Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: beast quote, Alexander Hamilton, United States, Thomas Jefferson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Knott has done for Alexander Hamilton what Merrill Peterson did for Thomas Jefferson, and in the process he has made clear, as never before, the contours of American political history. No one interested in our national trajectory or in the current prospect can afford to ignore this fine book." PAUL A. RAHE, AUTHOR OF REPUBLICS ANCIENT AND MODERN "Tracks the ups and downs of Hamilton on the stock market of historical reputation. Its appearance now is a welcome sign that a low-selling blue chip is recovering its true value." RICHARD BROOKHISER, AUTHOR OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON, AMERICAN "Fascinating and illuminating." JOHN STEELE GORDON, AUTHOR OF HAMILTON'S BLESSING "An exceptional book - sweeping in scope, engagingly written, and highly informative." RICHARD K. MATTHEWS, AUTHOR OF IF MEN WERE ANGELS

Product Description

Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth explores the shifting reputation of our most controversial founding father. Since the day Aaron Burr fired his fatal shot, Americans have tried to come to grips with Alexander Hamilton's legacy. Stephen Knott surveys the Hamilton image in the minds of American statesmen, scholars, literary figures, and the media, explaining why Americans are content to live in a Hamiltonian nation but reluctant to embrace the man himself.

Knott observes that Thomas Jefferson and his followers, and, later, Andrew Jackson and his adherents, tended to view Hamilton and his principles as "un- American." While his policies generated mistrust in the South and the West, where he is still seen as the founding "plutocrat," Hamilton was revered in New England and parts of the Mid-Atlantic states. Hamilton's image as a champion of American nationalism caused his reputation to soar during the Civil War, at least in the North. However, in the wake of Gilded Age excesses, progressive and populist political leaders branded Hamilton as the patron saint of Wall Street, and his reputation began to disintegrate.

Hamilton's status reached its nadir during the New Deal, Knott argues, when Franklin Roosevelt portrayed him as the personification of Dickensian cold- heartedness. When FDR erected the beautiful Tidal Basin monument to Thomas Jefferson and thereby elevated the Sage of Monticello into the American Pantheon, Hamilton, as Jefferson's nemesis, fell into disrepute. He came to epitomize the forces of reaction contemptuous of the "great beast"--the American people. In showing how the prevailing negative assessment misrepresents the man and his deeds, Knott argues for reconsideration of Hamiltonianism, which, rightly understood, has much to offer the American polity of the twenty-first century.

Remarkably, at the dawn of the new millennium, the nation began to see Hamilton in a different light. Hamilton's story was now the embodiment of the American dream--an impoverished immigrant who came to the United States and laid the economic and political foundation that paved the way for America's superpower status. Here in Stephen Knott's insightful study, Hamilton finally gets his due as a highly contested but powerful and positive presence in American national life.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700611576
• ISBN-13: 978-0700611577
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,457,892 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #41 in

  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( H ) > Hamilton, Alexander

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Different Approach to Alexander Hamilton, December 11, 2005

By	JMK "JMK I" (California) - See all my reviews

When one looks at American political history, we tend to analyze the issues at the surface without realizing the ideology that influenced policies over the last 200 years. Stephen Knott developed a unique method at extracting the driving force behind American history. His thesis is that Alexander Hamilton was so influential in the development of the American government and economic system that his ideology has loomed in the background of every major period in U.S. history.

Mr. Knott provides research on historians, authors, and politicians of the last 200 years who have provided favorable and/or critical analysis of Hamilton's influence on American government and policy. What Knott was successful in proving was the point that Hamilton has had an effect, for better or for worse, on nearly every presidential administration. He also demonstrated how these administrations tended to attribute their policies to either Hamilton or Thomas Jefferson. The rivalry that began while both worked in George Washington's administration has continued to this day.

While unique and informative, this particular book on Hamilton does have one major drawback. Knott eventually shows his admiration for Hamilton. However, although he wisely references the negative material against Hamilton made by politicians and historians over the years, he tends to dwell on one particular comment that has not even been completely proven: the supposed quote that was used to show Hamilton's preference for a monarchy when he called the general public 'the beast'. Knott concludes his book by saying that most of the negative comments made towards Hamilton are not warranted, especially that particular quote. He does not help his own position with his constant referral to that quote throughout his book. He uses it so often, it tends to become distracting and it takes away from the other good material he has provided.

This is not a biography on Hamilton. Therefore, before purchasing this book, it is recommended that a biography on Hamilton be read first. Knott assumes the reader already knows some of Hamilton's accomplishments, milestones, and thoughts on government. Recommended biographies on Hamilton would be the books by Ron Chernow or Forrest McDonald.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, April 4, 2004

By	Lara Brown (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Knott provides us with a clear account of Hamilton's philosophical contributions and a compelling story about the uncertainty with which Americans approach his legacy. This book is masterful in detailing the competing political agendas and in framing how politicians, acamedicians, and pundits use the Founders and their rhetoric to push forward their own agendas. A wonderful book that helps us understand our American political culture, as much as one of our country's most important Founding Fathers.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting right with Hamilton, March 8, 2003

By	lovedmc12 (Rocklin, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Finally! A compelling defense of the Founder second only to Washington in terms of indespensibility to the creation and greatness of this county. Professor Knott chronicles the roller-coaster ride of Hamilton's reputation, from his murder by the scoundral Burr to the present. He presents overwhelming evidence that General Hamilton has been abused by critics, historians and Jefferson-lovers alike. Knott's painstaking history of the apochryphal "great beast" comment provides a frightening lesson of how a single malicious report can turn even a great man's historical reputation upside down. The fact that Mr. Hamilton's solitary statue stands ignored at the back door of the Treasury Department while Mr. Jefferson is surrounded by marble and carved words perfectly illustrates how the myth of greatness trumps the reality of greatness. Professor Knott's conclusion that "a return to Hamiltonianism" could fix much of what ails American politics is right on the money. Fantastic book.