This week marks the 205th anniversary of the death of Alexander Hamilton resulting from his infamous duel with Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804.
Though his contributions to the nation were enormous, unfortunately Hamilton is mostly remembered today as a hot-headed and overly-ambitious politician who met an untimely death.
However, I would urge the reader to dig deeper into the situation and perhaps come to appreciate a story that is fascinating. Born poor and out-of-wedlock in the British West Indian island of Nevis in 1755 and orphaned while still a boy, Hamilton represents the greatest rags-to-riches story of all our nation's founding fathers.
His intellect and motivation for success were so prodigious that members of his community in the West Indies created a fund to allow for the young Hamilton to move to the American colonies for college. He attended Kings College in New York City (now Columbia University) before joining the Revolutionary cause.
While running his own small militia company, Hamilton soon became Washington's closest aide at just 22 years old and regularly drafted letters for Washington to secure vital financial support and supplies from the then loosely-connected congressional body. Hamilton was given his chance at a major field command for the legendary battle of Yorktown, and he emerged from the battle as a war hero.
After the war, Hamilton argued in the Federalist Papers - along with James Madison and John Jay - for a constitutional republic and strong central government to help secure American liberties. Hamilton, along with Madison, went to painstaking lengths to promote and defend the new constitution until its ultimate ratification in 1789. It is fair to say that no other American played as a great a role in the creation or ratification of that most sacred document than Hamilton and Madison.
When George Washington was inaugurated in 1789, Hamilton was quickly named as his Treasury Secretary and created the general blueprint for our financial system that has lasted to this very day. He helped create the U.S. Mint and he argued that a government should not necessarily stay debt-free at all times, since government spending is essentially an investment in the country itself. He created the first Bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve's predecessor.
His opponents were always vehemently against him, and Hamilton's fundamental disagreements with Jefferson essentially sprung forth the two-party political system in America. Jefferson argued for a mostly agrarian society with small government, minimal taxation and reluctance to engage too much commercially with foreign nations. Hamilton countered that the individual freedoms and liberties that Jefferson so eloquently wrote about could only be maintained by a strong, revenue-producing central government.
Both men were essential for the development of the nation, and perhaps their disagreement was a blessing in the big picture. Both viewpoints have been vital for America's prosperity and through the unrivaled stability of our political system, both interests will always have a voice.
So as July 11 approaches, I choose not to dwell on Hamilton's faults, or speculate about the duel with Burr that cost him his life. Alexander Hamilton provided monumental contributions to the country at a time when his prodigious talents were most needed. And that is something to remember.
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Good that you noted we are not a democracy - all too common mistake of people today (think: "I pledge allegiance,.. and the Republic, for which it stands..."). But you talk too lightly of the Federal Reserve - the Framers (especially Hamilton) warned us to never have a private bank in control of currency, and now we do. If you thought the Fed was controlled by our government, you're wrong. Look into it for yourself, there's a reason that we've been on the decline since its inception.
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So how many Wikipedia pages did you have to copy to put all of that together? Can I get a citation?
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Wow, the extent of your insults goes far - you rightly pulled Wikipedia as a possible critique, but fail to recognize that Wiki has many citations on it. FAIL.
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You'll be glad to know that there weren't any wikipedia pages used in the production of this column. A thorough reading of Ron Chernow's biography on Hamilton is a great foundation for understanding the man, and I have explored many other smaller-scale works which provide insight on his life and ideas as well. I would highly recommend the Chernow book.
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snap, he pulled out the wiki citation card! was patriot saying the federal reserve is the cause when he wrote that theres a reason weve been on the decline since its inception? now that we have it pinpointed to a single source i guess we can fix the decline.
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Thomas Jefferson > Alexander Hamilton. http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo151.html check out "Hamilton's Curse" by Thomas DiLorenzo, a well-documented biographical account that accurately portrays Hamilton and the legacy he has left this country. Patriot, Hamilton is considered the founder of the first central bank, it was Jefferson, among countless other founders, that immediately recognized the dangers of a central bank. We can only hope our next president can get "Andrew Jackson" on this current central bank and the U.S. can be free of private control of our money supply by a select few.
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...so the federal reserve is a bad thing? You are probably in the top 10% of dumbest people in the world. You have no f_cking clue about monetary policy. Alexander Hamilton rocks. You should shut your stupid mouths and try reading a textbook instead of some idiot's website.
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First, the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Nitpicking aside, the Federal Reserve is a joke in its current form. Just watch as our currency devalues internationally and our long term financial viability goes down the drain as efforts are made to shore up our existing debts and economic strife.
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The Federal Reserve has had a very positive impact overall since its creation. The Fed isn't perfect, but I doubt we could create an institution that would serve our economic security any better; it is vital that we have some type of institution that can provide order to a flow of capital which is so complex and often chaotic. Our current financial woes are not merely a product of the Fed or any other singular force, but rather a conglomeration of many other mistakes (bad loaning practices from banks, unrealistic lifestyle choices by the citizenry, a widening-gap between the rich and poor, questionable allocation of government funds, etc.). Furthermore, it is highly naive and unreasonable to ask our highest political leaders to just let the banks and the financial system collapse. It would be certain political suicide, and there isn't anything even remotely close to a precedent for how severe the consequences would be in the near future (which would make predictions about the long term future both impossible and terrifying). In the end, we have to make difficult choices where there are no easy answers or sure-things. If one feels that the FED isn't working anymore, lets try to come up with new and legitimate ideas about financial security rather than simply bashing the only system we know to be even partially adequate.
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is it the charter of the fed or the people that make the decisions in the fed that makes it a joke or great system? im pretty sure the fed doesnt do anything besides what the people in the fed tell the fed what to do. why talk about the fed rather than the people that make up the fed? the white house changes as the president changes, the fed changes as the people there change as well.
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I can't believe this ignored all of the pertinent and alarming facts about Hamilton presented in the documentary film "National Treasure" featuring Nicolas Cage. Do your research next time.
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hahaha that was pretty good. i dont read many decent zingers on CT but that was definitely one of them
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Wow, hard to believe the number of ignorant posts in here. Rather than actually look into it, people blindly support the Fed and Mike Sage even writes a book about how awesome it is. Have you not noticed the HUGE push in Congress to audit the Fed? Have you not noticed that people of every walk of life are saying it is a problem? Sage even goes on to call all the causes of the economic collapse "mistakes"? Wow... We must elect the dumbest people in the country, huh? C'mon. And you do know that NO ONE controls the Fed, right? Hamilton did the work of the devil when he started this train rolling.
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people of every walk of life are saying the Fed is a problem? Where are you hanging out where people talk about the fed? I don't think the Fed has ever come up in a conversation at any of my jobs or on the street or in a restaurant or anywhere except in a paper. I've never asked somebody what was wrong when they were feeling down and they responded with, "That damn Fed! They're ruining everything"
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