Synopses & Reviews
View the
Table of Contents. Read the
Introduction.
"Talleyrand, who was acquainted with all of the statesmen of Europe, once remarked that he had never encountered anyone 'equal to Alexander Hamilton.' Hamilton may, in fact, have been the greatest of the American Founding Fathers. He was certainly one of the most important. Despite this, he has rarely been given his due. This superb collection of essays goes a considerable distance towards redressing the balance and towards restoring an American statesman to the central place that he occupied in his own time."
Paul A. Rahe, author of Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution
"Here are many fresh thoughts by many of the most innovative scholars at work on Alexander Hamilton today. Every student of the new republic and many general readers who are captivated by the subject will want to read this volume."
Lance Banning, author of Conceived in Liberty: The Struggle to Define the New Republic, 1789-1793
"This supberb collection of essays goes a considerable distance towards redressing the balance and towards restoring an American statesman to the central place that he occupied in his own time."
Paul A. Rahe, author of Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution
Revolutionary War officer, co-author of the Federalist Papers, our first Treasury Secretary, Thomas Jefferson's nemesis, and victim of a fatal duel with Aaron Burr: Alexander Hamilton has been the focus of debate from his day to ours. On the one hand, Hamilton was the quintessential Founding Father, playing a central role in every key debate and event in the Revolutionary and Early Republic eras. On the other hand, he has received far less popular and scholarly attention than his brethren. Who was he really and what is his legacy?
Scholars have long disagreed. Was Hamilton a closet monarchist or a sincere republican? A victim of partisan politics or one of its most active promoters? A lackey for British interests or a foreign policy mastermind? The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton addresses these and other perennial questions. Leading Hamilton scholars, both historians and political scientists alike, present fresh evidence and new, sometimes competing, interpretations of the man, his thought, and the legacy he has had on America and the world.
Review
“Scholars whose interests include the political, diplomatic, and economics aspects of the early republic will find these works rewarding additions to their reading.”
“This book . . . achiev[es] a badly needed analysis of Hamilton's impact on his and later times.”
“Talleyrand, who was acquainted with all of the statesmen of Europe, once remarked that he had never encountered anyone ‘equal to Alexander Hamilton.’ Hamilton may, in fact, have been the greatest of the American Founding Fathers. He was certainly one of the most important. Despite this, he has rarely been given his due. This superb collection of essays goes a considerable distance towards redressing the balance and towards restoring an American statesman to the central place that he occupied in his own time.”
“Here are many fresh thoughts by many of the most innovative scholars at work on Alexander Hamilton today. Every student of the new republic and many general readers who are captivated by the subject will want to read this volume.”
Synopsis
Revolutionary War officer, co-author of the Federalist Papers, our first Treasury Secretary, Thomas Jeffersons nemesis, and victim of a fatal duel with Aaron Burr: Alexander Hamilton has been the focus of debate from his day to ours. On the one hand, Hamilton was the quintessential Founding Father, playing a central role in every key debate and event in the Revolutionary and Early Republic eras. On the other hand, he has received far less popular and scholarly attention than his brethren. Who was he really and what is his legacy?
Scholars have long disagreed. Was Hamilton a closet monarchist or a sincere republican? A victim of partisan politics or one of its most active promoters? A lackey for British interests or a foreign policy mastermind? The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton addresses these and other perennial questions. Leading Hamilton scholars, both historians and political scientists alike, present fresh evidence and new, sometimes competing, interpretations of the man, his thought, and the legacy he has had on America and the world.
Synopsis
"A provocative treatment of political martyrdom in the United States . . . . a well-crafted, thought-provoking book."
The Lincoln Herald
"In the U.S., dead politicians and controversial reformers have frequently been called martyrs to a cause. But achieving martyrdom is more elusive than simply being jailed, murdered, or rejected in fighting for what one believes. This is the thrust of Naveh's argument, which traces the martyr motif in American political culture since the 1830s."
Choice
"Drawing upon eulogies and obituaries, sermons and biographies, poems and public memorials, Crown of Thorns is most valuable in providing a taxonomy that helps suggest why some public figures sink into oblivion while a very few others belong to the ages."
The Journal of American History
"Naveh makes admirable use of a wide range of primary sources, particularly those drawn from popular rather than elite culture . . . . well written . . . Crown of Thorns should be of some interest to all who are interested in the dynamics of cultural inertia and social change in the United States."
History
About the Author
Douglas Ambrose is Sidney Wertimer, Jr. associate professor of history at Hamilton College, in Clinton, New York. He is the author of
Henry Hughes and Proslavery Thought in the Old South.
Robert W. T. Martin is associate professor of government at Hamilton College and author of The Free and Open Press (NYU Press, 2001).