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Alexander Hamilton explored in traveling exhibit at U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis

Stephanie Snow, a staff attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, standing in front of one of the panels that's part of an exhibit about Alexander Hamilton.
Alex Heuer | St. Louis Public Radio
Stephanie Snow, a staff attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, standing in front of one of the panels that's part of an exhibit about Alexander Hamilton.

An exhibit on display now at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis features the life and work of Alexander Hamilton.

Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers, the first Secretary of the Treasury and a fervent advocate of a strong national government.

Hamilton’s prominence in popular culture is seemingly at an all-time high due the popularity of the eponymous musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Indeed, after going on sale this Monday, single tickets for Hamilton’s three-week stay at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis in April sold out within five hours.

The exhibit at the federal courthouse, “Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America,” is comprised of seven panels.

“It basically tells Alexander's story from his time coming to this country as an immigrant through his time as a soldier, as an attorney, as a person who helped to get the Constitution ratified, through his time then working different cases, and his time spent in other pursuits like education for Native Americans and African-Americans, and then through his death at the duel with Aaron Burr,” said Stephanie Snow, a staff attorney with the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals who works in the building.

Snow is not a historian but she is an ardent student of Hamilton’s life and a fan of the musical.

“He came from nothing. He was poor. He was considered a bastard. I think John Adams wrote that about him,” she said.

Although most of the Founding Fathers came from prominent families, Hamilton was an immigrant from Nevis, an island in the British West Indies in the Caribbean.

“I love history but I don't remember learning about Hamilton much in grammar school except for that he was killed by Burr and he's on the $10 bill,” Snow said.

The exhibit aims to promote education and has already for dozens of students.

“Teachers can bring students in and students come in of all ages and get to mine the panels for information about Hamilton that they may not have known,” Snow said.

Hamilton’s legal contributions

Hamilton’s contributions to the young nation’s economy are often more heralded than his contributions to the legal system.

“Hamilton was one who believed we needed a strong national government and that rubbed some people the wrong way,” Snow said.

“What he did was he started to write to encourage the ratification of the Constitution. He along with John Jay and James Madison published these essays anonymously as Publius,” she said.

The papers came to be known as the Federalist Papers and they continue to influence today’s legal system.

“The Supreme Court justices have quoted the Federalist Papers very very often and one in particular, No. 78, has been quoted more often by the justices, more than many of the others,” Snow said. “It was one that was focused on judicial review.”

Judicial review is the concept that the actions of the legislative and executive branches are subject to review by the judiciary. It’s a bedrock principle of the legal system that was established in the famous U.S. Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison.

The exhibit at the U.S. Courthouse is on display through November 9. It is free and open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

 St. Louis on the Air producer Alex Heuer spoke with attorney Stephanie Snow about an exhibit on display at the U.S. Courthouse about Alexander Hamilton.

St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region. 

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Alex Heuer joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2012 and is the executive producer of St. Louis on the Air. Alex grew up in the St. Louis area. He began his public radio career as a student reporter at Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois and worked for a few years at Iowa Public Radio. Alex graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a degree in history and earned a teaching certificate in 6 - 12th grade social studies. In 2016, he earned a Master of Public Policy Administration with a focus in nonprofit organization management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has won local and national awards for reporting and producing and his stories have been featured nationally on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.