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By Michael P. Federici
John Hopkins University Press
Retail Price: $24.95
Amazon Price: $18.95
Book Description:
America’s first treasury secretary and one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers,
Alexander Hamilton stands as one of the nation’s important early
statesmen. Michael P. Federici places this Founding Father among the
country’s original political philosophers as well.
Hamilton remains something of an
enigma. Conservatives and liberals both claim him, and in his writings
one can find material to support the positions of either camp. Taking a
balanced and objective approach, Federici sorts through the written and
historical record to reveal Hamilton’s philosophy as the synthetic
product of a well-read and pragmatic figure whose intellectual genealogy
drew on Classical thinkers such as Cicero and Plutarch, Christian
theologians, and Enlightenment philosophers, including Hume and
Montesquieu. In evaluating the thought of this republican and would-be
empire builder, Federici explains that the apparent contradictions found
in the Federalist Papers and
other examples of Hamilton’s writings reflect both his practical
engagement with debates over the French Revolution, capital expansion,
commercialism, and other large issues of his time, and his search for a
balance between central authority and federalism in the embryonic
American government. This book challenges the view of Hamilton as a
monarchist and shows him instead to be a strong advocate of American
constitutionalism.
Devoted to the whole of
Hamilton’s political writing, this accessible and teachable analysis
makes clear the enormous influence Hamilton had on the development of
American political and economic institutions and policies.
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Reading Room Review
This is a compelling read not only about the life of Alexander Hamilton but also about his thoughts and political philosophies. Though it is not commonly known, he was thought to be the most influential of all the Founding Fathers and without him the constitution likely would not have survived. Unknown to many was his deep involvement in the Revolutionary War as a soldier of incredible courage and influence. He was the closest confidant of George Washington and influenced his Presidency as well as much of the tactics of the war. Nearly every page if this book suggests direct parallels to today's politics. If anyone thought that reading history was dull or difficult, they need to read this book.
