In The Reynolds Pamphlet, Hamilton had exposed only his own folly. In the Adams pamphlet, he displayed both his own errant judgment and Adams’s instability.
In the next poem, Hamilton has suddenly metamorphosed into a jaded rake, who begins with a shocking, Swiftian opening line: 'Celia's an artful little slut.
In the felicitous words of one early Burr biographer, The Clintons had power, the Livingstons had numbers, and the Schuylers had Hamilton.61
In the felicitous words of one early Burr biographer, The Clintons had power, the Livingstons had numbers, and the Schuylers had Hamilton.
In closing, Washington referred to the character of Jesus, the Divine author of our blessed religion.32
If the party elected Burr, it would be exposed to the disgrace of a defeat in an attempt to elevate to the first place in the government one of the worst men in the community.14 Hamilton had never spo...
How to remedy this want of confidence? Hamilton submitted a twelve-point program, a fully realized vision of a financial system that reflected sustained thinking. Congress should create a central bank...
Historians have been quick to pounce on the blind spots in Grant’s report. Less noticed is that he almost immediately recanted what he wrote. As early as January 12, 1866, Carl Schurz informed his wif...
His subordinates remembered him as tough but fair-minded. Years later, one of them retained Hamilton as a lawyer, even though he had become a vocal political enemy. When Hamilton questioned the wisdom...
He was especially intent that the federal judiciary check any legislative abuses. In number 78, Hamilton introduced an essential concept, never made explicit in the Constitution: that the Supreme Cour...
He sometimes represented poor people in criminal cases on a pro bono basis or was paid with just a barrel of ham.
He saw that inflation had originated with wartime shortages, which had led, in turn, to the waning value of money. Over time, the inflation had acquired a self-reinforcing momentum. Economic fundament...
He made a cryptic statement to Hewitt that entered into Rockefeller folklore: I have ways of making money you know nothing about.
He favored granting Congress supreme power in war, peace, trade, finance, and foreign affairs.
He downplayed the significance of technical knowledge in business. I never felt the need of scientific knowledge, have never felt it. A young man who wants to succeed in business does not require chem...
He also saw human nature as insatiably curious and reserved his highest praise for minds that created schemes or systems of truth.11
Hamilton’s relatively short life robbed him not only of any chance for further accomplishment but of the opportunity to mold his historical image.
Hamilton was not the master builder of the Constitution: the laurels surely go to James Madison. He was, however, its foremost interpreter, starting with The Federalist and continuing with his Treasur...
Hamilton seemed to spark controversy at every turn. At the time of his July Fourth oration, New York still had not selected its first two senators. Under the Constitution, this decision fell to state...
Hamilton said, he would follow the classic path of a populist demagogue: I would mount the hobbyhorse of popularity, I would cry out usurpation, danger