Source Alexander
Source Alexander Where can I find a good primary source for an essay about Alexander Hamilton? A primary source, such as an essay written by him perhaps. Also if you know any good secondary sources ...
Source Alexander
Where can I find a good primary source for an essay about Alexander Hamilton?
A primary source, such as an essay written by him perhaps.
Also if you know any good secondary sources that would be nice too.
Hamilton was a complex person who wrote many thousands of papers; He wrote many of the Federalist Papers, which give insight into his way of reasoning. Also his quotes, (site below.) As for one particualr primary source essay, that would be subjective to the writer’s position, For example, John Adams wrote very negatively about Hamilton, as did Jefferson. That is because they disagreed politically, and lacked his far-sightedness with regard to building an economically sound country.Yet Washington held him in the highest regard. (I suspect they were also a little jealous of the fact that Washington gave him a lot of lattitude as Treasury Secretary.He operated more like prime minister.) Suffice it to say that Washington was a better judge of character than Adams or Jefferson when it came to Hamilton. My point is that unless it is something Hamilton himself wrote, you are reading someone’s subjective opinion of him. You will only get an acurate picture of Hamilton through his own writings.
After much reading, I have learned that Hamilton was brilliant in his understanding of economics and the importance of an industrial nation by the time he was 14. The best book you will find on Hamilton is by Ron Chernow. Unless you know of Hamilton’s childhood, you cannot fully understand his position on national banking, the military, assumption,etc.
Alexander was a poor, illegitimate orphan from the West Indies. His father left the family when he was 9; his mother died when he was 11. At about 12 he got a job at an international shipping company on St. Croix. When he was 14, the owner took ill and had to return to England. He left the entire operation of the business in young Alex’s hands. Alexander had to know the exchange rates of several currencies, (including the 13 different colonial currencies,) French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.; inflation and deflation rates. He understood supply and demand. He charted courses, kept inventory, inspected cargoes and classified the slaves coming in off of ships. (He hated slavery and in adult life was a leading abolitionist, belonging to the Manumission Society.) At 14 he understood the importance of money and internatinal credit. He literally had a genius mentality.
As Washington’s Aide de camp during the Revolutionary War, he constantly wrote to COngresss asjking for money for the necessities of the aarmy. He was frustrated by the lack of power of Congres;the the army could not be fed, clothed or paid because Congress lacked the power to tax, and each state was indifferent to the needs of the Army. That explains in part why Hamilton understood the need for a strong central government, and was a Federalist. It is why he worked so hard to write the Federalist Papers, to insure the ratification of the Constitution, providing a strong central government.
One of his famous quotes about government is:
“Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of man will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
As a soldier, Aide-de-Camp, lawyer and Treasury Secretary, Hamilton was of the highest caliber, and character.
He is buried at Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan with appropriate
the epitaph:
“The patriot of incorruptible integrity, the soldier of approved valour, the statesman of consummate wisdom, whose talents and virtue will be admired by grateful posterity long after this marble shall have moldered into dust.”
For Hamilton quotes see:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alexander_hamilton.html
Hamilton – comprehensive info: http://www.answers.com/topic/alexander-hamilton#
http://pages.towson.edu/egger/AH_Economist_200605011516a.pdf
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/910687.html
Comic Books And Graphic Novels Taking Over Hollywood
When you think of the movies of today what is one area of source material that you would say is dominating themes of Hollywood movies lately? I will give you a minute to think about some of the bigger block buster movies of the last year. If you thought about comic books and graphic novels than you know what I am talking about. Seems like every time you do a little search of what the latest rumors are about movies that Hollywood studios are looking to make. More often than not the original source material for the idea behind that movie is a comic book or a graphic novel.
Lately it feels like the people in Hollywood land have run out of original ideas and there is some sort of comic book element or graphic novel story line weaved into the movie. Don’t get me wrong here I loved the recent crop of movies that we have seen lately. Batman, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and now the Watchmen have all been great films to watch and for the most part have given big props and stayed closer to the original source materials then in movies past. All I will say about that is the Fantastic Four movies, there was so much potential there and it all just went so terribly wrong.
Oh well they can’t all be winners though enough about that. On to more positive comic books in the movie news. The latest rumors on the new Thor Movie that is being directed by Kenneth Branagh is that he hay have the right actor to step into the role of Thor. Word has it that Alexander Skarsgard who is best known right now for his work on the HBO shows Generation Kill and True Blood is a leading candidate. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they get this movie done right. Like it or not the Hollywood studios seem to be enamored with comic books and graphic novels right now.
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