Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton–two of the most influential Founding Fathers–were also fierce rivals with two opposing political philosophies and two radically different visions for America. While Jefferson is better remembered today, it is actually Hamilton’s political legacy that has triumphed–a legacy that has subverted the Constitution and transformed the federal government into … government into the very leviathan state that our forefathers fought against in the American Revolution. How did we go from the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government to the bloated imperialist system of Hamilton’s design? Acclaimed economic historian, Thomas J. DiLorenzo reveals how Hamilton, first as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and later as the nation’s first and most influential treasury secretary, masterfully promoted an agenda of nationalist glory and interventionist economics. These core beliefs did not die with Hamilton in his fatal duel with Aaron Burr, but were carried on through his political heirs.
The Hamiltonian legacy wrested control into the hands of the federal government by inventing the myth of the Constitution’s “implied powers, transforming state governments from Jeffersonian bulwarks of liberty to beggars for federal crumbs. It also devised a national banking system that imposes boom-and-bust cycles on the American economy; saddled Americans with a massive national debt and oppressive taxation, and pushed economic policies that lined the pockets of the wealthy and created a government system built on graft, spoils, and patronage.
By debunking the Hamiltonian myths, DiLorenzo exposes an uncomfortable truth: the American people are no longer the masters of their government but its servants. Only by restoring a system based on Jeffersonian ideals can Hamilton’s curse be lifted, at last.
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This is a very good book, especially the first few chapters which truly discuss Hamilton’s view of what government should do and be, plus how those ideas were rejected by the founders. It then proceeds to point out how Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln, with the “American System” brought Hamilton’s Mercantilist views back into the American mainstream, and how since the Civil War, the United States government has steadily pursued the Hamilton view rather than that of Jefferson. In those sections, DiLorenzo gets a bit excited and repeats himself often. The final chapter, about how to change it, is a flaw I see a lot of people who write history doing. You’ve made your point, let it speak for itself.
Enjoyed how It Brought History To Life, After
Having Had The Opportunity To See “Hamilton “ The Play.
Good historical perspective
The author clearly has a “point of view” in this bio of Hamilton. Too wordy, too many repetitive examples, and unbalanced approach
A political diatribe against Hamilton. Not particularly interesting or enlightening.
This description of Hamilton’s influence goes a long way to explain the current and recent problems our country faces. His ideology and practices were undemocratic and tyrrannical, but he disguised it with the words of Jefferson who stood for opposite ideals a ploy that still fools most people today.
Very repetitive. You get the idea from the intro and it is not much more after that….other then details….
It places a lot of blame for many things on one man, not necessarily appropriate, but definitely Hamilton was a source of many attacks on the US Constitution and its original intents.
Aptly named book about the formative years and the opposing ideologies that produced the USA of today.
I had no idea that Hamilton infected this country so much while he was near power. We still need to move back toward Jefferson’s view of the world.
Cheers,
Dick
This book is a must-read for those who want to know more about one of America’s most important voices. Alexander Hamilton’s ideas have become the basis of modern American government. His popularity and importance are at a zenith today with many more people learning about him through popular entertainment, but if you want to understand Hamiltion’s true impact, this book is a tremendous place to start. Understanding how Hamilton’s ideas have been preserved and promoted to the present are critical to understanding how his policies continue to threaten the republic he helped found.
It’s great to get real history instead of the propaganda we get in school and from the history books and the media
This should be mandatory reading for all US Citizens.
Some parts were very interesting but a lot of it was pretty boring and repetitive.
Good summary of early American finance and polics
The author has not even tried to be objective. Judgmental adjectives are used in his description of everyone mentioned so one cannot trust that his conclusions were not predetermined before he set out to explore Hamilton’s life. Nor has he made much of an attempt to place the Jefferson/Hamilton controversies in any sort of historical context. Instead they are dragged into the middle of the current political arguments and required to serve the author’s belief system.
I didn’t know we had a bloated imperialist system. I am being sarcastic, btw.
“Don’t want”
This is a very good book, especially the first few chapters which truly discuss Hamilton’s view of what government should do and be, plus how those ideas were rejected by the founders. It then proceeds to point out how Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln, with the “American System” brought Hamilton’s Mercantilist views back into the American mainstream, and how since the Civil War, the United States government has steadily pursued the Hamilton view rather than that of Jefferson. In those sections, DiLorenzo gets a bit excited and repeats himself often. The final chapter, about how to change it, is a flaw I see a lot of people who write history doing. You’ve made your point, let it speak for itself.
Enjoyed how It Brought History To Life, After
Having Had The Opportunity To See “Hamilton “ The Play.
Good historical perspective