Alexander Hamilton and the persistence of myth
By: Stephen F. Knott.
Series: American political thought
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Lawrence
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
Subjects: Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804 -- Influence.; Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804 -- Public opinion.; Public opinion -- United States.; National characteristics, American.; Statesmen -- United States -- Biography.; United States -- Politics and government -- Philosophy.
Genres: Biography.
Description: "Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth explores the shifting reputation of our most controversial founding father. Since the day Aaron Burr fired his fatal shot, Americans have tried to come to grips with Alexander Hamilton's legacy. Stephen Knott surveys the Hamilton image in the minds of American statesmen, scholars, literary figures, and the media, explaining why Americans are content to live in a Hamiltonian nation but reluctant to embrace the man himself.".

"Knott observes that Thomas Jefferson and his followers, and, later, Andrew Jackson and his adherents, tended to view Hamilton and his principles as "un-American." While his policies generated mistrust in the South and the West, where he is still seen as the founding plutocrat, Hamilton was revered in New England and parts of the mid-Atlantic states. Hamilton's image as a champion of American nationalism caused his reputation to soar during the Civil War, at least in the North.

However, in the wake of Gilded Age excesses, progressive and populist political leaders branded Hamilton as the patron saint of Wall Street, and his reputation began to disintegrate."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-321) and index.
Table of contents: title: "And night returning brings me no relief": Hamilton and the founding generation; title: Hamilton and the Jacksonian era: the monster bank and the coming of war; title: Hamilton rises again: Civil War and his vindication; title: Hamilton's Gilded Age: his renaissance; title: The twilight of Hamiltonianism: 1901-1928; title: Slouching toward oblivion: Hamilton as the New Deal's great beast; title: Hail Columbia! Hamilton and cold war America; title: At century's end: a Hamilton restoration on the horizon?; title: Getting right with Hamilton: "the public good must be paramount".