A sweeping biography of Alexander Hamilton — from his illegitimate birth in the Caribbean through the Revolutionary War, the drafting of the Constitution and The Federalist Papers, his founding of the American financial system as Treasury Secretary, and his fatal duel with Aaron Burr.
Books mentioned in Alexander Hamilton (34)
Cato by Joseph Addison: “Washington had his favorite play, Addison’s Cato, the story of a self-sacrificing Roman statesman, staged at Valley Forge to buck up his weary men.”
Political Discourses by David Hume: “Hamilton brushed up on money matters and had Colonel Timothy Pickering send him some primers: David Hume’s Political Discourses, tracts written by the English clergyman and polemicist Richard Price, and his all-purpose crib, Postlethwayt’s Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce.”
Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone: “Particularly influential were Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries, first published in America ten years earlier, which endowed British law with a more systematic coherence.”
Iliad by Homer: “He ended one “Monitor” essay with a quote from Pope’s Iliad that begins: “Death is the worst, a fate which all must try...””
Principles of Political Economy by James Steuart: “Hamilton plowed through books about coinage in foreign nations, especially Principles of Political Economy by Sir James Steuart.”
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: “While reading the scene in Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy in which the tenderhearted Uncle Toby picks up a fly and delicately places it outside a window instead of killing it, Burr is said to have remarked...”
The Stand by Alexander Hamilton: “In writing “The Stand,” Hamilton took dead aim against Republicans who had become apologists for French misbehavior.”
Common Sense by Thomas Paine: “Thomas Paine, who had arrived in Philadelphia two years earlier, provided Hamilton with a perfect model when he anonymously published Common Sense.”
Rights of Man by Thomas Paine: “Their relationship had foundered in 1791 when Jefferson lauded The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine by drawing an invidious contrast to the “political heresies which have sprung up among us.””
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith: “Displaying an intimate familiarity with Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, Hamilton demonstrated that manufacturing, no less than agriculture, could increase productivity.”
The Defence by Alexander Hamilton: “As with The Federalist Papers, “The Defence” spilled out at a torrid pace, sometimes two or three essays per week.”
Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson: “He observed that in Notes on the State of Virginia, written in the early 1780s, Jefferson had argued for emancipating Virginia’s slaves and shipping them elsewhere.”
The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan: “The Churches...befriended the spendthrift playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, author of The School for Scandal, who once refused to satisfy his creditors on the grounds that “paying only encourages them.””
Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce by Malachy Postlethwayt: “Probably the first book that Hamilton absorbed was Malachy Postlethwayt’s Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, a learned almanac of politics, economics, and geography.”
The Spectator by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele: “Among his most prized possessions was an eight-volume set of The Spectator by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele; he frequently recommended these essays to young people.”
Discourses on Davila by John Adams: “A cutting reference to Adams’s Discourses on Davila, which Jeffersonians read as a plea for a hereditary presidency.”
The Farmer Refuted by Alexander Hamilton: “After Seabury rebutted “A Full Vindication,” Hamilton struck back with “The Farmer Refuted,” an eighty-page tour de force that Rivington brought out on February 23, 1775.”
The Examination by Alexander Hamilton: “The scalding debate over repeal of the Judiciary Act prompted Hamilton to lambast Jefferson in a series of eighteen essays entitled “The Examination.””
A Full Vindication by Alexander Hamilton: “After Seabury rebutted “A Full Vindication,” Hamilton struck back with “The Farmer Refuted,” an eighty-page tour de force that Rivington brought out on February 23, 1775.”
Philo Camillus by Alexander Hamilton: “He began to publish, in the same paper, a parallel series as “Philo Camillus.” For several weeks, Philo Camillus indulged in extravagant praise of Camillus and kept up a running attack on their Republican adversaries.”
The Monitor by Alexander Hamilton: “From November 9, 1775, to February 8, 1776, the New-York Journal ran fourteen installments of “The Monitor,” probably the longest and most prominently featured string of essays that Holt printed before the Revolution.”
A Candid State of Parties by James Madison: “In one essay, “A Candid State of Parties,” Madison described the Hamiltonians as “more partial to the opulent than to the other classes of society.””
A Westchester Farmer by Samuel Seabury: “Seabury, with the full knowledge of Myles Cooper, launched a series of pamphlets under the pseudonym “A Westchester Farmer.””
Defence and Destruction of the Tea: “This anonymous salvo may have been the “Defence and Destruction of the Tea” published in John Holt’s New-York Journal.”
The Ladies of Castile by Mercy Otis Warren: “Hamilton received a volume of dramatic verse, The Ladies of Castille, from Mercy Warren, a Massachusetts poet, playwright, and historian.”
No Jacobin by Alexander Hamilton: “In late July, the American Daily Advertiser printed his piece called “No Jacobin,” the first of yet another nine essays that issued from Hamilton’s fluent pen over a four-week period.”
The Continentalist by Alexander Hamilton: “In July and August 1781, he published a quartet of essays in The New-York Packet entitled “The Continentalist.””
The Melancholy Hour by Alexander Hamilton: “Hamilton may have been the “Juvenis” who published a poem, “The Melancholy Hour,” in the Gazette of October 11, 1772.”
Wit and Beauty by Gouverneur Morris: “At King’s College, he had composed essays on “Wit and Beauty” and on “Love.””
An American by Alexander Hamilton: “Many readers must have guessed the identity of the author hiding behind the mask of “An American.” Now in the fray, Hamilton published two more installments of “An American” on August 11 and 18.”
The Liar, Caught in His Own Toils: ““The Liar, Caught in His Own Toils” reiterated the familiar refrain that Burr had tried to swipe the 1800 election from Jefferson and now planned to dismember the union.”
The Reynolds Pamphlet by Alexander Hamilton: “Just a couple of weeks after Hamilton published the Reynolds pamphlet, he experienced a medical scare with his eldest son, Philip.”
The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay: “He and James Madison were the prime movers behind the summoning of the Constitutional Convention and the chief authors of that classic gloss on the national charter, The Federalist, which Hamilton supervised.”