Alexander Hamilton and the Growth of the New Nation

by John C. Miller

Overview

Probably no American statesman displayed more constructive imagination than did Alexander Hamilton. Prodigal of ideas, bursting with plans for diversifying the economy, and obsessed by a determination to make the United States a powerful nation under a centralized government, he left an imprint upon this country that time has not effaced. Alexander Hamilton and the Growth of the New Nation is the premier biography of Alexander Hamilton written by one of the foremost scholars of early American history.

Hamilton's career was at times contradictory: born, in John Adams's words, the "bastard brat of a Scotch peddler," he rose to high social, political, and military position in the newly born country. He dreaded divisiveness, yet his strategies and actions aggravated political sectionalism. Miller weaves together the complex facets of Hamilton's life to make a vivid, absorbing biography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765805515
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/18/2017
Series:	American Presidents Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	678
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John C. Miller (1907–1991) was Edgar E. Robinson Professor of U.S. History at Stanford University.

A. Owen Aldridge (1915–2005) was professor of comparative literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I The Union Against Great Britain 1. The Making of a Revolutionary 2. Aide-de-Camp to Washington 3- The Struggle Against Inflation 4- The Quarrel with Washington Part II The Union Against Chaos 5- Congress and the Army 6. Law and the Loyalists 7- "A Rage for Liberty" 8. Democracy and Banking 9- "More Power to Congress" 10. The Constitutional Convention (i) 151 n . The Constitutional Convention (2) 12. The Federalist 13- The Rule of Law !4. A More Perfect Union Part III The Union Consummated 15* The First Secretary of the Treasury 16. The Report on Public Credit 17* "Speculators" vs. "Patriots" 18. The Bank of the United States 19- The Report on Manufactures 20. The Effort to Transform the American Economy 21. The Opposition Emerges 23- Hamilton’s Quarrel with Jefferson and Burr Part IV The Union Against Foreign Aggression 24. The Proclamation of Neutrality 25- The War Clouds Gather 26. The Whisky Rebellion 27. Jay’s Treaty 28. The Election of 1796 29- The Mission to France 30. Second in Command of the United States Army 31* The War That Refused to Come to a Boil 32. The Effort to Avert Peace 33- The Election of 1800 Part V The Union Above All 34- A Prophet of Woe 35- Defender of the Freedom of the Press 36. The Duel with Burr

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent book about Alexander Hamilton and his times . . . recounts the political, Constitutional, economic, and financial history of the United States from the American Revolution to that day in July 1804, when Hamilton was killed in the duel with Burr. The story of the rise of the new nation, of cementing of the Union, is admirably told. . . . vivid, readable history." —Daniel J. Boorstein "Miller possesses to an unusual degree the ability to clarify complex issues and events. His discussions of Hamilton's reports as Secretary of the Treasury are models of clarity. . . . [This book] avoids the cliches and stereotypes we have come to associate with one of the most controversial figures in American history." —Harold C. Syrett "This is Miller's best book, and also the best full-length biography in the Hamilton literature." —Merrill D. Peterson, William and Mary Quarterly

From the Publisher