Happy 252nd Birthday, Hammy

(Oh my gosh, I haven't updated this blog in two months??)

Today -- January 11 -- Alexander Hamilton was born. Based on his own claim that he was born in 1757, today marks his two hundred and fifty-second birthday! Huzzah!

Although born over 200 years ago, his wise words speak directly to us today. Here is a little video I made last year, as a creative way to share some of those wise words. How Americans will need to heed them today!

Tribute to Alexander Hamilton from hercmulligan on GodTube.

P.S. I sincerely apologize for my tardiness in posting the second installment of my critique of Hamilton's Curse, by Thomas DiLorenzo. Progress on it is doing well, but it has required much note-taking and organizing. I hope to add it to this blog very, very soon. Please stay tuned!

Is "Hamilton's Curse" a New Version of the Same Old Lie? Part 1

Note: This post is a brief interruption from my series of posts on Hamilton's religion, which series I promise to continue. Stay tuned for an update on that series, which will discuss Hamilton's wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, her faith, and how their relationship points to Hamilton's true religious convictions. I would like to thank my good friend Jean from Yeah, Right ... for pointing out this interesting piece of news to me. I thought it best that I deal with this subject here and now, while the book in question is still fresh on the shelves, and is likely to be a center of public attention.

Well, it's official. Thomas DiLorenzo's latest release, Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Archenemy Betrayed the American Revolution, has hit the bookshelves during the past month. How timely it is that this book should arrive just when American citizens are still in shock at the recent bailout decision passed by the federal government. For this reason, DiLorenzo's book may give a greater springboard for those who blame big American government on Hamilton, to more effectively vocalize their view, and shape public opinion regarding the forces of good and evil at work in the Founding Era.

As the title of this series of posts (and of my blog for that matter) may indicate, I do not agree with several of DiLorenzo's key conclusions on some historical points. Having studied Hamilton's life through his writings and the writings of his immediate contemporaries, I find several of the key elements in DiLorenzo's portrait of Hamilton to be faulty, or at best, lacking. However, before I advance my counter-argument, let me make my position – where I stand, and where I am coming from – clear to my audience:

• I believe that the Constitution limits government, by expressly forbidding it to do certain things; however, it also widened the fence a little for the federal government, so that it would not feel obligated to over-leap the fence in times of crisis. Sometimes, cramped space can give anyone an excuse to jump over the fence. And once the fence is behind them, they are without any bounds at all. This is the argument that Hamilton and James Wilson made at the Constitutional Convention.
• I believe that our government has gone way to far from the limits of the Constitution, and has created for itself a new standard – the standard of administrative law. We are in effect, a government by man, and not a government of law.
• I do not believe that the Federal Reserve System, or central banking, huge national debt, etc., are good or useful, or healthy to our country. So this post is not meant to defend them.

Having said that, let me introduce what I believe is the key issue in this “debate.” For decades, Americans have been greatly mistaken in classifying Jefferson and the Jeffersonians as believing in “small or limited government,” and Hamilton and the Federalists as believing in “big or elastic government.” In fact, in almost every textbook from the 20th century to the present, that tries to summarize Hamilton's political beliefs is found a sentence that reads, without fail, something much like this: “Hamilton and the Federalist Party believed in a strong central government to keep the nation strong and united.”

This phrase “strong central government” has been so often repeated in association with Hamilton during the 20th century, that it has become ingrained in us that this is what Hamilton wanted. However, Hamilton's own words stand to contradict the “just-so” notions we have accepted about his beliefs. First of all, it was not the fashion with Hamilton to refer to the federal government as a “central” government. He never referred to it as a central government, or that power needed to be “centralized.” He referred to the federal government as either “federal,” “national” (but that only as opposed to “state” governments), and even “general.” These terms that Hamilton faithfully used do not denote the same degree of political power as the term “strong central government,” which 20th century authors have, for all practical purposes, put into Hamilton's mouth.

