BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Richmond -- Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) -- Exhibit: Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and The Virginians

VA -- Richmond -- Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) -- Exhibit: Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and The Virginians:

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Description of Pictures: Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and The Virginians
Oct 19 2019 – Feb 2 2020
The “ten-dollar Founding Father” will take over the Virginia Museum of History & Culture to coincide with the Virginia tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning HAMILTON. Throughout the museum, guests can discover rare artifacts related to themes from HAMILTON and experience an interactive exhibition that explores Alexander Hamilton’s relationships with the founding generation of Virginians. Objects on display illustrate Alexander Hamilton’s service as General George Washington’s right-hand man, his leadership at the Battle of Yorktown, his partnership with James Madison in writing the Federalist Papers, his impact as Secretary of the Treasury, and his infamous battles with Thomas Jefferson.
This experience will satisfy new and longtime fans of the musical and reveals the critical role Virginia, and Virginians, played in shaping the Alexander Hamilton story.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. VHSFF_200102_006.JPG: Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and The Virginians
2. VHSFF_200102_019.JPG: James Madison
3. VHSFF_200102_022.JPG: George Washington
4. VHSFF_200102_024.JPG: Thomas Jefferson
5. VHSFF_200102_026.JPG: Alexander Hamilton
6. VHSFF_200102_028.JPG: 1776 Washington Discovers Hamilton
7. VHSFF_200102_031.JPG: Washington Discovers Hamilton
8. VHSFF_200102_036.JPG: Hamilton's First Meeting with George Washington, 1856 After Alonzo Chappel
9. VHSFF_200102_052.JPG: The Yorktown Campaign Storming Redoubt No. 10
10. VHSFF_200102_058.JPG: The Yorktown Campaign
11. VHSFF_200102_061.JPG: Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, 1820 John Trumbull In this depiction of the British surrender at Yorktown, Washington rides the brown horse with raised right leg in the background. Hamilton stands besides the pale horse at right next to his friend, Col. John Laurens.
12. VHSFF_200102_067.JPG: Storming Redoubt No. 10
13. VHSFF_200102_081.JPG: What Did Hamilton Wear at Yorktown?
14. VHSFF_200102_087.JPG: Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton's field epaulets and sword knot, late 18th century During the war Hamilton used this sword knot to secure his sword to his wrist and wore this pair of epaulets -- designing his rank as lieutenant colonel. Although thousands of the letters and scores of the essays he penned during his lifetime still exist in private collections, libraries, and archives, relatively few personal items used by Hamilton survive.
15. VHSFF_200102_096.JPG: Uniform of a Continental Army Lieutenant Colonel, about 1781 (reproduction) In 1779, Gen. Washington ordered that the uniforms for the Continental Army consist of blue coats, white waistcoats, and facings of a variety of colors to designate individual states or branches of service. Lt. Col. Hamilton wore a uniform of this type during the Battle of Yorktown.
16. VHSFF_200102_098.JPG: Signing of the Constitution, 1940 Howard Chandler Christy Washington stands on the platform at right, while Hamilton, then a delegate from New York, leans toward Benjamin Franklin at center. Virginia delegate James Madison sits to the right of Franklin.
17. VHSFF_200102_101.JPG: Hamilton and the Constitution The new nation needed a constitution to guide it. Hamilton played a prominent role at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. To win ratification of the Constitution by the states, Hamilton, James Madison, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs, John Jay, wrote 85 essays known as the Federalist papers, which explained the new government and refuted arguments against it. Hamilton wrote 51 of the articles. After nine of thirteen states ratified the proposed Constitution on June 21, 1788, the process of organizing the new government began.
18. VHSFF_200102_107.JPG: March 1790 Financing the New Nation
19. VHSFF_200102_109.JPG: Financing the New Nation In 1789, Congress established the Department of the Treasury and President Washington appointed Hamilton to be the nation's first Treasury Secretary. Congress tasked him with solving the economic problems that had plagued the United States since the Revolution: massive war debt, unstable currency, and a reliance on imported goods. Hamilton's recommendations put him squarely at odds with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Virginia Congressman James Madison.
