George Washington's Nomination of Alexander Hamilton

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Description

After taking office as the nation’s first President, George Washington appointed his cabinet. On September 11, 1789, he nominated Alexander Hamilton as Secretary for the Department of the Treasury. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton implemented an ambitious plan to strengthen the new nation’s economy. He consolidated individual states’ Revolutionary War debts into a single national debt, instituted a Federal excise tax to raise revenues, and created a national bank to improve the nation’s credit and more easily transact Federal financial business.

Transcript

Gentlemen of the Senate,

I nominate for the Department of the Treasury of the United States–
Alexander Hamilton (of New York) Secretary.
Nicholas Eveleigh (of S. Carolina) Comptroller.
Samuel Meridith (of Pennsylvania) Treasurer.
Oliver Wolcott Jr. (of Connecticut) Auditor.
Joseph Nourse (in office) Register.

For the Department of war–
Henry Knox

For judge in the Western Territory, in place of William Barton who declines the appointment.
George Turner.

For

For Surveyor in the District of Ralphahan = nock, State of Virginia, in place of Staige Davis who declines the appointment— I nominate
Peter Kemp

For Surveyor of Town- Creek in the District of Patuxent, State of Maryland, in place of Robert Young who declines the appointment—
I nominate Charles Chilton.

And, in the case nomination of Samuel Meridith should meet the advice and consent of the Senate— I nominate as Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia—
William M Therson.

G Washington

New York
September 11th} 1789.

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.

National Archives Identifier: 44276831

Full Citation: Alexander Hamilton’s Nomination as Secretary of the Treasury by George Washington; 9/11/1789; Records of Executive Nominations from the 1st Congress; (SEN1B-A1); Executive Nominations, 1789 – 2002; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/washington-nomination-hamilton/, March 29, 2026]

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