This is the whole issue that has never been argued or emphasized for some time. Until now, the argument that has taken place in broad public view has been “Was Hamilton or Jefferson right about the proper place of government?” The debate has rarely ever been “What did Hamilton and Jefferson really believe about government, and other issues like human nature and liberty?” Unfortunately, I think that DiLorenzo has focused on the “right or wrong” issue, without first insuring that the question of “what” -- which should be asked first before we can get the second question right – has been answered correctly.

After having studied the Founder's writings for about 5 years, and Hamilton's and Jefferson's writings for slightly less than that, I have come to realize that Americans have not been taught the truth about our history, and that many of the “historical truths” that have been passed down to us through our public school classes, mainstream history textbooks, and popular documentaries, contain some fundamental errors. While there have definitely been some excellent things taught, and even authors who may often have some erroneous conclusions have at other times discerned other facts brilliantly, I have come to the conclusion that it is safer for Americans to trust the primary sources, and books which contain considerable selections from them. I hope that this series of posts will help to clear up some of the fog that has been cast over this issue, and that it will effectively shed the light of truth upon this discussion.

These have been only my introductory remarks. In the following posts of this series, I will cover the specifics. In the meantime, here are some links that will introduce those unfamiliar, to DiLorenzo's opinion of Hamilton:

• DiLorenzo's articles on LewRockwell.com
• Podcast at LewRockwell.com
• Thomas E. Woods interview with DiLorenzo
• DiLorenzo discussion with Pat Buchanan on MSNBC
  

A New Trend in Celebrating the Legacy of Alexander Hamilton

This post will briefly interrupt the series of posts that have been centering on Hamilton's religion, and steer to recent events that do distantly relate to that very same subject.

This post is quite late to announce the establishment of the Alexander Hamilton Institute in Clinton, New York, on this year's September 17 -- Constitution Day.

The history of the Institution's establishment is interesting.

Several professors from Hamilton College, which is also based in Clinton, desired to establish a center or program honoring Hamilton's life, legacy, and his ideals of freedom and capitalism. Initially, the program was to rest under the mantle of the College; but the College abruptly withdrew from sponsoring and becoming affiliated with the program, since the program is coming from a point of view which honors our true constitutional and biblical foundations, whereas Hamilton College is does not tolerate such a viewpoint.

Although I am happy that the standpoint of the Alexander Hamilton Institute is so favorable towards Alexander Hamilton's real political and religious views was strong enough to make Hamilton College back off, I think that it is unfortunate that their religious and political biases make them opposed to those of the institution, and not in favor of them. Hamilton College never used to be that way, and was never intended to be that way. Alexander Hamilton, for whom the university was named, was a Christian, and its founder, Samuel Kirkland (who buried on the campus of the college) was a Christian missionary to the Iroquois Indians. In fact, this school was to be a great extension of Kirkland's missionary work, and said that among its purposes would be to teach the Indians "the more plain and express doctrines of Christianity." (1) Kirkland's journal relates that in 1793, he traveled to Philadelphia, and sought out the support of Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, and President George Washington. Kirkland offered Hamilton the position of honorary trustee of the academy, which position, Hamilton accepted, and added that he would do whatever was in his power to do for the benefit of the university. George Washington also expressed his warm wishes for the success of the academy. It was named in Hamilton's honor, first as the Hamilton Oneida Academy, and later, when it became a university in 1812, as Hamilton College. It is sad to see that such an institution drifted so far from its original and glorious foundations.

I am thrilled that such a fantastic organization as the Alexander Hamilton Institute is is underway, and that its headquarters are based in my own Upstate New York. I am confident that the establishment of this institution is a great leap forward, not only in the understanding of Alexander Hamilton and our true history, but also in how to apply Hamilton's Christian principles and the true principles of freedom, to present-day New York and present-day America.

Updates on the college can be found at the website of the Hamilton College Alumni for Governance and Reform. The charter of the Institute is also available here.