20. VHSFF_200102_114.JPG: The Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Subject of a National Bank, 1790 Hamilton reported to the House of Representatives that "[a] National Bank" is what it desires. Such a bank "is... of primary importance to the prosperous administration of [a nation's] finances," and it "would be of the greatest utility in [establishing]... Public Credit."
21. VHSFF_200102_117.JPG: Incendiary Debates Over the War Debt To fund the Revolutionary War, both Congress and the states printed and borrowed money. The debt became enormous: * $54 million in national debt. * $25 million in state debt. Hamilton's proposals to resolve the dilemma ignited intense opposition from Madison and Jefferson.
22. VHSFF_200102_121.JPG: The "Redemption" of Government Bonds
23. VHSFF_200102_131.JPG: The "Assumption" of State Debts
24. VHSFF_200102_142.JPG: Formation of a National Bank Should the United States establish a national bank?
25. VHSFF_200102_153.JPG: Results of the Debates
26. VHSFF_200102_159.JPG: I Wrote My Way Out
27. VHSFF_200102_160.JPG: 1797 The Reynolds Scandal In the summer of 1791, Maria Reynolds approached Alexander Hamilton in his Philadelphia home, claiming that her husband had abandoned her and asking for money. When Hamilton delivered funds that evening, the pair began a year-long extramarital affair. Hamilton later stated that Maria, and her husband, James, then conspired to extort money from him for his silence. In 1797, Hamilton's political enemies exposed the affair and charged him with corruption during his service as Secretary of the Treasury. Unwilling to stay silent, Hamilton published the infamous "Reynolds Pamphlet" -- launching one of the nation's first political sex scandals.
28. VHSFF_200102_165.JPG: Observation of Certain Documents Contained in No. V & VI of "The History of the United States for the Year 1796," in which the Charge of Speculation against Alexander Hamilton, late Secretary of the Treasury, is Fully Refuted, 1797 Intense political polarization in 1797 resurrected Hamilton's extramarital scandal with Maria Reynolds in 1791-1792. Hamilton responded in this 95-page book, generally referred to as the "Reynolds Pamphlet" in which he publicly admitted to the affair to defend himself against charges of corruption.
29. VHSFF_200102_170.JPG: The Room Where It Happens
30. VHSFF_200102_173.JPG: The Art of the Compromise In an effort to restrict federal power, southern legislators -- led by Virginia congressman James Madison -- opposed Hamilton's plan for the U.S. Treasury to assume the states' Revolutionary War debts. Desperate to salvage his economic programs, Hamilton looked to the divisive question of the permanent location for the nation's capital as a bargaining chip. In June, Thomas Jefferson arranged a dinner with Hamilton, Madison, and himself at his residence in New York City. In that dining room, a compromise was secured.
31. VHSFF_200102_175.JPG: The Compromise of 1790 The dining room in the Morris-Jumel Mansion Constructed in 1765, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is one of New York City's oldest buildings. On July 10, 1790, Washington hosted a dinner here that included Hamilton, Jefferson, and other members of his cabinet. This was one of the first times the men of Washington's administration were brought together.
32. VHSFF_200102_180.JPG: Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, 1799 Engraved by William Russell Birch & Son By the end of dinner, Hamilton was assured Congressional approval of his plan for the U.S. Treasury to assume the states' Revolutionary War debts. Hamilton's plan successfully established the financial credit of the new nation both at home and abroad.
33. VHSFF_200102_182.JPG: Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia, 1792 Andrew Ellicott and Samuel Hill, printed by Samuel Hill, Boston (1792)
34. VHSFF_200102_190.JPG: South St. from Maiden Lane William James Bennett Jefferson feared that New York City merchants and lawyers sympathetic to England would favor a monarchy and corrupt public officials. By the end of dinner, Hamilton agreed to support moving the capital from New York City to the banks of the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia. Hamilton also agreed to lower Virginia's tax obligation by $1.5 million when the Treasury assumed the states' Revolutionary War debts.
35. VHSFF_200102_192.JPG: Con-g-ss Embark'd on board the Ship Constitution..., 1790 Unidentified artist What Jefferson got from the deal of 1790, by which the federal government assumed state debts, was the removal of the capital from New York City to the shores of the Potomac. Many thought the move was fraught with uncertainty, and that the selection of Philadelphia as an interim capital (while the city of Washington was built) was finagled by corrupt businessmen of that city.
