Alexander Hamilton is less well-known in popular American history than he should be. Best known for being killed in a duel by vice president Aaron Burr, Hamilton's role in gaining ratification of the U.S. Constitution is overshadowed by that of James Madison. And, even though ultimately victorious in his views of federal supremacy, Hamilton's attitude toward constitutional practice in the early days of the Republic are given less credence that Jefferson's inconsistent support of the States against the center.
In any event, whether you believe Hamilton was a practitioner of the "dark arts" of enhanced federal power or, along with Washington, half of the duo that kept the original United States together as a single nation, go here for a nice chapter-length study of Hamilton from "Constitutions and the Classics: A Collection of Essays on Selected Authors." The chapter is clearly sympathetic to its subject but should give pause to those who believe that retention of something like the Articles of Confederation would have preserved individual and associational liberty better than what we've got.
In any event, whether you believe Hamilton was a practitioner of the "dark arts" of enhanced federal power or, along with Washington, half of the duo that kept the original United States together as a single nation, go here for a nice chapter-length study of Hamilton from "Constitutions and the Classics: A Collection of Essays on Selected Authors." The chapter is clearly sympathetic to its subject but should give pause to those who believe that retention of something like the Articles of Confederation would have preserved individual and associational liberty better than what we've got.
Best known (in some circles) as the founder of the Nations oldest seagoing service and Father of the United States Coast Guard. Semper Paratus!!
ReplyDeleteBest known (in some circles) as the founder of the Nation's oldest seagoing service and founder of the United States Coast Guard. Semper Paratus!
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