Ron Chernow - Alexander Hamilton

To give someone the moniker I chose as the title of this review, one can be sure that Alexander Hamilton was an anomaly. In the early days of the American nation, politics was considered something of a dirty word. With his shrewd political maneuvering, Hamilton changed the way the American political system worked, though some might say not for the better.

Hamilton was born outside the country in the Caribbean island nation of Nevis. His family was desperately poor, and he learned at a young age to fend for himself. As he grew to be a teenager he discovered a talent for writing and a capacity for work that seemed limitless. He caught a break through a calamity, a storm on Nevis destroyed much of the island. His eloquent and compassionate description of those events caught the attention of some American benefactors who paid his way to get to the United States. He managed to catch the eye of General George Washington and soon moved his way up through the military ranks. His foreign background, however, was a continuing source of embarrassment for him and he always tried to cover up the uncertainty of his legitimacy.

Hamilton married into a very wealthy family. His father-in-law was Phillip Schuyler whose holdings were so vast that his former estate now comprises several upstate New York towns. This only assisted his rise to prominence both in the military and in the echelons of government. He was a self-taught financial genius, who devoured many of the prominent financial texts of the day. This is how he became the first Secretary of the Treasury and why he is depicted on our currency. His vocation was the law, whose practice he managed to keep going even during his government service. He needed to continue to practice as he was not from a wealthy background like his fellow government officeholders and he had 8 children to support.

Like many soldiers who had suffered the hardships of an inadequately supplied Continental Army, he understood the necessity of a strong federal government. The Army could not get funded federally under the rules of the day and had to rely on State governments for money that were often quite reluctant to part with the necessary resources to keep a standing army going. Those who supported a strong federal government at the time were generally called monarchists, which defies logic considering these same people fought in the war against monarchy. The power of the federal government put him at continual odds with Thomas Jefferson and was the source of many of their political battles which were fought in newspapers that each of them financially supported.

Aside from his political battles, another primary focus of this book is the sex scandal Hamilton found himself in. Despite his remarkable financial acumen and incredibly sharp mind, his dalliance with Maria Cosway caused him embarrassment that was only ended by his untimely death. Cosway, despite indications in her writing that she was not the brightest bulb on the tree, managed to dupe Hamilton into believing that she was a damsel in distress in need of his help. He then became embroiled in an affair with her which was most likely a transparent blackmail scheme that Hamilton inexplicably could not see coming.

Analysis

This book is a project to get through. It is over 700 pages in hardcover without the notes section. The reader might be put off by the level of detail, especially in the minute descriptions of the financial issues of the time. Author Ron Chernow tries to get inside the head of his subject with his exhaustive research. Hamilton's downfall seemed to be his pride which often interfered with his better judgement and, despite the Cosway affair, an inflated sense of morality that found him incredulous that anyone could ascribe anything but the purest of motives to his actions. His illegitimate foreign birth was always a sore spot for him that critics used to hurt him on frequent occasions. I found myself sad the book had to end, especially in the pointless way in which Hamilton met his end.

It is a shame that Hamilton's weaknesses obscured his enormous capacity for work and his desire to help his adopted country achieve, and preserve, its independence. Any reader of this book may come away with the idea that Hamilton was the finest statesman of the time and most responsible for the system of government we still enjoy today.