NEW BOOKS ON HAMILTON AND NEW YORK HISTORY Pubblico Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 39, September 26, 2004, Article 24
NEW BOOKS ON HAMILTON AND NEW YORK HISTORY
Arthur Shippee forwarded reviews of two books which also
caught my eye. They are not directly numismatic, nor do they
dwell only on financial matters. But Ron Chernow's "Alexander
Hamilton", and Russell Shorto's "The Island at the Center of the
World." look like very interesting books related to the early
history of New York City and the roles played by the founding
fathers of the U.S. financial and monetary system.
The reviews are by Walter Isaacson and was published in
New York Magazine, 17 May 2004. Here are some
excepts:"In addition to The Federalist Papers, Hamilton made one
other great contribution. As Washington's choice to be the
first Treasury secretary, he created the financial structures
that tied the nation together and made it, and New York, a
commercial power. The capital was then in lower Manhattan,
and on his second day in office, Hamilton arranged a large
loan from the Bank of New York. He then set to work on
a plan for the government's fiscal machinery, which resulted
in his famous 40,000-word Report on Public Credit.""Hamilton wanted New York to become the nation's capital,
which likewise aroused Jefferson's opposition. The city was
so associated with Hamilton and his commercial vision that
his enemies called it Hamiltonopolis. "They saw it," writes
Chernow, "as an Anglophile bastion dominated by bankers
and merchants who would contaminate the republican
experiment." Washington and Jefferson were pushing instead
for a rural site alongside the plantations of the Potomac.Realizing that Madison had the votes to block his cherished
debt plan, Hamilton was willing to trade away the capital as
a compromise. The stage was thus set for the most historic
dinner party ever held in Manhattan. Present at Jefferson's
rented house on Maiden Lane were Hamilton and Madison.
The Virginians pointed out that the plan unduly penalized their
state, which had paid off most of its debts. They would need
something in return: a national capital on the banks of the
Potomac.In some ways, Hamilton struck the better bargain. The debt
plan determined forever that the states would be weaker than
the central government. Creating this foundation for federal
power and taxation in America was more important to
Hamilton than winning the capital for New York. Indeed, the
creation of vibrant financial markets helped make New York
what it is today, and helped New York make America what
it is today. In the realm of economics, if not politics,
Hamilton's New York vision of America would end up
prevailing. "He was the messenger of America's economic
future, Chernow notes, "setting forth a vision of an urban
manufacturing society.""Hamilton had succeeded in binding the country together
under one central economic and fiscal system. Hamilton
had promoted a forward-looking agenda of a modern
nation-state with a market economy and an affirmative
view of central government," Chernow writes. "It was the
northern economic system that embodied the mix of
democracy and capitalism that was to constitute the
essence of America in the long run."- 2004-09-26
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