The Revolutionary Writings of Alexander Hamilton (Electronic book text)

As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Hamiltonoccupies an eccentric, even flamboyant, position compared withWashington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, and Marshall.Hamilton s genius, forged during his service in the Continental Army inthe Revolution, brought him not only admiration but also suspicion. Asthe country he helped to found grew and changed, so did his thinking.
Consistency with earlier positions was never a hallmark of Hamilton sthought, which changed as the country changed from thirteen breakawayBritish colonies to a single independent nation. Alexander Hamilton sthought has, for over two hundred years, been noted for its deviationsfrom American revolutionary Whig orthodoxy. From a conventional Whigat the beginning of his career, Hamilton developed a Federalist viewpointthat liberty depended above all on the creation of a powerful centralgovernment.
In this collection, we find the seeds of this development, asHamilton s early optimistic confidence in the triumph of American Whigprinciples begins to give way, under the influence of his experienceduring the Revolution, to his mature Federalism. Hamilton s politicalphilosophy reflected his vision of the central government as the protectorof individual liberties, in sharp contrast to the popular democraticsentiments of his archrival Jefferson.
This comprehensive collection of his early writings, from the periodbefore and during the Revolutionary War, provides a fuller understandingof the development of his thinking.
Hamilton wrote to persuade, and he had the ability to clarify thecomplex issues of his time without oversimplifying them. From the basiccore values established in his earlier writings to the more assertive vision ofgovernment in his mature work, we see how Hamilton s thought respondedto the emerging nation and how the nation was shaped by his ideas.
Alexander Hamilton (1755 1804) was a trusted military aide and secretaryto General George Washington during the American Revolution andwas later appointed inspector general of the army, with the rank of majorgeneral. He was an attorney and politician, a member of the ContinentalCongress in the 1780s, and a representative of New York at the AnnapolisConvention and the Constitutional Convention. He supported the newConstitution in "The Federalist," with Madison and Jay. As the first U.S.Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was an advocate of sound public credit, development of natural resources and trade, and establishment of the firstnational Bank of the United States. The opposition to his policies led to thefactional divisions from which developed the system of political parties.
Richard B. Vernier is an Adjunct Professor ofAmerican History at Purdue University at Calumet and aspecialist in the field of Anglo-American ideasof political economy. He obtained his doctorate from St. Catherine's College, Oxford.
Joyce Appleby is Professor Emerita of History at UCLA. She obtained her doctorate from Claremont University."