Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2004 Issue
Alexander Hamilton: American History in the Making
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To those who favor a strong Federal government you are indebted to Hamilton for weaving together the complex tapestry that today underpins the very concept of strong central government. We know today that politicians who advocate higher taxes are rarely elected so it is possible to appreciate the extraordinary skills of a Hamilton to create such a system under the watchful eyes of the states, most of whom strongly opposed any taxes. That he accomplished this is full justification for his place on the saw buck and a full confirmation of the empty headedness of the elected morons who now casually call for replacing his image with that of the President who will in time come to be best remembered as the great enemy of strong central government: Ronald Reagan. Give the voters, if not the people, what they want. That Hamilton could create a complex mechanism that made the states dependent on the central government and therefore unable to walk away from federal support was the essential element that in time bound the states together. That he did this slight of hand in plain site is all the more remarkable. That Washington chose him for this impossible task in the expectation Hamilton would accomplish it suggests that Washington was more than an able general and amiable first President.
For later generations the challenge would be to periodically accept change. America prefers stability, only periodically tolerating revision. To Hamilton it fell to create a substantial portion of the government system that we today take for granted and for that we should be grateful.
Most people do not however dwell on these accomplishments. Rather they are focused on how he died. Even before television turned every day into a docudrama of senseless killing America's fascination with death was well established. Do a keyword search in the AED for murder and you'll find these references peak in the 1841-1860 period. Mayhem was selling newspapers, books and pamphlets long before it sold a television commercial. Hamilton died in a duel with Aaron Burr thus pinning his winged pupa with the other immortal butterflies of American history on the bulletin board of historical life. Unfortunately for him, some legislators' view of history is over-night ratings.
Hamilton wasn't perfect but he was brilliant. So is this book.
Alexander Hamilton
By Ron Chernow
The Penguin Press, New York 2004
Available online and at bookstores around the world.
