Snapshot · The Rest Is History
Alexander Hamilton was probably born in 1755 on the sugar island of Nevis, an illegitimate child who was orphaned in his early teens before being sent to North America for his education.
Where this was said
At 10:37 · chapter starts 9:40
Dominic maps the arc of Hamilton's early life with verve: born probably in 1755 on the sugar island of Nevis as the illegitimate son of a Scottish father and a Huguenot mother, abandoned in childhood, and orphaned in his early teens, Hamilton was nonetheless spotted as exceptional by the locals of Nevis, who sent him to New York for an education. Once there, in the heated mid-1770s, the bookish young man — a devotee of Plutarch and, more revealingly, Machiavelli — was quickly swept up in the revolutionary cause. He joined the Continental Army, caught Washington's eye as a brilliant writer and organiser, and became Washington's chief staff aide, though he chafed under the role, burning for glory of his own. Tom and Dominic agree Hamilton had a complicated relationship with Washington — Oedipal even — and that his sharpness of tongue and arrogance would dog him throughout his career. Yale historian Joanne Freeman is quoted: Hamilton was 'too extreme, too impulsive, too unwilling to suffer fools' to really thrive in democratic politics. [1] — Dominic Sandbrook "Hamilton was probably born in 1755 on the sugar island of Nevis — an illegitimate child abandoned by his father and orphaned in his early t…" 09:20
Hamilton was a brilliant writer, tireless worker, and visionary statesman — but he had a fatal flaw: he was constitutionally incapable of not alienating people. Yale historian Joanne Freeman said he was too extreme, too impulsive, too arrogant, and too suspicious of democracy to thrive in the politics of the 1790s.
Hamilton wrote the majority of the essays in the Federalist Papers, which explained the thinking behind the US Constitution and are still required reading in American schools.
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