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On the morning of October 19, 1781, General Charles Cornwallis was ashamed of himself. Equestrian Washington The prior week had begun with General Cornwallis finding himself – along with his 8000 British, Loyalist American, and Hessian troops – hemmed in at Yorktown. He had consciously settled in there that spring, erecting fortifications, seemingly declaring the site permanently “British-held ground.” But gradually, things went against him. The American Commander in Chief, General George Washington, and French General Rochambeau moved in with their American and French troops… The great British Navy under Admiral Thomas Graves was unable to offer support, as French...

The Framers structured the Constitution to lead the new Republic to the ultimate end of slavery but were unable to set a time frame for its abolition. The story comes to us from James Madison’s classic Notes of the Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787.The discussion on slavery at the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 centered on two issues: 1. how to count the slaves in the apportionment of members in the popularly elected House of Representatives and; 2) setting an end date for the slave trade.Three distinct groups clashed on the assignment of House...

In the American imagination, the founding era shimmers as the golden age of political discourse, a time when philosopher-kings strode the public stage, dispensing wisdom with gentle civility. We prefer to believe that these courtly figures, with their powdered hair and buckled shoes, showed impeccable manners in their political dealings. The appeal of this image seems obvious at a time when many Americans lament the partisan venom and character assassination that have permeated the political process. Unfortunately, this anodyne image of the early republic can be quite misleading. However hard it may be to picture the founders resorting to rough-and-tumble...

In words that ring true today, Hamilton’s first Federalist explained the situation that faced America. The young country was at a crossroads; its very existence was in the balance. The nation was to decide whether society can establish good government through thought and choice, or whether people are forever destined to be ruled by accident and violence. The answer depended on the nation’s response to the crisis. The wrong decision deserved to be considered a misfortune for all of mankind. Then as now, Americans have a choice. Shall we succumb to the course of current events and continue our slide...

Rather than being an 'enslaver,' Hamilton opposed slavery, advocated for manumission, and supported enslaved and freed blacks to the extent that his limited means allowed.The New York Times has done it again. On the heels of its infamous 1619 Project, a “culture reporter” at the so-called newspaper of record writes that Alexander Hamilton “bought, sold and personally owned slaves” and was an “enslaver.”Historians and biographers have debated the status of Hamilton as a slaveowner for decades, but a new essay titled “As Odious and Immoral a Thing: Alexander Hamilton’s Hidden History as an Enslaver,” written by Jessie Serfilippi, a historical...

He intentionally fired into the air, but his political rival, the sitting Vice-President Aaron Burr, took deadly aim and fatally shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel JULY 11, 1804. Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies on the Island of Nevis, either in the year 1755 or 1757, and grew up on the Island of St. Croix. Just a few years earlier, in 1751, 19-year-old George Washington had accompanied his older half-brother Lawrence on a trip to the not too distant Island of Barbados. Since Alexander Hamilton's parents were not legally married, he was not permitted to attend...

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, And a Scotsman, Dropped in the middle of a forgotten Spot in the Caribbean, By Providence, impoverished, in squalor Grow up to be a hero and a scholar? The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father, Got a lot farther by working a lot harder, By being a lot smarter, By being a self-starter, By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter. And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up. Inside, he was longing for something...

Calls have been made to 'cancel Hamilton' just days after the Broadway musical's streaming debut on Disney+, after a renewed focus on it's lead character, Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The show, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, portrays Hamilton as a 'young, scrappy, and hungry' immigrant and someone who was passionate about the abolition of slavery. However, in light of recent Black Lives Matter protests, the story has now come under greater scrutiny - with some pointing out that Hamilton was a slave trader.

This Fourth of July weekend, which finds much of America reeling from a rocky first half of 2020, the mainstream and social media hype can be summed up in three words: "Hamilton" is back. The play has won 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for drama, and, according to Forbes, has generated over $1 billion in income from Broadway/London/United States tour ticket sales, publishing, cast recording and merchandising. A filmed version was released on the Disney+ streaming service on Friday.

...Reflections on the anniversary of the closure of King’s College and the flight of its dean… On May 10, 1775, Dr. Myles Cooper was on top of the world. As President of King’s College in New York City for the previous dozen years, he was in the inner circle of British leadership in New York, responsible for the education of many of the finest students in the Americas, spokesman for loyalist thought in an age of rebellion. But by the morning of May 11, driven out of the college in the dead of night by an angry mob, he was...

