The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread which discusses Alexander Hamilton.



Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation's financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and The New York Post newspaper. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the main author of the economic policies of the George Washington administration. He took the lead in the funding of the states' debts by the Federal government, as well as the establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. His vision included a strong central government led by a vigorous executive branch, a strong commercial economy, with a national bank and support for manufacturing, plus a strong military. Thomas Jefferson was his leading opponent, arguing for agrarianism and smaller government.

Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis. Orphaned as a child he was taken in by a prosperous merchant. As a precocious young teenager he was sent to New York to pursue his education. Hamilton took an early role as the American Revolutionary War began. In 1777, he became a senior aide to General Washington in running the new Continental Army. After the war, Hamilton was elected as a representative to the Congress of the Confederation from New York. He resigned to practice law, and founded the Bank of New York.

Hamilton was a leader in seeking to replace the weak national government, and led the Annapolis Convention in 1786, which spurred Congress to call a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He helped achieve ratification by writing 51 of the 85 installments of The Federalist Papers, which to this day remain the single most important reference for Constitutional interpretation.

Hamilton led the Treasury Department as a trusted member of President Washington's first Cabinet. He was a nationalist who emphasized strong central government and successfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution provided the legal authority to fund the national debt, assume states' debts, and create the government-backed Bank of the United States. These programs were funded primarily by a tariff on imports, and later also by a controversial tax on whiskey. To overcome localism, Hamilton mobilized a nationwide network of friends of the government, especially bankers and businessmen, which became the Federalist Party. A major issue in the emergence of the American two-party system was the Jay Treaty, largely designed by Hamilton in 1794. It established friendly trade relations with Britain, to the chagrin of France and supporters of the French Revolution. Hamilton played a central role in the Federalist party, which dominated national and state politics until it lost the election of 1800 to Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party.

In 1795, he returned to the practice of law in New York. In 1798–99, under President Adams, Hamilton called for mobilization against France and became Commanding General of a newly reconstituted U.S. Army, which he modernized and readied for war. Hamilton's army did not see combat in the Quasi-War, and Hamilton was outraged by Adams' diplomatic avoidance of combat with France. His opposition to Adams' re-election helped cause the Federalist party defeat in 1800. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the presidency in the electoral college in 1801, and Hamilton helped to defeat Burr, whom he found unprincipled, and to elect Jefferson despite philosophical differences.

Hamilton continued his legal and business activities in New York City, and was active in ending the legality of the international slave trade. Vice President Burr ran for governor of New York State in 1804, and Hamilton crusaded against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Burr challenged him to a duel in which Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who died the next day on July 12, 1804.

Remainder of article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...

Source: Wikipedia

The Alexander Hamilton Society - local chapters at various colleges

http://www.alexanderhamiltonsociety.org

What is the Oldest NYC Newspaper Still in Circulation?

Interesting video - The New York Post - started by none other than Alexander Hamilton

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9O6m...

The New-York Historical Society and NYC Media, the official network of the City of New York, have partnered to produce a special series of one minute videos that feature the staff of the New York Historical Society as they answer some of the most captivating questions ever posed to them about the City's fascinating and unique history.

What is the Oldest NYC Newspaper Still in Circulation?

The New York Post, founded in 1801, is the oldest New York City newspaper in continuous publication. It has changed over the years, starting out conservative, and becoming more liberal in the nineteenth century, when it strongly opposed slavery and supported Lincoln and Reconstruction.

In the twentieth century, it went to tabloid format and became famously sensationalistic and conservative again under Rupert Murdoch.

Source: Youtube and NYC Media (New York Historical Society)

The New York Historical Society web page on Alexander Hamilton:

http://www.nyhistory.org/explore/alex...

Source: The New York Historical Society

Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Honor

Joanne Freeman (Yale) talked about how the 18th century concept of honor helped shape Alexander Hamilton throughout his life. Professor Freeman argued that Hamilton’s desire to maintain his honor was so strong it led to his duel with Aaron Burr that ultimately killed him. The Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society hosted this event.

Link: https://www.c-span.org/video/?320292-...

Source: Youtube - Museum of Finance, C-Span

by Joanne B. Freeman (no photo)

An Introduction to Alexander Hamilton:

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-c...

Source: Khan Academy

The History Channel:

https://www.history.com/topics/americ...

Source: The History Channel

Here is another installment of the Hillsdale Federalist Papers videos:

"The Improved Science of Politics"
Overview

Publius argued that the “science of politics . . . has received great improvement” in his own day. These improvements include separation of powers, legislative checks and balances, judges who serve a life term during good behavior, and what he called “the ENLARGEMENT of the ORBIT” of government. Contrary to the practice of previous republics, Publius argued that a republic had a much greater chance of achieving success if it is spread out over a large or extended territory, rather than a small or contracted one.

Link to Video: https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/...

And Q&A:
https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/...

David Hume had an effect on the three Federalist Essayists.


David Hume, oil on canvas by Allan Ramsay, 1766; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

Who was he:

David Hume, (born May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scotland—died August 25, 1776, Edinburgh), Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism.

Hume conceived of philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature. Taking the scientific method of the English physicist Sir Isaac Newton as his model and building on the epistemology of the English philosopher John Locke, Hume tried to describe how the mind works in acquiring what is called knowledge. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible; there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. Despite the enduring impact of his theory of knowledge, Hume seems to have considered himself chiefly as a moralist.

Remainder of article:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/...

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica


Title page of the first edition of the first volume of David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature, London, England, 1739


David Hume, statue in Edinburgh.


Portrait of Scottish philosopher David Hume, by David Martin, 1770; in a private collection

by David Hume

What Alexander Hamilton could teach Trump and May
By Laura Beers
Updated 5:28 PM ET, Tue January 29, 2019



CNN)Last week, I took my 7-year-old to see "Hamilton: An American Musical" in London.

We both know the soundtrack nearly by heart, but watching the play live less than a mile from the Palace of Westminster threw the revolutionary success story into new relief.

Several members of the audience laughingly groaned when King George III lamented that fighting with France and Spain was making him blue.

But the comparison that stood out most pointedly to me was not between the politically isolated King George and the current Prime Minister, but between Theresa May and Alexander Hamilton.

Remainder of article:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/opinio...

Source: CNN

I agree with this I really do - what do the others of you think about this? Keep the filibuster and stop the nuclear option - we need to pass bills that reflect the populace of America and not a limited view - bipartisanship is important - and of course reflection and putting the country first over a political party.

Conservatives Need to Love the Filibuster Again
It matters. It really does.
by CHARLES SYKES FEBRUARY 4, 2019 4:01 AM


Huey Long, after his record-breaking filibuster in 1935

Link: https://thebulwark.com/conservatives-...

Source: The Bulwark

A Hamilton Primer

https://www.citybeat.com/arts-culture...

Source: Citybeat