Frederick R. Hamilton

Frederick Robert Hamilton (born January 10th, 1877) is a Vesperian politician, attorney and academic who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1917 until 1925, and currently serves as the junior United States Senator from Totford. A member of the Federalist Party, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Totford's 3rd District from 1901 until 1909, then serving as the 53rd Governor of Totford for two terms from 1909 until 1917. Hamilton won election to the presidency in the 1916 United States presidential election, in which he defeated the incumbent President Nelson F. Edwards in an electoral college landslide - he won 220 electoral votes and 53.7% of the popular vote. He won re-election by defeating Progressive opponent Sarenia Senator Thomas R. Wilson and National Democratic opponent Major-General Frank H. Cassidy in 1920 - he won 165 electoral votes, though he narrowly lost the popular vote by a margin of 0.09%. After leaving the presidency, Hamilton entered the United States Senate, representing his home state of Totford.

Born in Presham, Totford, to a deeply political family with long-standing roots in the Federalist Party, Hamilton attended Kingston University in Merland from which he received a doctorate in law and a degree in political science. After graduation, he enrolled in Winton Law School, where he qualified as a lawyer. After a brief stint as a partner at a law firm in Charton, he returned to Totford where he stood for election to the House of Representatives in the 1900 elections. He won his seat, entering national politics at the young age of twenty-four, becoming one of the youngest members of congress in Vesperian history. He served there for four terms between 1901 and 1909, serving as House Majority Whip from 1905 until 1909. He was elected the 53rd Governor of Totford in the 1908 Totford gubernatorial election, easily defeating his Progressive opponent. As Governor, he was notable for leading a group of Federalist governors who became known as the "malcontents", governors who were typically unsupportive and uncooperative with the Progressive administration of Nelson F. Edwards. He entered the Federalist primaries for the 1916 election in mid-1915, and was initially considered a long shot candidate. However, Hamilton quickly became the frontrunner. After winning the nomination, it initially appeared as though he would lose to Edwards, but over the course of the race the polls began to narrow in Hamilton's favour. He ultimately won the election, entering the White House in 1917.

Hamilton's first term in office was considered one of the most turbulent periods in Vesperian history outside of the civil war, thanks to the Vesperian entry into the Great War, caused by provocations by the German Empire including unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram. Hamilton asked congress for a declaration of war in April 1917, which was granted. With Vesperian assistance, the war came to an end in November 1918, after which Hamilton would devote his foreign policy energy to countering efforts to bring Vesperia into the newly-created League of Nations. Hamilton's second term was far more successful than his first. After a beginning with a few more issues of union agitation, his second term became a far quieter and more peaceful one than his first. The economy began to boom from 1922 onwards, which Hamilton and his policies gained a lot of credit for, in time his approval rating grew to make him one of the most popular presidents in recent history.

Economically, Hamilton promoted an agenda of deregulation, laissez-faire capitalism and personal liberties. Socially, he was slightly more liberal as president than recent past Federalist presidents. He supported granting the right to vote to women and undertook reforms of the executive branch of the federal government to improve existing institutions and curb inefficiency prevalent in the government. His presidency represented a realignment of the Federalist Party closer to the centre of the political spectrum, with his "Hamiltonian" faction becoming more prominent and representing moderate policies.

Early life (1877 - 1898)
Frederick Robert Hamilton was born on January 10th, 1877, at the Totford Governor's Mansion in Presham, Totford to then Totford Governor Louis Mitchell Hamilton (1842 - 1907) and Catherine Marie Blythe-Russell Hamilton (1849 - Present). He was born the second of six children, he has two sisters, Christine and Penelope, and three brothers, Louis Jr., Francis and Andrew. His grandfather, Charles Walter Hamilton (1816 - 1884), was the 28th President of the United States from 1877 until 1881, formerly being the 27th Vice President of the United States from 1861 until 1865. His uncle, Augustine Lyon Hamilton (1848 - Present), was a United States Senator from Totford from 1882 until 1915. The Hamiltons were Scottish in origin, their earliest ancestor to move to what would become the United States was Edward Hamilton, who served in the Vesperian Revolutionary War and became one of the earliest members of the Federalist Party.

The family were incredibly wealthy thanks to their connections and were notable members of the Totford high society elite. Aside from their political ambitions and connections, the Hamiltons were also a prominent banking family, which was where much of their wealth originated from. Throughout the years of his grandfather's presidency, Hamilton moved several times between stays at the White House, the Totford Governor's Mansion and the family compound at Lanston. After his grandfather left office as President in 1881, he lived primarily at the Governor's Mansion until his father left office as Governor in 1885. From then, he resided only at the Lanston estate, where he received a private education alongside his siblings. At age seventeen, he enrolled in Kingston University in Merland, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, a double major in history and political science, and a minor in literature. He then studied at the specialist Winton Law School, where he received a doctorate in law and would later pass his bar examination to be permitted to practice law.

