ALEXANDER HAMILTON AND THE CONSTITUTION

by Clinton Rossiter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 1964

This scholarly book by one of America's foremost Constitutional historians presents a laudatory but carefully balanced political portrait of Alexander Hamilton and his part in framing and interpreting the American Constitution. Barely mentioning Hamilton's personal life, the author describes him as many brilliant men rolled into one. As a soldier Hamilton was Washington's valued advisor; as first Secretary of the Treasury he established the new nation on a firm financial basis; as Constitutionalist he helped shape the Constitution and by the articles he wrote with Madison in The Federalist insured its adoption. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton's interpretations of the Constitution made it the workable document under which we live today. A dedicated Nationalist, Hamilton possessed both ""an uncanny ability"" to anticipate the Industrial America of the future, and ""an almost willful inability to understand the America in which he lived"", which led to his embroilment with Jefferson and brought him undeserved calumny. This fine study, a plea for a better understanding of Hamilton, is no book for amateur historians. It will appeal to Hamiltonians and Constitutionalists, and belongs in all comprehensive libraries of American political and Constitutional history.

Pub Date: Feb. 26, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rarcourt, Brace & World

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION