{"id":3646,"date":"2026-08-04T14:28:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/?page_id=3646"},"modified":"2026-08-04T14:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:36:36","slug":"alexander-hamilton-and-his-relationship-to-paterson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/patersonhistory.com\/index.php\/alexander-hamilton-and-his-relationship-to-paterson\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexander Hamilton and His Relationship to Paterson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Alexander Hamilton’s Statue<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

in the Great Falls National Park<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Few individuals have had a greater influence on the founding and early development of Paterson, New Jersey, than Alexander Hamilton<\/strong>. Although he never lived in the city that bears Governor William Paterson’s name, Hamilton was the visionary who conceived Paterson as America’s first planned industrial city. His bold ideas laid the foundation for the city’s rise as one of the nation’s greatest manufacturing centers and earned him the title “Father of American Industry.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hamilton’s Vision for American Industry<\/h2>\n

Following the American Revolution, the United States remained largely dependent on Great Britain for manufactured goods. As the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington, Alexander Hamilton believed that true independence required a strong domestic manufacturing economy.<\/p>\n

In his famous Report on Manufactures<\/strong>, submitted to Congress in December 1791, Hamilton argued that the United States should encourage industry, develop manufacturing, and reduce its reliance on foreign imports. He envisioned a nation whose economic strength would rest not only on agriculture but also on factories, skilled labor, and technological innovation.<\/p>\n

To bring this vision to life, Hamilton sought a location with an abundant and dependable source of waterpower. He found it at the Great Falls of the Passaic River<\/strong>, one of the largest waterfalls in the eastern United States.<\/p>\n

The Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures<\/a><\/h2>\n

In November 1791, Hamilton organized the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.)<\/strong><\/a>, one of the first private-public industrial development corporations in American history. Chartered by the State of New Jersey, the Society was created to finance and promote manufacturing enterprises throughout the new nation.<\/p>\n

The Great Falls offered an ideal location. The river’s dramatic 77-foot drop could generate tremendous mechanical power, making it possible to operate factories without relying on wind or animal labor.<\/p>\n

Hamilton envisioned an entirely new kind of community\u2014one where canals would distribute waterpower directly to factories, creating a planned industrial city unlike any that had existed before in the United States.<\/p>\n

Why Paterson?<\/h2>\n

Hamilton selected the site because of several advantages:<\/p>\n