Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution--and What It Means for Americans Today
by Thomas DiLorenzo
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas DiLorenzoEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-21
ISBN: 0307382842
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Crown Forum
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780307382849
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution--and What It Means for Americans Today
Book Review: Specious drivel masquerading as history
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't normally take the time to review terrible books, but this one had so many flagrant misunderstandings that other readers should know about them.
DiLorenzo's most absurd argument is that Hamilton "saddled" Americans with a massive national debt. While it is not a disputed fact that the Federal Government assumed the debts of the states from the War of Independence, this was a condition for acceptance of Federal constitutional paramountcy. The states would have NEVER accepted a union without the Federal Government assuming their debts, and the United States would probably have never been formed. So, yes, Hamilton "saddled" Americans with debts and helped create the nation in the process. How awful of him.
DiLorenzo also contends that Hamilton attempted to establish an imperial presidency. What is important to remember is that when Washington was elected president it wasn't assumed that he would simply relinquish the position after two terms. Many people expected him to remain president for life (or at least stand for re-election until death) - such was his universal appeal. The concept of a president for life - one who is more a figurehead - was not as egregious an idea as it now seems.
The national banking system that Hamilton created (and DiLorenzo despises) never succeeded beyond the 1830s when Jackson refused to renew its charter. It therefore cannot be blamed for the boom and bust cycle that caused multiple panics and depressions in the following decades. If you want to get an idea of how the ABSENCE of a central bank created the boom and bust cycle of the economy then read Sobel's "Panic on Wall Street". This is basic financial economics. If I were the department head at Virginia Tech (where DiLorenzo got his Ph.D) I would be pretty ashamed.
Hamilton was, as DiLorenzo claims, a proponent of the role of federal courts. However, contrary to DiLorenzo's argument this did not "eviscerate" our liberties - quite the opposite: it invigorated them. Bear in mind that when the Bill of Rights was ratified most politicians believed it was nothing more than well meaning rhetoric - certainly not the pith of enforceable rights. Don't like that state law that allows cops to barge into your house? Thank the federal courts and their ability to judge such laws as unconstitutional. Glad the South isn't legally segregated? Thank the federal courts' powers of judicial review (then again, this is coming from a writer who thinks the Civil War was unnecessary. I guess he doesn't have any black friends)
DiLorenzo's arguments belong to another age: an age when few educated men questioned enslaving another man, when women's rights barely existed, when the vast majority of the population farmed for a living, etc. Someone needs to wake this guy up and remind him of what century we live in.
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