January 29, 2015
As part of the celebrations for the 225th anniversary of Alexander Hamilton becoming the first US Secretary of the Treasury, the Museum of American Finance hosted the exhibit, “Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary.” This exhibit was co-curated by John Herzog, Founder of the Museum of American Finance, and Mariana Oller, the Chair of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. It features rare objects associated with Alexander Hamilton and his financial programs.
Exhibit Opening – October 29, 2014
The official exhibit opening was held in conjunction with the Museum of American Finance event, “A Conversation with Timothy Geithner.” During the sold out event, Timothy Geithner, the former Treasury Secretary and President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, discussed the financial crisis and his most recent book, Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises. Timothy Geithner and members of the AHA Society then participated in the exhibit opening for “Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary” in the Hamilton Room.
“Conversation with the Curators” – January 9, 2015
As part of the AHA Society’s Happy Birthday Hamilton! annual program, a special event was held at the Museum of American Finance on Friday, January 9th. AHA Society Vice-President Nicole Scholet served as a moderator in “Conversation with the Curators” for the Hamilton exhibit. The co-curators, Museum of American Finance Founder John Herzog and AHA Society Chair Mariana Oller, spoke about the process of collecting original Hamilton documents and then creating an exhibit with them.
Mr. Herzog began his collection of financial documents over fifty years ago. Today this collection includes an impressive number of important Hamilton-related artifacts. The first Hamilton document that Mr. Herzog added to his collection was the first printing of Alexander Hamilton’s Report on Federal Credit from September of 1789. Mr. Herzog views this document and others as teaching tools for people to learn about US financial history and the lessons they provide for today.
Both Mr. Herzog and Ms. Oller made very insightful remarks during the talk. The goal of creating this exhibit was not only to celebrate an important anniversary in Alexander Hamilton’s life, but also to give the public a chance to view documents that illustrate the important contributions that Alexander Hamilton made to the country’s founding. Mr. Herzog hopes that visitors to the exhibit gain “a sense of the importance of the early American finance infrastructure which Alexander Hamilton conceived and implemented, and how that enabled the United States to advance so far, so fast.”
About the Exhibit – “Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary”
Alexander Hamilton was nominated and confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. He would serve in that position for almost five and a half years, during which time he would establish many of the financial and economic systems of the United States. As the official brochure for the “Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary” exhibit states:
“This exhibit begins with a look at the money problems individuals and nations have faced and how, on behalf of America, Alexander Hamilton addressed the problems and turned them into the American Dream.”
This exhibition was created in partnership between the Museum of American Finance and the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. It features original documents from the collection of the Museum of American Finance as well as Mr. John Herzog’s personal collection such as:
- A copy of the first Report on Public Credit, US Printing Office #1
- Checks signed by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
- US Treasury Bonds from the 1790s
- An early printing of the Federalist
To see more of the artifacts, visit the photo album on the exhibit.
Exhibition Details
- Location: Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall Street, New York, New York
- Dates of exhibition: October 29th, 2014 – July 2016
- Visiting Information: See the Museum of American Finance website.
