Galileo Galilei
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The Good Side of Alexander Hamilton
I have just discovered that a good friend of mine, internationally famous 9/11 conspiracy theorist Dr. Kevin Barrett is a direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton.
To console him and his family, I come up with the list of good things about Hamilton. Please enjoy.
Alexander Hamilton....
* grew up on an obscure island in a remote ocean as an orphan. Hamilton and Thomas Paine are the two major Founders who had it the worst as children. Hamilton got ahead because he was brilliant. Some have argued that he was as smart, or even smarter than James Madison and/or Thomas Jefferson. Possibly this has rubbed off on his direct descendant Kevin Barrett.
* was a war hero of the Revolution. He lead infantry charges at Yorktown, operated the artillery, and was George Washington's chief assistant. Also took part in the Crossing of the Delaware, and fought at the Battle of Monmouth. Not many of the major Founders actually fought in the war, Washington, James Monroe, and John Marshall excepted.
* wrote 51 of the Federalist Papers, which argue for a small, limited government (unfortunately, Hamilton often did not follow what he wrote). He organized the project as well and saw to the actual printing of both he newspaper versions and the book versions. The Federalist Papers are Hamilton's best known, most read, and most influential legacy. More people know about the Federalist Papers, than know about his banking ideas.
* he never owned slaves.
* in defense of Hamilton's nationalism, it can be argued that he was not attached to any one particular state, as he came to America as a teenager, and then spent most of his early years in the Revolutionary war, when nationalism ran high as the states worked together to defeat the evil British Empire. All the other major Founders who held high office were born and raised in a particular state with their families, and were also older than Hamilton, hence they remembered life in America before the Revolution.
* Hamilton helped organize the Constitutional Convention (with James Madison). He also signed the Constitution.
* Hamilton helped organize the Annapolis Convention, the forerunner of the Constitutional Convention. He wrote (with James Madison) the proclamation calling for a new convention (the Constitutional Convention).
* Hamilton was a key player at the New York ratifying convention, which voted 30-27 to ratify the Constitution.
* Hamilton served in the Continental congress.
* In 1800, Hamilton was critical to Thomas Jefferson's election. He persuaded a Delaware delegate, James Bayard to switch his vote and vote for Jefferson. The election had been thrown to the House of Representatives.
* the idea that Hamilton jump-started the nation's economy is a myth. But what is true is that he organized the federal government's finances so it could function. This included raising enough money to pay for an ambassador to France, England and Spain, and to start paying back the Revolutionary War veterans.
** in defense of Hamilton's central bank:
1) many things blamed on Hamilton should be blamed on those who came later.
2) the bank was temporary, for only 20 years. If this precedent had been followed, the Fed would have been abolished in 1933.
3) the bank did not issue fiat currency. So the Fed violates a basic Hamilton principle of banking
4) the bank was 20% publicly owned.
5) the bank did not operate in utter secrecy.
6) the bank did not do bailouts.
7) corruption in the bank was low by today's standards.
8) George Washington signed the bank bill. 39 members of the House voted for the bank bill. The Senate voted for the bank bill. VP John Adams and the Supreme Court also supported the bank bill. So you cannot place all the blame for the bank bill on Alexander Hamilton.
I have just discovered that a good friend of mine, internationally famous 9/11 conspiracy theorist Dr. Kevin Barrett is a direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton.
To console him and his family, I come up with the list of good things about Hamilton. Please enjoy.
Alexander Hamilton....
* grew up on an obscure island in a remote ocean as an orphan. Hamilton and Thomas Paine are the two major Founders who had it the worst as children. Hamilton got ahead because he was brilliant. Some have argued that he was as smart, or even smarter than James Madison and/or Thomas Jefferson. Possibly this has rubbed off on his direct descendant Kevin Barrett.
* was a war hero of the Revolution. He lead infantry charges at Yorktown, operated the artillery, and was George Washington's chief assistant. Also took part in the Crossing of the Delaware, and fought at the Battle of Monmouth. Not many of the major Founders actually fought in the war, Washington, James Monroe, and John Marshall excepted.
* wrote 51 of the Federalist Papers, which argue for a small, limited government (unfortunately, Hamilton often did not follow what he wrote). He organized the project as well and saw to the actual printing of both he newspaper versions and the book versions. The Federalist Papers are Hamilton's best known, most read, and most influential legacy. More people know about the Federalist Papers, than know about his banking ideas.
* he never owned slaves.
* in defense of Hamilton's nationalism, it can be argued that he was not attached to any one particular state, as he came to America as a teenager, and then spent most of his early years in the Revolutionary war, when nationalism ran high as the states worked together to defeat the evil British Empire. All the other major Founders who held high office were born and raised in a particular state with their families, and were also older than Hamilton, hence they remembered life in America before the Revolution.
* Hamilton helped organize the Constitutional Convention (with James Madison). He also signed the Constitution.
* Hamilton helped organize the Annapolis Convention, the forerunner of the Constitutional Convention. He wrote (with James Madison) the proclamation calling for a new convention (the Constitutional Convention).
* Hamilton was a key player at the New York ratifying convention, which voted 30-27 to ratify the Constitution.
* Hamilton served in the Continental congress.
* In 1800, Hamilton was critical to Thomas Jefferson's election. He persuaded a Delaware delegate, James Bayard to switch his vote and vote for Jefferson. The election had been thrown to the House of Representatives.
* the idea that Hamilton jump-started the nation's economy is a myth. But what is true is that he organized the federal government's finances so it could function. This included raising enough money to pay for an ambassador to France, England and Spain, and to start paying back the Revolutionary War veterans.
** in defense of Hamilton's central bank:
1) many things blamed on Hamilton should be blamed on those who came later.
2) the bank was temporary, for only 20 years. If this precedent had been followed, the Fed would have been abolished in 1933.
3) the bank did not issue fiat currency. So the Fed violates a basic Hamilton principle of banking
4) the bank was 20% publicly owned.
5) the bank did not operate in utter secrecy.
6) the bank did not do bailouts.
7) corruption in the bank was low by today's standards.
8) George Washington signed the bank bill. 39 members of the House voted for the bank bill. The Senate voted for the bank bill. VP John Adams and the Supreme Court also supported the bank bill. So you cannot place all the blame for the bank bill on Alexander Hamilton.
