Was Alexander Hamilton Jewish? Let’s Weigh the Evidence

Apparently, Hamilton was born a Jew.

Or something resembling a Jew. Or maybe a Jew. Or a “depends what you think is a Jew” Jew. Before jumping into that story, a little about the question that has kept me busy for the past month: Who is a Jew? I am part of a project that explores the meaning of Jewishness today. If you’re curious, just go to the Who is a Jew project and be prepared to take on a great intellectual and emotional challenge (click here).

Now for the story. We did not invent the idea of a Jewish Hamilton just to boost the Who is a Jew project. Rather, we came across it almost by chance, detailed in a new book by historian Andrew Porwancher. Porwancher is the Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma. He is also the Ernest May Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, and the author of the new book, “The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton” (Princeton, 2021). It is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read this year. And I read many books.

After reading the book,  I spoke with Porwancher about his findings (you can listen to our conversation here). I asked him whether he expects his argument to be accepted or rejected by other scholars. Porwancher replied: “The reactions are polarized. Some reject the evidence in what seems like almost a rage, and some enthusiastically accept it. Either way, very few remain indifferent to the claim that Hamilton was Jewish. “

Porwancher does not say Hamilton was Jewish. He says Hamilton was probably Jewish. He says it is more plausible that Hamilton was Jewish than non-Jewish. This is a probabilistic, rather than factual, claim. It is not easy to prove because there are few historical certainties when it comes to the childhood story of Hamilton, who was born in the Caribbean in the eighteenth century, an era and place from which few documents remain.

Here is what we know for sure: Hamilton’s mother, Rachel, was a Christian. She married a Danish merchant, and it is likely, but not certain, that he was Jewish. Rachel gave birth to a son, and then left the merchant—his last name was Levin—and fled into the arms of another man. The first son was not Alexander. It was Peter. A second son, born out of wedlock, was Alexander. And he was born on a different Caribbean Island.

We know that Hamilton attended a Jewish school. Porwancher’s book is interesting in many ways, one of which is the colorful depiction of a vibrant Jewish community in the Caribbean in the eighteenth century. Why did Hamilton attend a Jewish school? Here the plot gets complicated. Porwancher believes he attended a Jewish school because he was Jewish. His mother converted before marrying Mr. Levin. When she escaped from her husband, after five years of bitter marriage, she kept her Jewishness.

Why did Hamilton attend a Jewish school? Here the plot gets complicated. Porwancher believes he attended a Jewish school because he was Jewish. His mother converted before marrying Mr. Levin.

Other scholars have given different explanations for the story of Hamilton’s Jewish school. They assume that Hamilton was forced to study with the Jews because no church school would accept the son of a woman fleeing from her husband. Porwancher’s book is replete with documents that refute this claim. He proves that there were children like Hamilton in church schools at that time. He further assumes that a Jewish school would not have accepted a non-Jewish student at that time. There’s more—just listen to our conversation for the full plate of evidence.

Still, in the end, there is no certainty. In his adult life Hamilton introduced himself as a Christian. And this is the main riddle: Did Rachel really convert (there is no conclusive proof, only a hypothesis), and did she decide to remain Jewish even after fleeing from her Jewish husband (But why would she do that? Naturally, Porwancher has an interesting explanation)? And to all this one can add another question: Suppose she converted to marry a Jewish husband, and then left the husband, and probably did not continue to live a Jewish life—is she still a Jew?

Here we leave Hamilton. To hear more about him, listen to the interview with Porwancher or read the book. What else do we have left to do? Connect his story to the question of Who is a Jew. “As Jewish identity begins with a mother, so must this story,” the historian writes.  “Alexander Hamilton’s mother, Rachel Faucette, was born a Christian around 1729 on the island of Nevis in the British Caribbean.” What happened next we have enumerated here, if briefly.

In the Who is a Jew project, we present a somewhat similar story about a fictional character we call “Helena.” She was born in Amsterdam, married a Jew and converted to Judaism through a Chabad rabbi. After becoming “divorced from her Jewish husband, she no longer considers herself a Jew.”

So far, about half of the respondents to our questionnaire regarding what makes someone Jewish stated that they do not consider Helena to be Jewish. But why not? We did not ask why, so there is no unequivocal answer. Perhaps when we analyze all of the data (Prof. Camil Fuchs is in charge of this complex task), we will be able to better understand the reasons for participants’ answers regarding Helena. But it is quite clear that there are several possibilities. First, there may be those who think that conversion for the purpose of marriage does not count once the marriage is over. Second, perhaps some people think that since Helena does not see herself as a Jew it is unreasonable for us (Jews) to consider her Jewish.

Let’s compare Helena to Hamilton’s mother Rachel and consider what would have happened had we presented her story in our questionnaire. Helena is divorced, while Rachel escaped with a lover. That’s not the same. Helena converted through a Chabad rabbi, but we do not know anything about Rachel’s possible conversion. Thus, concerning the two considerations, anyone who thinks that conversion for marriage is null at the end of the marriage may decide that Rachel’s conversion is also null (although, again, she did not divorce, but only escaped). However, anyone who believes conversion is null if the convert gives up his or her Judaism will not know what to do with Rachel. Was she Jewish? Was her son? It is a question about history, but also one about identity. In other words, it’s a Jewish question that will never go away.

To take the Who is a Jew challenge, click here.

To listen to my conversation with Porwancher, click here.

Shmuel Rosner is an Israeli columnist, editor, and researcher. He is the editor of the research and data-journalism website themadad.com, and is the political editor of the Jewish Journal.