Early career (1897 - 1900)
After being called to the bar in 1897 after passing his examination, Hamilton joined the Dewey & Baines law firm in Charton as a junior partner, where he often specialised in cases of constitutional law. As a lawyer, he represented several high-profile political figures of the time when faced with scandal or other legal trouble. It was through association with many of these politicians that his ambitions began to shift from a strictly legal career to a political career path moving forward. Additionally, his father encouraged him to pursue political ambitions for himself, so Hamilton would form exploratory committees looking into possibilities for a congressional run in the 1900 elections. In the meantime, he continued to practice law and argued before the United States Supreme Court on two occasions over disputes over interpretation of constitutional statute. In 1899, his father announced that he was going to be running for the Federalist nomination for President of the United States in the 1900 presidential election. Hamilton took time off from his legal career to join his father's campaign, and became Deputy Campaign Manager for his father. His father would go on to win the nomination for President, while at the same time Hamilton himself would win the Federalist nomination for Totford's 3rd congressional district. His father's campaign suffered as he faced the popular incumbent Ronald C. Pointon, who had taken office following the assassination of Wilfred B. Tomkinson. His father would ultimately lose the presidential election, but Hamilton would successfully enter the House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives (1901 - 1909)
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53rd Governor of Totford (1909 - 1917)
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1912 presidential election
By 1912, Hamilton was nearing the end of his first term as Governor of Totford, and was greatly popular in his position. Despite his young age of 36, just one year above the requirement for the presidency, some suggested to him that he should consider his options in the 1912 presidential election, potentially standing to succeed incumbent Christopher D. Hawkins, who had announced he would not seek a third term. Hamilton formed an exploratory committee in December 1911 to examine the feasibility of a 1912 campaign. He publically announced that he was considering running in January 1912, and picked up a small amount of support from voters undecided between the two front runners, Vice President Vincent I. Sangster, and Senator Joseph A. Robinson. Hamilton's relatively moderate position within the Federalist Party at the time was considered a liability for him in a party which was so polarised between conservatives of Hawkins and Sangster's like and liberals such as Robinson. Ultimately, performing poorly in the polls, Hamilton dropped out of the race in March 1912 and endorsed Robinson for the nomination, much to the chagrin of President Hawkins, who was strongly backing Sangster. At the Federalist National Convention later that year, Hamilton pledged what delegates he had accumulated to vote for Robinson, but when the convention had been stacked in favour of Sangster with outside delegates, the Robinson supporters left the convention and arranged a rival convention.

Hamilton refused to personally involve himself with the party split and the newly created National Republican Party, which nominated Robinson. Hamilton ultimately did not endorse either of the two - he condemned the split in the Federalist Party, accusing Hawkins and Sangster of bold interference in the party's nominating process in favour of their own agenda. Hamilton spent most of his energy during the 1912 election focusing on campaigning for Federalist congressional candidates, rather than the presidential ticket. He had come to believe by the time of September 1912 that the split within the party would be fatal for their election prospects, and was certain that Progressive nominee Nelson F. Edwards would ultimately win the election due to the lack of unity amongst the Federalists. Both Robinson and Sangster attempted to get Hamilton's endorsement, but he refused to give it, insisting that one of them must drop out of the race. Ultimately, Edwards did win the presidential election, with Robinson and Sangster acting as spoilers for one another.

1916 presidential election
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1920 presidential election
Hamilton announced his re-election bid for the 1920 United States presidential election in February 1919, and it initially seemed that he would be elected easily to a second term. He was reaching the height of his popularity after victory in the Great War, as well as an initial post-war boom. Polls conducted at this point pitting the President against a generic Progressive showed the likelihood of an even larger landslide than in 1916. However, this boost was not to last - the economy soon entered a slump as a result of a global post-war recession, discontent domestically began to rise as a result of harsh economic conditions and new labour unrest sparked by international events as well as internal class conflict. Hamilton's popularity went into decline as a result of several of these factors, and re-election began to look less certain. Behind the scenes, within the Federalist Party, a small group of anti-Hamiltonians were encouraging former President Christopher D. Hawkins to run and challenge Hamilton for the Federalist nomination. Nonetheless, Hamilton persisted in his re-election campaign.

