Sabbatical #8: I had no idea … the greatness and tragedy of Alexander Hamilton

Do you ever read a book, knowing how it ends, but you read it with the hope that the end will change. I can’t remember the last book, except when I read the passion accounts, where I have been so near tears as the life of Alexander Hamilton as written by Ron Chernow. It has been fascinating. I still haven't finished my notes on the conference, but this biography was powerful enough that I need to get some thoughts down on it.

I didn’t know we were so indebted as a nation to his work during the birth of our nation. He build the infrastructure for much of what we enjoy as a nation, particularly the economic aspects. He was amazingly gifted and rose from obscurity in the West Indies to the heights of government, gaining the confidence of George Washington. He wrote voluminously, but he was unable to govern his passions publicly and made many enemies – both parties wanting what was best for the nation, but the distrust and ugliness of politics was amazing.

There are times in his life where you absolutely loathe Hamilton (like his year long affair despite his wonderfully faithful wife, Eliza) and his willingness to smear his opponents, though he would not overlook a slight against his person. He also didn’t know when to stop and he could not control his tongue/pen, particularly after Washington had retired to Mount Vernon. Washington did much to restrain his amazing aide.

But Hamilton was above reproach in his financial dealings in an era where that could not be said of all public officials. And, despite his painful (and embarrassingly public) affair, his love for his family was tremendous. I’m alone in Milwaukee and I think it is the picture of the tender Hamilton saying goodbye to his family in writing (they didn’t know he was going to duel) before he went to his fateful duel with Aaron Burr. An orphan himself, Hamilton held an orphan child they were taking care of until the boy fell asleep on his lap – where they slept for a little while together. What a tender picture of a great man.

Hamilton had little use for faith for much of his life, but in his later years his faith seems to be genuinely warm, which obviously endears him to me all the more. He hated dueling – partially due to his faith, but was bound by the fact that to back out would hurt his honor that he may need in case of a crisis of civil war that he feared with Jefferson as president. To maintain his honor he planned to shoot his first bullet in the air. Burr shot to kill and succeeded.

It was tragic, particularly the pain it caused to his wife and seven children. What a shame that such a great man, who seemed to put his personal life in order during his later years, had his life tragically cut short.