Washington and Hamilton – The Alliance That Formed America

Townhall.com ^ | May 15, 2016 | Christoper N, Malagisi

[Kaslin]

In a gripping new look at the important relationship between American founders George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, Stephen F. Knott and Tony Williams – authors of the new book Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Formed America, tell the story below of the American founding, which would not have been possible without this grand alliance.  While many historians focus on the friendship and alliance of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Washington and Hamilton reminds us why America would truly not be the prosperous country it is today without this special alliance.

Congratulations Stephen & Tony on the paperback release of your new book: Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America!  Can you give us an overview of the book?

Washington and Hamilton recounts the dramatic story of the most important and fruitful partnership of the American founding. It explores this indispensable relationship in terms of winning the Revolutionary War, creating and ratifying the Constitution, breathing life into the new government, and establishing “a new order of the ages.”

We argue throughout our book that without Washington and Hamilton, the “American experiment” would have failed.

What was your inspiration in writing it?

We were working on the topic independently and decided to combine forces and co-author the book. We were both struck by how central Washington and Hamilton were to the creation of the United States and yet no one had ever written a book about this critical collaboration.  It was a glaring omission in the study of the American founding.

 

What three takeaways would you like readers to leave with after reading your book?

1. That the unlikely partnership between Washington and Hamilton, not Jefferson and Madison, or Jefferson and John Adams, was the indispensable relationship of the American founding.

1. That these two men, more than any other, taught their fellow citizens to think of themselves as Americans.

1. That these two men built the foundation that launched the United States on the path to becoming a military and economic superpower, while at the same time serving as a bastion of liberty.

 

You discuss in your book the rival nature between Washington/Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson/James Madison.  Why did this fissure form between them?

The consensus among the leaders of the American Revolution about the principles of liberty and self-government broke down during the political debates of the 1790s.

Jefferson and eventually Madison believed that Hamilton was a monarchist and Washington was his dupe. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Washington and Hamilton wanted to breathe life into the Constitution by governing according to its dictates and the rule of law.  They established precedents for a presidency with necessary energy and vigor, and created a strong economy that allowed the nation to defend itself in a world dominated by European imperial powers.

 

Alexander Hamilton has a very unique story that was popularized recently with the Broadway musical, Hamilton.  How did he rise from his humbling beginnings to the influential figure he became?

Hamilton is one of the greatest immigrant success stories in American history. He rose from extremely humble origins through disciplined hard work, native genius, and a great ambition to serve the republic.

Born a poor orphan in the Caribbean, he went on to serve at the highest levels of Washington’s staff, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, became the driving force behind The Federalist Papers, and served as the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury. He was at Washington’s side for over two decades of public service, acting as his most trusted advisor.

 

What is George Washington and Alexander Hamilton’s great legacy?

The unparalleled achievements of this fruitful relationship included winning the Revolutionary War against the greatest military power in the world, creating and ratifying a Constitution that has served as a model for the world, and designing institutions that allowed Americans to thrive and pursue their own happiness in a free society.

 

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

“the Confederation United States would have soon dissolved with nothing ^{civil war} to replace it. “

Not entirely a bad thing in my mind.

It was only too possible for neighboring states, each with vague/grandiose definitions of their own extents, to default into military conflict. Of course, that happened anyway, in 1861 - but had it happened in 1800 the British would have picked up the pieces.

[Jacquerie]

I’ve given up responding to the Hamilton Haters. Let ‘em wallow in ignorance.

States joined the Confederation to deal with war. With peace, there was no reason to continue with the charade. The AC wasn’t government, and by 1787 enough adults recognized the need for government to secure the foundational maxims of the revolution.

[Pelham]

” and without French support, we would have been destroyed by Britian.”

We probably owe our victory at Yorktown to Admiral François Joseph Paul De Grasse’s 3,000 French Marines, and even more importantly to his ships driving off the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake Capes.

Of course I like to think that the turning point of the war was the militia action called the Battle of Williamson’s Plantation, where my Carroll ancestor dispatched Christian Huck, the commander of the Tory troops. Of the 115 Loyalists present 24 survived the Patriot slaughter. This was a harbinger of what was to come at King’s Mountain and Cowpens.

[mrsmith]

Bull.
Madison was the heart and linchpin of the Founding.

Hamilton made a great contribution, but not comparable.

[Pelham]

” However, there must be some legitimate controversy over Hamilton’s embrace of big government and big banks, or else otherwise reasonable folks like the Mises Institute would not write about it. “

Libertarians have their own biases and exaggerate what “big government” amounted to in 1789. Moreover there were maybe three banks in all of the United States when Hamilton became Secretary of the Treasury.

If you want to read a decent book on Alexander Hamilton get a copy of Forrest McDonald’s biography. McDonald began with a bias against Hamilton when he began researching his book but ended up regarding him as an indispensable genius without whom the nascent United States would have failed.

Hamilton’s financial genius converted the crushing debt and near worthless currency inherited from the Articles government into a valuable asset in the form of a funded public debt and a currency that was valued equal to gold. This was no small feat and the American gov’t would have collapsed if he hadn’t managed to do it.

[LS]

Actually, Ron Chernow’s bio is better. He does show Hamilton’s faults, but he did more work in Hamilton’s papers than anyone.

[Pharmboy]

Beautifully stated. “The bastard son of a Scottish peddlar” (the way Adams and others referred to him) was always the smartest guy in the room (yes—even when Jefferson was there). He was battlefield-brave beyond what might be expected of even the courageous; his centralized government power was that of 18th century newborn America, and should not be confused with the big government monstrosities of the 20th century and present time.

Jefferson was a Democrat; Hamilton was a conservative as translated into the present.

[Jacquerie]

John Adams, Patrick Henry and the Anti-Federalists could easily, and without criticism, extol the virtues of monarchy.

Alexander Hamilton could not.

[Pelham]

thanks-