1 Alexander Hamilton Helps Found the United States Hamilton arrived in Boston Massachusetts in 1772 It was a tense time in the American colonies Many people wanted to break free from British rule In 1775 the colonies went to war with England Hamilton wanted independence He joined the army Soon he became an advisor to General George Washington The colonists won the war in 1783 The United States became an independent country But the government was weak Hamilton and others believed it should be stronger In 1787 leaders met in Philadelphia At the meeting the US Constitution was written This document would create a stronger central government But first it had to be ratified by 9 of the 13 states Hamilton wrote essays to help The Constitution was ratified in 1788 George Washington became the first US president in 1789 He chose Alexander Hamilton was born in the 1750s on Nevis This small island in the Caribbean Sea was a British colony Hamilton’s family was poor He had to get a job early in life As a teen he was a store clerk He managed the money Hamilton was so good at his job that the store owner sent him to college New York 4
Official portrait of Alexander Hamilton the first US Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton to be the first secretary of the US Treasury In that job Hamilton helped manage the new country’s money It was a hard job The United States had a lot of debt New financial systems had to be created But Hamilton persisted By the time he stepped down Hamilton had helped strengthen the US government and economy 11 Hamilton’s age in years when he started working Hamilton’s ability to manage money helped him attend college in the American colonies Hamilton fought against the British during the American Revolution After independence he helped strengthen the government and economy 5
2 Madeleine Albright Is First Female US Secretary of State The Albright family fled to England Because they were Jewish they worried the invading Nazis would hurt them After the war the Albrights moved back to their home country They would not stay long however Communists took control of the government in 1948 The Albright family fled again this time to the United States Madeleine was 11 years old In the United States Madeleine Albright went to high school in Denver Colorado There she founded an international relations club She was very interested in how countries got along with each other In college Albright was active in politics and government In 1993 President Bill Clinton made Albright the US Ambassador to the United Nations The United Nations Madeleine Albright understood from a young age how a country’s actions affect people’s lives Her family lived in the present-day Czech Republic But they could not stay Germany invaded the country at the beginning of World War II in 1939 6
6 Number of years World War II lasted 1939 1945 The Albright family emigrated from the Czech Republic to escape Nazism and communism Albright served as US Ambassador to the United Nations She became the first female US Secretary of State in 1997 President Obama awards Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 is a group of people from countries around the world It works to make the world better Albright helped the group end world conflicts and promote peace Four years later Albright was named US Secretary of State She was now in charge of handling the United States relationships with other countries Albright is the first woman to hold that job Over the next four years she worked to protect the nation and make the world more peaceful 7