36. VHSFF_200102_195.JPG: Note issued by the Bank of the United States, June 7, 1793
37. VHSFF_200102_203.JPG: What Happened to the National Bank? The National Bank's charter expired in 1811. It was revived in 1816 by President James Madison, who wished he had renewed it while trying to fight the War of 1812. In 1836, the charter was allowed to expire by President Andrew Jackson. The U.S. would not have an official central bank until 1913 when the Federal Reserve System was formed.
38. VHSFF_200102_206.JPG: In the Middle of a Military Mess
39. VHSFF_200102_209.JPG: Letter from Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to Secretary of State Edmund Randolph, July 7, 1794 This letter demonstrates the usefulness of the National Bank. Hamilton notifies Secretary Randolph that the bank made a payment to fund John Hay's travel to London to negotiate the peace treaty that bears his name. He also reports that the Bank reimbursed the U.S. consul at Martinique for returning American sailors home following the capture of their ship by a British vessel.
40. VHSFF_200102_212.JPG: 1793 War Between Britain & France France declared war on England in 1793. Although France had been America's ally during the Revolution, commerce with Great Britain was important to the United States. Washington issued a "Proclamation of Neutrality." It failed. He then sent Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Jay to England to negotiate a treaty that avoided war and facilitated ten years of peaceful trade with Britain. The "Jay Treaty" angered France and bitterly divided Americans. British army units withdrew from forts in the Northwest Territory in exchange for the collection of pre-Revolutionary War debts owed British creditors.
41. VHSFF_200102_215.JPG: President George Washington's "Proclamation of Neutrality," May 4, 1793 The Columbian Centinel, Boston In this proclamation, Washington warned American citizens to avoid involvement in a European war. His cabinet endorsed neutrality -- but Hamilton sided with Britain and Jefferson with France.
42. VHSFF_200102_223.JPG: Alliance with France? Execution of Louis XVI on 21st of January, 1793, 1793 Jefferson and his followers, known as "Republicans," sought an alliance with France -- not with England -- even during the excesses of the French Revolution. Consequently, they were nicknamed Jacobins, after the most radical of the Parisian political groups. The Jacobins instituted the Terror of 1793-1794, and the guillotine, used to executive thousands of people -- including the king and queen -- became a memorable symbol.
43. VHSFF_200102_229.JPG: The "Republican" attacks on Hamilton in 1792-1793 were printed in the pages of the partisan National Gazette.
44. VHSFF_200102_232.JPG: Political Polarization Jefferson, Madison, and other "Republicans" viewed Hamilton, and his fellow Federalists, as opponents of democracy. So, they searched for "dirt" to bring down the opposition. In the most brazen of their attempts, Jefferson enlisted Virginia Congressman William Branch Giles to submit resolutions in the House of Representatives demanding detailed information regarding foreign loans used to pay down the national debt. Hamilton delivered extensive reports -- totaling more than 400,000 words. Given the evidence, the House rejected resolutions to censure Hamilton.
45. VHSFF_200102_244.JPG: Political Attacks from Print to Digital
46. VHSFF_200102_259.JPG: One Last Time 1796
47. VHSFF_200102_262.JPG: George Washington's Going Home After two terms as president, Washington announced his retirement and urged Americans to focus their attention one who should become the next president. He felt free to leave the presidency because the stability of the nation allowed him to exit. To the 63-year-old Washington, retirement was as necessary as it was welcome. Washington asked Hamilton to help him write an address to the nation that contained advice gleaned from years of military and political experience.
48. VHSFF_200102_264.JPG: President George Washington's Farewell Address, September 24, 1796 Printed in the Columbian Centinel, Boston Mostly written by Hamilton, the Address was never read but instead first appeared in a Philadelphia paper on September 19 ,1796. It warned of the danger of political parties, called for unity within the government, and endorsed religion and morality. It addressed the importance of taxes and debt in sustaining the federal government and rejected permanent alliances with federal nations.