As 1920 rolled around, the Federalist primaries grew closer. It seemed at the time that there were no viable challengers to Hamilton's renomination in the party, but Christopher D. Hawkins announced his candidacy which came as a great shock to observers. Hamilton, however, remained dominant in the Federalist Party and he retained huge leads in primary polling over Hawkins, who remained controversial within the party thanks to the 1912 Federalist schism. Hamilton led an energetic campaign in the primaries as well as in the general election, becoming the first incumbent president to truly utilise in-person campaigning for their own campaigns rather than leaving campaigning solely to others. President Hamilton won many key victories in the primary races, defeating Hawkins outright by winning every delegate in every state except Winhesia (Hawkins' home state), where Hawkins managed to win 14 delegates with a small amount of the popular vote. During the primary season, on March 15th 1920, a bomb was hurled at President Hamilton as he gave a speech just prior to the District of Charton Federalist primary. Hamilton was safely evacuated by the Secret Service, and the bomb failed to detonate. He would go on to win the rest of the delegates, Hawkins suspending his campaign on April 1st. Hawkins later endorsed Hamilton on April 4th.

After a close fight within the Progressive Party between Senator Thomas R. Wilson and Senator Richard M. Wallace for the nomination, it was Wilson who would come out on top and become the Progressive nominee for the election. By April, Wilson was leading in the polls with averages of 52%. However, this would all change with the surprise entrance of Major General Frank H. Cassidy to the race. He began his campaign as an independent candidate, later creating the National Democratic Party to run under. Cassidy completely shook up the race, dragging Wilson down in the polls as many disaffected supporters of Wallace began to flock to Cassidy's banner out of hostility to Wilson. Additionally, Cassidy's strategy involved primarily attacking Wilson as the front runner, which additionally helped Hamilton climb back up in the polls and bring Wilson down. Hamilton announced Alexander W. Bennett, former Governor of Winhesia and former Senator from Winhesia, as his running mate, not renominating incumbent Vice President Abraham U. Jackson. Bennett additionally helped him gain the support of conservatives, known as the Hawkinsian faction, as Bennett was associated with that faction. This helped encourage Former President Hawkins to help the Federalists by campaigning in Winhesia, which contributed to their victory there in the general election. After election day, the results were inconclusive as no candidate had reached 152 electoral votes. As a result, Hamilton requested a recount in the state of Mancehamia, which had a particularly close result. The recount showed that the state had flipped into President Hamilton's column, therefore giving him 165 electoral votes - winning the election. In the popular vote, Senator Wilson had won the plurality of the vote, with 41.74% of the vote - 10,250,687 votes. Hamilton had won 41.65% of the vote - 10,228,905 votes. Cassidy had won 16.25% of the vote, 3,989,674 votes. After both opponents conceded the election, Hamilton delivered an acceptance speech.

Early actions
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Economic Policy
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Social Policy
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Foreign Policy
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1924 presidential election
Speculation existed for a long time as to whether Hamilton would seek a third term as President. It had been convention in Vesperian history that presidents only serve for two terms, although no such limit actually exists in the constitution. It was thought that given the excellent state of the economy and his high approval rating, Hamilton could have easily won a third term had he ran. Nonetheless, after long contemplation and consultation with advisors, Hamilton chose to keep the two-term custom in tact and announced at a press conference on January 7th, 1924 that he would not seek or accept the Federalist nomination for President of the United States in the election of 1924. Instead, he gave his endorsement to his Vice President, Sebastian R. Olson, who he considered a type of political protege who would be able to continue his policies in the White House. By this time, Hamilton was 47 years old, but privately confided that he felt that the presidency had aged him beyond his years and expressed a happiness to be leaving the White House. He indicated early on, however, that he wouldn't stay out of politics.

It was in March of 1924 that Hamilton announced his intention to stand in the 1924 United States Senate election in Totford, which caused a flurry almost immediately. An incumbent President had never before stood for a different office while still serving in office, which raised questions as to his eligibility to even run for Senate while still holding office as President. This Senate seat, held by fellow Federalist Dalton R. Jones, was considered an open race due to Jones' plans to retire after this election and his announcement that he would not run. Hamilton faced little opposition in the Federalist primary for the seat, his one opponent being conservative congressman Harold G. Fellows, who attacked Hamilton for neglecting his duties as President by running for a Senate seat. Nonetheless, Fellows never gained much traction, and Hamilton was easily nominated for the seat. Due to Totford's status as safely Federalist, and Hamilton's popularity, it was considered essentially guaranteed that he would win the seat. He won election in a landslide, with 73.93% of the popular vote. His Progressive opponent, John F. Dubois, received 26.07% of the popular vote. Concurrently, his Vice President Sebastian R. Olson won a landslide over the Progressive nominee, Senator Richard M. Wallace, in the 1924 presidential election.

