Alexander Hamilton by
(PRINT) The inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton! In the first full-length biography of Alexander Hamilton in decades, National Book Award winner Ron Chernow tells the riveting story of a man who overcame all odds to shape, inspire, and scandalize the newborn America. According to historian Joseph Ellis, Alexander Hamilton is "a robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all." Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton. Chernow's biography gives Hamilton his due and sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the political and economic greatness of today's America is the result of Hamilton's countless sacrifices to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time. "To repudiate his legacy," Chernow writes, "is, in many ways, to repudiate the modern world." Chernow here recounts Hamilton's turbulent life: an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America by storm, rising to become George Washington's aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. Historians have long told the story of America's birth as the triumph of Jefferson's democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power. His is a Hamilton far more human than we've encountered before--from his shame about his birth to his fiery aspirations, from his intimate relationships with childhood friends to his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and Burr, and from his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds to his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza. And never before has there been a more vivid account of Hamilton's famous and mysterious death in a duel with Aaron Burr in July of 1804. Chernow's biography is not just a portrait of Hamilton, but the story of America's birth seen through its most central figure. At a critical time to look back to our roots, Alexander Hamilton will remind readers of the purpose of our institutions and our heritage as Americans. Ron Chernow's new biography, Grant, will be published by Penguin Press in October 2017.
Alexander Hamilton, American by
(PRINT) What he did for George Washington in Founding Father -- a tour de force... great style and wit...a minor classic (The New York Times Book Review) -- Richard Brookhiser now does for the face on the ten dollar bill. In these pages, Alexander Hamilton sheds his skewed image as the bastard brat of a Scotch peddler, sex scandal survivor, and notoriously doomed duelist with Aaron Burr; and, at last, emerges from Jefferson's shadow to rival him as the most crucial figure of their time. Unique among the founding fathers, Hamilton was an impoverished immigrant when he first came to America at age 10. But he grasped the opportunities available and through hard work and will he rapidly rose, becoming a patriot, war hero, prominent lawyer, and author of two thirds of the Federalist papers. As Secretary of the Treasury he mapped a system of law and finance that still impacts us today. Brookhiser reveals both the passionate man and the brilliant leader, whose broad vision of the future helped shape America. With plans under way to commemorate this quintessential New Yorker and founder of the New York Evening Post, Brookhiser's portrait of our first true nationalist could not be more timely.
Alexander Hamilton by
(PRINT) #Originally published: New York : Houghton Mifflin, 1898.#Includes index.
Alexander Hamilton by
Alexander Hamilton: AmericaOCOs Forgotten Founder describes the character and achievements of a man who was instrumental in casting the form of our government and especially its strong financial structure. His financial innovations renewed the public credit when war debts threatened to swamp the fledgling economy, provided a stable currency system and established a federal revenue system. Hamilton s involvement in the foreign affairs of the new republic assured its unity, sovereignty and rapid economic growth. Born in the West Indies, Alexander Hamilton migrated to America when he was fifteen years old, at a time when Colonial America was torn by political unrest with Great Britain. He served in the Revolution as General Washington s chief aide-de-camp and as an officer in combat units. He was a persuasive presence in the Constitutional Convention and helped to lead the subsequent ratification process. Hamilton was a proponent for a strong central government, believing that its direct influence over the people would strengthen the unity of the country. As Secretary of the Treasury, he understood that a strong financial system was essential to provide credibility and economic growth to the new republic. He based his financial plan on the consolidation of the national debt and the adoption of a taxation system to service and retire that debt. He promoted the chartering of the Bank of the United States as the keystone to his financial plan. Arguably the Father of Federalism, Hamilton gave more to the structure and process of the United States government then any other single individual. His opponents, principally the Jeffersonian Republicans, argued for greater sovereignty for state governments and sought to diminish the role of wealth in structuring and operating the financial systems of the country. When it came, the Civil War vindicated Hamilton s politics over Jefferson s view of a more tenuous and tentative union. He authored the lion s share of The Federalist Papers, writings which remain an important guide to the meaning and the intended function of the Constitution today. Regrettably, the hostility of his political opponents has transcended the country s recognition of the debt owed to this man. This work introduces the general reader to some of the challenges and controversies of the early days of the Republic and highlights Hamilton s brilliant contributions to US policy and structure. Hamilton promoted a vigorous national government to create a strong and unified country out of a mixed bag of 13 sovereign states. This book was written for the broad cross-section of American readers, particularly those who, while not having an abiding interest in history, would welcome an interestingly written, brief history of Hamilton s life and the great events surrounding the founding of the nation. The book is also suited for high school and college-level students of US history. Most Americans today have little understanding of the character, the life and accomplishments of Alexander Hamilton, an extraordinary man by any account and an extraordinary American. The current work intends to make his life and accomplishments accessible to a broader public."
The Federalist Papers by
(PRINT) A DOCUMENT THAT SHAPED A NATION An authoritative analysis of the Constitution of the United States and an enduring classic of political philosophy. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers explain the complexities of a constitutional government--its political structure and principles based on the inherent rights of man. Scholars have long regarded this work as a milestone in political science and a classic of American political theory. Based on the original McLean edition of 1788 and edited by noted historian Clinton Rossiter, this special edition includes: ● Textual notes and a select bibliography by Charles R. Kesler ● Table of contents with a brief pr#65533;cis of each essay ● Appendix with a copy of the Constitution cross-referenced to The Federalist Papers ● Index of Ideas that lists the major political concepts discussed ● Copies of The Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation
The Federalist Papers by
The Federalist Papers comprise eighty-five essays written to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution of the United States in 1787-8. Written by key players in the American Revolution, they made a case for a new, united nation. They are the most important work of political thought to have come out of America. -;'A nation without a national government is an awful spectacle.'. In the winter of 1787-8 a series of eighty-five essays appeared in the New York press; the purpose of the essays was to persuade the citizens of New York State to ratify the Constitution of the United States. The three authors - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - were respectively the first Secretary of the Treasury, the fourth President, and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in American history. Each had played a crucial role in the events of the American Revolution;. together they were convinced of the need to weld thirteen disparate and newly-independent states into a union. Their essays make the case for a new and united nation, governed under a written Constitution that endures to this day. The Federalist Papers are an indispensable guide to the intentions of the founding fathers who created the United States, and a canonical text in the development of western political thought. This new edition pays full attention to the classical learning of their authors and the historical examples they deploy. -
The Essential Federalist: A New Reading of the Federalist Papers by
(PRINT) Jefferson called The Federalist 'the best commentary on the principles of government which was ever written, ' and yet the text is considered lifeless and impenetrable by all but the most persistent readers. The Essential Federalist presents a bold new approach to reading one of the most important documents in American history. By careful selection, organization, and annotation of the essays' most meaningful passages, this book showcases what is central to The Federalist. 'If the road over which you will still have to pass, ' in reading these papers, wrote Publius, 'should in some places appear to you tedious or irksome, you will recollect that you are in quest of information on a subject the most momentous which can engage the attention of free people. . . . It will be my aim to remove the obstacles to your progress in as compendious a manner as it can be done, without sacrificing utility to dispatch.' Dr. Quentin P. Taylor takes up Publius' challenge by making The Federalist an understandable and usable resource. This book will be essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the roots of American government.