Transcripts For CSPAN3 Alexander Hamilton Myths 20170226 : v

Good afternoon. Welcome to the methodist church. Im the pastor of this congregation. We welcome you to this exciting event sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. An important event in their organization and an important vent for our congregation. We are the oldest meth death congregation in the United States. We are celebrating our 250th year. In many ways it is fair to say that this congregation grew up with this country. It seems that our presence in American History have defined this congregations history as well. When we consider the legacy, influence, and importance of what we can learn from the Founding Fathers of this country, i think that lends to my experience here today. I look for those themes. I look for the ways in which the threads and influences of this church and the way in which those things are impacted by the likes of Alexander Hamilton. Whatever it is that brings you here, whenever you hope to learn, whatever questions you bring, whatever insights you hope to gain, i hope that you find them fulfilled. I trust that you will. I look forward to spending time with you this afternoon. Good afternoon. I am president of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. It is more familiarly known as the aha society. We just celebrated our fifth anniversary. Thank you to the cognition of john Street Methodist Church for hosting this event. It is part of happy birthday hamilton 2017. We invite you to join us tomorrow for the wreath laying ceremony at hamiltons grave. It will include the coast guards and officials. He spent the first eight years of his life in davis and the second eight years in st. Croix. Theyre going to be there speaking and presenting. It will be a nice event. I would like to let you know that the premiere will be there tomorrow. The ambassador will be there as ell. We look forward to have you there. We have bob white, the president of the Alexander Hamilton society of st. Croix. He has some special things hes brought from rachels grave, Alexander Hamiltons mother, to share with us and place at tomorrows ceremony. It will be a nice addition as well. Congratulations to the church and your milestone, the 250th, and this building is the third building which is celebrating its 175th anniversary, built in 1841. Right through this wall, do you know whats right behind this wall . 57 maiden lane. That is where Thomas Jefferson lived. That is where jefferson, madison, and hamilton got together to work out the nations debts and where the permanent capital of the United States should be. Its also inspired in the musical, where it says i want to be in the room where it happened, the room where it happened, the room where it happened. It happened right through this wall. Just 10 days from now, two years ago, on january 2015, the show debuted off broadway, hoping to make it to broadway. The show made it to broadway. The name, hamilton an american musical. This musical has introduced millions of people around the nation and around the world to Alexander Hamilton. People are looking into his background with a positive spirit. Why has hamilton been considered a less significant founder in the minds of the public . His characterization, the convenient villain, but it was based on miths. So new readers of the hamilton musical and fans start going in and reading this characterization, this very confusing, so our website, the ahasociety. Org, we share the recommended books that do relay Accurate Information about Alexander Hamilton. Subsequent authors on hamilton would previously rely on other accomplished writers that ended up promulgating a lot of mischaracterizations. Thats why hamilton just wasnt so well known and revered before the look hes getting now. Our speaker today has done the actual hard work of getting past the books and getting to the primary source, of getting to the actual report, getting to the actual letters. Monumental book Alexander Hamilton and the persistence of myth, which one de of biographies is of the most important books on lexander hamilton. Stephen knott served as cochair of the university of virginias president ial Oral History Program and directed the Ronald Reagan oral history project. Professor knott received his ph. D. From Boston College and has taught at the United States air force academy and the university of virginia. Hes the author of the book that we just mentioned, the persistence of myth, also the secret and sanctioned covert operations of the american presidency, which Alexander Hamilton was also involved with that, with general George Washington. Dr. Knott recently coauthored a book about hamilton and washington. The talk will be followed by q a, so you could prepare concise questions, that will be terrific for after the talk. Help me welcome Stephen Knott. [applause] dr. Knott thank you. Thank you all. Thank you very much. I appreciate you coming out on this cold winters day. I particularly want to thank everyone involved with the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. These guys do terrific work in terms of keeping hamiltons legacy alive for your fellow citizens. I also want to thank the john Street Methodist Church for providing such a beautiful venue for my talk today. Let me begin by noting that i never believed in my life when i wrote Alexander Hamilton and the persistence of myth well over 15 years ago that hamilton would be restored, not only to his rightful place as a founding father, but would also become a broadway celebrity. I never dreamed in my wildest imagination that that would happen when i was writing this book back in 19981999. Let me start by noting that i believe that alexander New Hampshire i will ton was the first victim of the politics of personal destruction. Thomas jefferson, james madison, james monroe, and other jeffersonian lieutenants made it their sort of lifes work in the 179 on 0s and even after hamiltons death to besmirch his reputation. And part of the reason for this was their objection on policy grounds to the federalist presidency of George Washington. But it was simply easier, it was more politically palatable to attack Alexander Hamilton than it was to attack George Washington, the father of his country. So washington, for the most part, not all, but for the most part of washingtons presidency was off limits to the kind of personal and political attacks that were directed against Alexander Hamilton during his life. Even after the duel, even after the death of hamilton at the hands of aaron burr, jefferson and his lieutenants understood the damage that a dead hamilton could do in terms of presenting a threat to the jeffersonian agenda. And, in fact, their Immediate Reaction as a chain of correspondents that goes back and forth between madison and monroe and noah webster and other jeffersonians expressing deep concern over the potential emotional reaction to hamiltons death and the damage that might do to the jeffersonian agenda. Hamiltons death in 