed change, “Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, would qualify as among the greatest of our founders for his contributions to achieving American independence and creating the Constitution alone.”
He goes on further to say, “As many have pointed out, a better solution is available: Replace Andrew Jackson, a man of many unattractive qualities and a poor president, on the twenty dollar bill…”
Bernanke also wrote in his blog, “The Treasury Department should do everything within its power to defend the honor of Jack Lew’s most illustrious predecessor.”
As the debate rages, there is one entity that has been overlooked throughout this entire ordeal. That would be Nevis, the island nation in the Caribbean where Alexander Hamilton spent the better part of his childhood into his teenage years, before making his way to St. Croix and onward to New York City.
Nevis has long been an avid supporter of the United States and its policies, in part due to the strong connective tissue that link the two together. After all, Alexander Hamilton was indeed among the greatest Founding Fathers in United States history and Nevis loves sharing that bond. The island takes great pride in knowing that such a historically significant individual is a son of the secluded tropical paradise and members of the Caribbean diaspora are supporting Ben Bernanke and the rest of the nation that fly the #savehamilton flag on the Internet.
It seems to come at a most inopportune time, as Hamilton becomes more of a pop culture historic icon now than ever before. With hit plays like Hamilton making waves through Broadway, where Tony award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda dazzles crowds with his Hip-Hop Operetta styled show, and production studios begin to grace the History Channel, National Geographic, and HBO with special documentaries on the national hero, the plan has caused much controversy.
Jack Lew, however, insists that the decision is all about timing and nothing else. The $20 most recently underwent a redesign and the $10 was due. Capitol Hill is pressuring the Treasury Department for a woman by 2020 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Greg Phillip, the CEO of the Nevis Tourism Authority said, “The world views Alexander Hamilton as the great American founding father, but here on Nevis we see him as family and as a result, we know him and the principles that governed his life more fully than most probably do. That being said, if there was ever a Founding Father that would gladly forfeit his place on American currency, it would be Hamilton. He was a true lover and supporter of women, and this has everything to do with his upbringing by his mother right here on Nevis so whatever the decision by the Federal Reserve, Alexander Hamilton will always have a home in Nevis”.
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804)