Post-presidency (1925 - Present)
Hamilton attended the inauguration of his successor, Sebastian R. Olson, on March 4th 1925. As the outgoing President, he received his final "Hail to the Chief" while in office and his presence symbolised the transition of power from the Hamilton administration to the new Olson administration. Hamilton left office with an approval rating above 60%, ending his for a time extraordinarily turbulent presidency on a high note. Keeping with custom, he left a letter in the Oval Office for his successor, in which he shared with President Olson his highest hopes and wishes for his friend and successor's administration. He also extolled the virtues of his own administration's policies, urging Olson to stick to the course he had charted to maintain the continued prosperity and economic growth for the nation. His wife, Eleanor, had also left a note for the incoming First Lady, Mrs. Olson, in which she simply stated that, "you will be so very happy here". The Hamiltons purchased a townhouse in Charton to live at after they left the White House on the morning of March 4th.

Privately, following the inauguration, Hamilton was asked how he felt that the reins of government had been handed off and he no longer bore the responsibility of the White House. His response was a simple "relieved". The presidency substantially aged Hamilton - where eight years prior had been a young man, handsome and in his prime, there was now a man with greyed hair aged beyond his years. He had taken care to cultivate this aging appearance into a perception as an "elder statesman" over the last few years of his presidency. Political pundits wondered immediately what influence, if any, former President Hamilton would have over the policy decisions of the new administration. He continued to insist that the new President Olson was his own man and that he would do no more than offer counsel if requested and work with the administration from his new role within the Senate.

United States Senate (1925 - Present)
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Marriage and Children
Hamilton met Totford socialite Eleanor Stewart in 1896, the daughter of a close friend of his father. They grew closer and eventually married in 1899. By all accounts, it was a happy marriage and they had a pleasant home life. They would have five children, one daughter and four sons: Louisa Elizabeth Morrison (née Hamilton; born September 9th, 1900), Louis Francis Hamilton (born September 3rd, 1902), Frederick William Hamilton (born December 15th, 1907), Charles Stewart Hamilton (born May 2nd, 1912) and George James Hamilton (born December 23rd, 1916). His youngest child, George, was born after the 1916 United States presidential election, after Hamilton was already President-elect of the United States. He was proud of his family, and was close with his children despite an at times extremely strained relationship with his second child, Louis. In the 1920 election, Louis opposed his father's presidential campaign, registered as a Progressive, and voted for Thomas R. Wilson. The relationship between Hamilton and his eldest son would ultimately never fully recover after this, and they would remain distant from one another thereafter. After Hamilton was inaugurated as President on March 4th, 1917, his family moved into the The White House, his wife becoming the new First Lady of the United States. After they left the White House in 1925, the Hamiltons purchased a townhouse in Charton, where they would continue to live as he entered the Senate.

Grandchildren
Through his daughter, Louisa, and her husband Walter F. Morrison, Hamilton has three grandchildren:


 * Henrietta Sophie Morrison (born December 17th, 1923)
 * Edwina Penelope Morrison (born July 23rd, 1926)
 * Frederick Hamilton Morrison (born May 5th, 1928)

He also has one grandchild through his eldest son, Louis:


 * James Joseph Hamilton (born August 2nd, 1927)

Personality
Hamilton was a complex man. He was intelligent, hard-working and shrewd, while also being blunt, arrogant and hot-tempered. His temper was, by far, one of his largest flaws - it could even sometimes undermine him politically. On one occasion during his re-election campaign for Governor of Totford, he infamously lost his temper in a public debate, which led to an incredibly heated exchange between Hamilton and the Progressive nominee. Most of the time, however, Hamilton was an incredibly reserved and well-spoken person. He was known for his decisiveness and unflappability - he made decisions alone, and would always follow through with his plans. He was also well known for his complex and conservative way of speaking, which did not come without its problems and his advisors often counselled him to use more simple language when speaking to a crowd. In addition to his way of using language, his distinctive thick Presham high society accent became the cause of much mockery and joking in anti-Hamiltonian circles. Hamilton was a man of many hobbies - primarily, he was an avid political historian. In his spare time, he wrote and published three books - "A History of the Governors of Totford", which discussed in great detail the past Governors of Totford and their achievements; "The Building of a Nation", which discussed the founding of the United States of Vesperia as well as the individual achievements of the Founding Fathers and "The Path to the White House", which discussed several of the most notable presidential elections in Vesperian history. These books initially only found a small audience, but gained nationwide fame following Hamilton's rise to national prominence during his presidential campaign. In addition, Hamilton was a keen sportsman - in particular, he enjoyed horse riding and racing. He maintained a stable on his estate in Lanston, just outside of Presham. In addition to this, he also enjoyed golf and tennis.