49. VHSFF_200102_271.JPG: Government Control of Debts Fifty-five dollar promissory note, 1779 The inscription "Post Nubila Phoebus" ("After rain comes sunshine") is evidence of the uncertainty of when the storm of war would end, and the new United States would pay its debts. Washington and Hamilton would never forget the disastrous currency situation that confronted them during and after the war. They argued that the nation's credit is integral to its strength and security.
50. VHSFF_200102_276.JPG: Danger of Political Parties Congressional Pugilists, February 15, 1798 This depiction of a brawl on the floor of the House of Representatives satirizes the intense political polarization of the 1790s, as pro-industry Federalists and pro-agriculture "Republicans" clashed. Arguing against the foreign policy of President John Adams and the potential for war with France. Matthew Lyon, a Republican, spit tobacco juice on Roger Griswold, a Federalist. Griswold then attacked Lyon with his cane, who defended himself with fireplace tongs.
51. VHSFF_200102_277.JPG: Avoid Foreign Entanglements and Permanent Alliances Property Protected a la Francoise, 1798 After engaging the French and the British in two wars and during his presidency, George Washington warned about foreign entanglements -- such as the "XYZ affair" that developed soon after his retirement. As recorded in his satirical cartoon, French officials (identified only as "X, Y, and Z") demanded bribes in return for a peace agreement. The United States is represented as the woman to the left of center.
52. VHSFF_200102_281.JPG: The Election of 1800
53. VHSFF_200102_285.JPG: Contentious Election Hamilton resigned from public service in 1795 and returned to New York City to practice law. After John Adams defeated Jefferson in the presidential election of 1796, Hamilton regularly advised Adams' cabinet -- much to the president's distaste. The presidential election of 1800, pitted Adams against Jefferson once again. Federalists attacked Jefferson as un-Christian, un-American, and pro-French. Republicans denounced the increasing federal power under Adams' presidency. Each side believed that victory by the other would ruin the nation.
54. VHSFF_200102_289.JPG: An Unexpected Tie Because the U.S. Constitution did not distinguish between President and Vice President in the votes cast by each state's electors, both Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received 73 votes. Burr attempted to steal the presidency for himself.
55. VHSFF_200102_304.JPG: The Providential Detection, 1797 Unknown artist In this anti-Republican cartoon, Jefferson kneels before the altar of "Gallic Despotism" -- a reference to the terrors of the French Revolution -- as God and an American eagle attempt to prevent him from destroying the U.S. Constitution. He is supported in this work by Satan -- depicted by a snake around the altar.
56. VHSFF_200102_306.JPG: The problematic tie in the 1800 election prompted passage in 1804 of the 12th Amendment, which states that electors "shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President" and "the person voted for as Vice-President."
57. VHSFF_200102_312.JPG: Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Judge Archibald Stuart of Virginia, February 12, 1801 Here, Jefferson reports that the contested election has not been resolved. He writes that 25 ballots have been taken in the House of Representatives without any change in the vote count. On the 36th ballot, thanks to Hamilton's intervention, Jefferson would be elected.
58. VHSFF_200102_320.JPG: "Jefferson is by far not so dangerous a man [as Burr] and he has pretensions to character.... [Burr] is inferior in real ability to Jefferson." -- Alexander Hamilton, 1800
59. VHSFF_200102_322.JPG: "Burr is unprincipled... He is for or against nothing but as it suits his interest or ambition. I feel it a religious duty to oppose his career." -- Alexander Hamilton, 1792
60. VHSFF_200102_325.JPG: Jefferson or Burr? Hamilton had repeatedly clashed with Aaron Burr for decades. He watched Burr's caginess during the drafting of the Constitution, his bribing of New York state legislators, and his gross trickery in establishing a New York bank. Hamilton concluded that Burr lacked principles. Because Hamilton detested the unscrupulous Burr even more than he hated Jefferson -- whom he considered misguided but honorable -- he convinced several Federalist electors to switch their support to Jefferson, giving victory to his political enemy.
61. VHSFF_200102_328.JPG: The greatest man in America has this morning fallen in a duel! -- General HAMILTON! -- Yes, HAMILTON!