Autarky, for those unfamiliar, was an economic and industrial policy of self-reliance wherein a nation need not rely on international trade for its economic survival. This is not to say that said nation rejected international trade or isolated itself from the global economic order, rather that it merely could survive on its own if necessary. Though it has a long history, the concept of autarky saw a flourishing in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. In the early days of the American republic, Alexander Hamilton advocated for a limited measure of autarky. Hamiltonian autarky—or industrial self-reliance—aimed to protect weak American...

Using the framework of the U.S. Constitution, Alexander Hamilton was instrumental in inventing the America that we live in today. With that liberty providing guidance, he fashioned the nascent American economy and its multifaceted engines from Wall St. to Main St. that interacted with the world of international trade and finance beyond. George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury’s singular legacy in the realms of the banking system, taxes, tariffs and trade treaties is beyond doubt. Today, the White House is occupied by a president who seems to be in tune with Hamilton’s vision of economic nationalism. In a never-ending series...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Alexander Hamilton. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Alexander Hamilton was one of America's Founding Fathers. He had several vociferous and combative arguments in favor of a strong, federally-controlled government, but understood the implications of too much power vested in too few people. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in...

He intentionally fired into the air, but his political rival, the sitting Vice-President Aaron Burr, took deadly aim and fatally shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel JULY 11, 1804. Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies on the Island of Nevis, either in the year 1755 or 1757, and grew up on the Island of St. Croix. Just a few years earlier, in 1751, 19-year-old George Washington had accompanied his older half-brother Lawrence on a trip to the not too distant Island of Barbados. Since Alexander Hamilton's parents were not legally married, he was not permitted to attend...

But Dixon was guilty of a very bizarre comment himself involving St. Patrick's Day. The tweet from 2012 sprang back into prominence on Sunday because of the "Hamilton" furor with many commentators claiming it refers to blacks raping drunken girls on St. Patrick’s Day.

“There is a natural inclination in mankind,” wrote Benjamin Franklin, “to Kingly government.” He wasn’t alone. Convention delegate Hugh Williamson (NC), thought “it was pretty certain . . . that we should at some time or other have a King,” but he wished to postpone the event as long as possible. James Madison and George Washington made similar observations. Even John Adams in his Defense of the Constitutions of the United States of America predicted a future government “nearer (in) resemblance (to) the British constitution,” including a hereditary king and senate.1 Among the delaying features of our pre-17th Amendment Constitution...

“If we are to be considered as a nation, all State distinctions must be abolished; the whole must be thrown into a hotchpot and when an equal division is made, then there may be fairly an equality of representation.” – New Jersey delegate William Paterson. Today’s squib reviews the last few days of the Federal Convention leading up to Alexander Hamilton’s June 18th speech. In Part V we’ll find that, considering the previous exchanges among delegates, Hamilton was far from alone in his disdain of the States. What he shared with them was the search for a governing design adequate...

Subtitle: The Federal Convention June 1st – June 6th. “I do not see the danger of the states being devoured by the national government. On the contrary, I wish to keep them from devouring the national government” – James Wilson (PA) In this and the next squib I’ll examine the Convention debates with an eye out for proposals and ideas that strike us today as less than supportive of republican, limited government. We’ll find, probably in Part V, that Alexander Hamilton’s June 18th sketch of another framework of government was not as radical in comparison as his modern detractors believe....

On this day in 1787, “Publius” publishes an essay defending the Constitution in several New York newspapers. Publius?! Publius who? Most modern Americans have never heard of him. How unfortunate. The collection of works written by Publius was critical to the establishment of our Constitution. We’ve been living with our Constitution for so long that it can be easy to forget what things were like before. Perhaps you know that the Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. But do you know what happened afterwards? Criticism began popping up almost immediately! Anonymous authors railed against the proposal...

On Saturday July 7th 1787, Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania asked the Federal Convention, “What if all the Charters & Constitutions of the States were thrown into the fire, and all their demagogues into the ocean. What would it be to the happiness of America?” Such was the widespread contempt of the conduct of the states after only six years of the Articles of Confederation (Articles). Morris encountered no push-back, no scorn in return from his fellow delegates. This squib is in response to some of the Hamilton-Haters I’ve come across over the years, those who variously accuse Hamilton of advocating...