The price of greatness
Subtitle: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the creation of American oligarchy
By: Jay Cost
Edition: First edtion.
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 235
ISBN-13: 9781541697461
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Politics and government
Description: "In the history of American politics there are few stories as enigmatic as that of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison's bitterly personal falling out. Together they helped bring the Constitution into being, yet soon after the new republic was born they broke over the meaning of its founding document. Hamilton emphasized economic growth, Madison the importance of republican principles. Jay Cost is the first to argue that both men were right--and that their quarrel reveals a fundamental paradox at the heart of the American experiment. He shows that each man in his own way came to accept corruption as a necessary cost of growth. The Price of Greatness reveals the trade-off that made the United States the richest nation in human history, and that continues to fracture our politics to this day."--Amazon.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-222) and index.
Table of contents: title: The great desideratum; title: One great American system; title: Doing full justice; title: The tool and the tyrant; title: Vexations and spoliation; title: Metaphysical war; title: Intrigue and corruption; title: The vilest of cheats.