62. VHSFF_200102_329.JPG: The Duel After using his political influence to block Aaron Burr's attempt to steal the presidency in 1800, Hamilton went on to oppose Burr's 1804 bid for governor of New York. This resulted in Burr challenging Hamilton to a duel. The pair met in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804. Hamilton likely fired first above Burr's head. Burr returned fire, striking Hamilton in the lower abdomen. The mortally wounded Hamilton lingered for thirty-one hours before dying. Burr lived another thirty-two years.
63. VHSFF_200102_331.JPG: Hamilton's Story Hamilton's short life (49 years) robbed him of the opportunity to shape his historical image by writing memoirs. For the next two decades, Jefferson and John Adams continued to snipe at Hamilton. No biography appeared until the one compiled by Eliza and John Church Hamilton was published in 1879, after her death. Ron Chernow's 2004 biography, Alexander Hamilton, inspired composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda to create Hamilton: An American Musical. Together, they reinserted Hamilton's significance firmly into our nation's historical narrative.
64. VHSFF_200102_332.JPG: Hamilton's portrait has been on more denominations of U.S. currency than anyone else, and he has been on the $10 bill since 1928. The success of the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton halted plans announced in 2015 to replace Hamilton's image on the $10 bill with the image of an American woman.
65. VHSFF_200102_334.JPG: $5,000 bill, 1938 President James Madison's portrait has appeared on the $5,000 bill since it was first printed in 1918. It was last printed in 1945, and the government discontinued it in 1969. Only 342 such bills are known to exist.
66. VHSFF_200102_345.JPG: Washington's Story Washington's contributions to the nation in war and peace cemented his primacy among the nation's founders during his lifetime and for centuries after his death in 1799. Washington's relationships with slavery, Native American, and foreign nations are influencing his reputation today. He freed his slaves in his will, tried to preserve Indian territories, wisely avoided foreign entanglements, and encouraged the development of the American continent.
67. VHSFF_200102_348.JPG: Jefferson's Story Before his death in 1826, Jefferson worked to define his own legacy. He will always be celebrated for drafting the Declaration of Independence and his inventiveness. Realization in the 1970s that Jefferson fathered children with his slave Sally Hemmings and later disowned them redefined his legacy. The principles he expressed -- particularly that "all men are created equal" -- have been turned against him and expose profound contradictions about our nation's founding.
68. VHSFF_200102_351.JPG: Madison's Story Madison has been praised as the "Father" of both the Constitution and the "Bill of Rights." Succeeding Jefferson as president, he was -- as is still -- criticized for not avoiding war with Britain in 1812. The modern publication of Madison's papers began in 1962, and five biographies have recently been rushed to press. Pundits credit Madison with anticipating today's political battles, without recognizing that compromises changed his original conception of the Constitution.
69. VHSFF_200102_352.JPG: Letter from Elizabeth Hamilton to Bushrod Washington, 1818 Appreciative of the close bonds that her late husband shared with George Washington, Elizabeth Hamilton maintained contact with the president's nephew, Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington. Here she writes of her interest ijn preserving Hamilton's legacy.
70. VHSFF_200102_355.JPG: Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, 1857 Eliza Hamilton maintained a fierce unending loyalty to her spouse. Eliza defended her husband against his critics and remained dedicated to preserving his legacy. She also raised funds for building the Washington Monument that honored her husband's mentor.
71. VHSFF_200102_382.JPG: The Duel July 11, 1804 - 7:00 am The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr was the culmination of an "affair of honor" -- a highly ritualized war of words between two men looking to protect their political and personal reputations. Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury, and Burr, the sitting Vice President, came into frequent personal and political conflict. During Burr's 1804 campaign for governor of New York, Hamilton actively denounced Burr. Blaming him for the campaign loss, Burr challenged the honor-bound Hamilton to a duel. The two men, their seconds, and a doctor, rowed across the Hudson River in two separate boats to Weehawken, New Jersey, where dueling was prosecuted less aggressively. Hamilton is reported to have "thrown away" his first shot -- a common way to resolve such affairs without bloodshed. Burr returned fire, mortally wounding Hamilton. Thirty-one hours later, Hamilton died in New York City surrounded by his family. Burr's political career also died that day. He lived another 32 years, never expressing remorse for killing Hamilton.
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Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].