MORE PERFECT UNION: The Story of Alexander Hamilton

by Nancy Whitelaw ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 6, 1997

This volume in the Notable American series details with exceptional clarity the talent and complex life of Alexander Hamilton, born out-of-wedlock in the British West Indies. Whitelaw (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1996, etc.) chronicles how Hamilton's perseverance, intelligence, and hard work came to the attention of a Presbyterian minister, who sent him to college in America at age 16 where ""in two years, he completed five years of college work"" at King's College (now Columbia). Hamilton joined the fight for independence and became a well-regarded officer in the Continental Army, where commander-in-chief George Washington made him his aide-de-camp at age 19. Instrumental at the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton was the country's first Secretary of the Treasury, but Whitelaw delineates how his self-destructive tendencies thwarted his talent and eventually led to his death in an unlawful dual with Aaron Burr. This is an evenhanded portrait of a brilliant leader who fell victim to his human frailties, but it also illustrates the conflicting forces that are manifest in many leaders today.

Pub Date: June 6, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Morgan Reynolds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997

Categories: CHILDREN'S