1804 gave jefferson and john adams, another opponent of hamiltons, some 22 years in which to spin the historical record. Hamilton dies in 1804, jefferson and adams, of course, die on the fourth of july on 1826. They use that time to, as i said, sort of spin historical record in a direction favorable to the jeffersonians. Of course, madison, james madison, helped Alexander Hamilton hamm by 3 years, and as we now know, he actually goes back and doctors some of the notes that he took from the Constitution Convention to make hamilton look bad. This same desire to sort of belittle and besmirch hamiltons reputation continues the pace throughout the Democratic Party in the 19th century. Andrew jackson, for instance, believed that hamilton was the tribune of the moneyed aristocracy. Of course, jackson begins to see, or comes to see the bank of the United States and nicholas as the sort of personification of all that was wrong with Alexander Hamilton. And jackson plays that, i would call sort of the class card to the hit, and hamilton is a key figure in terms of appealing to populist sensibilities in terms of generating animus towards the bank of the United States. During the american civil war, you briefly see a kind of surrection of hamiltons reputation, his antislavery stance, his strong nationalism appeals certainly to many in the north and the new republican party, especially future president s such as james garfield, rutherford b. Hayes, benjamin harrison, and others, all revere Alexander Hamilton as the father of the American Union and perhaps the greatest of the founders next to George Washington. The 20th century very briefly at the beginning of the 20th century, hamilton retains his status as an impressive founder, at least for those who considered themselves progressive. Im thinking particularly of Teddy Roosevelt, henry cabot lodge, you can call him a progressive, mostly in the republican party. These are people who revere Alexander Hamilton. Hes not particularly well liked in the populist wing of the Democratic Party. William jennings bryant, for instance, sees him as the founding plutocrat. Hamiltons reputation in the 20th century, it begins to decline fairly rapidly. While he was revered by president s such as Warren Harding and calvin coolidge, those two president s are not exactly guaranteed to make him a revered figure in the academic circles, shall we say. Its hardings secretary of the treasury, andrew mellon, who he rects this statue that exists to this day on the grounds of the treasury in may 1923, but when the great crash comes, as they say in my book, Alexander Hamilton might well have been the chairman of the Republican National committee in terms of his reputation in the media, because he was so warmly embraced by harding and oolidge and mellon, and that perception of his as the founding father of wall street, you begin to see a radical decline in hamiltons reputation in the late 1920s and throughout the new deal year. It really is Franklin Roosevelt more than any other president who elevates Thomas Jefferson into the pantheon of american greats. Its roosevelt who he rects the Jefferson Memorial, the beautiful title, basin memorial in washington, d. C. And in so doing, there is kind of an iron law in American History, as one falls, the other rises, and jefferson really comes into his own in a sense in terms of the american mind. In the 1930s and 1940s. The only book rethrough roosevelt ever wrote was a book by Claude Bowers called jefferson and hamilton and the struggle for democracy in america. And if i can be blunt, this is a godawful book that actually took the nation somewhat by storm. F. D. R. Found this book to be brilliant in his review, and i think the new york world, an obscure newspaper that no longer exists, but it was a glowing review. Now, if you look by book at this bowers, hamilton is portrayed as a dictator, or budding dictator, we should say. Bower repeatedly used the terms dictatorial, characterizing hamilton, and he argues that hamilton considered himself to of part of the race military masters. So hamilton was a budding fascist during the founding era, and this caricatured hamilton, believe it or not, resonates with millions of americans, including, interestingly enough, jeffersons most famous biography, who says that bowers work is a brilliant piece and actually inspired him to get into the business of writing biography, the famous sixvolume or so biography of Thomas Jefferson. Again, its f. D. R. Who erects the Jefferson Memorial in washington, d. C. , supposedly even has a hand in selecting the quotes that adorn the wall of the Jefferson Memorial. And its Franklin Roosevelt who invites a Staff Sergeant in the United States army by the name of sydney kingsley who writes the greatest, or the most successful broadway play of 1943, the patriot. And in this play, it was the hamilton of its day, the hail mary ton musical of its day, and if you go back and read the script, you see why f. D. R. Loved t. You have a cigarchomping Alexander Hamilton stomping around the stage referring to the american eople as the drunken swines. All the while eliza hamilton its besides him in a Marie Antionette outfit expressing approval of her husbands contempt for the American People, it really is beyond belief. But f. D. R. Actually invites Sidney Kingsley to stage a command performance in washington, d. C. , general George Marshall is in attendance. Felix fank further, all of Washington Society attends this play in washington, d. C. , in the president s private booth and also kingsley is invited to the dedication of the Jefferson Memorial. I say in my book, and i really dont think this is an overstatement, by the period of the second world war, Alexander Hamilton in many quarters is seen as joseph in a waist coat and breaches. That may be a little bit of an overstatement, but not by much. Fortune magazine actually has to write a piece in which they say if hamilton were alive today, we think he would fight the nazis. Things do begin to change in the late 20th century in terms of hamiltons reputation, visavis jefferson. And thats partly due i think in good measure due to the fact that civil rights and the whole africanamerican experience becomes very much part of the, at least the political agenda of the 1960s. I think also due to the fact that hamilton was the lone immigrant amongst the key, key Founding Fathers. That also begins to play, in a sense, to hamiltons favor, and you see this in the works of Richard Brookhiser and eventually working its way into Linmanuel Mirandas musical. Yet i have to point out that many miths still persist to this day regarding Alexander Hamilton. And i believe that these miths persist at least partly due to the ideological agenda of arious scholars and writers. For instance, by to Great Lengths in the persist tense of myth to sort of chip away at this idea that Alexander Hamilton referred to the American People as a great beast. The source of this goes back to henry adams book in written in 1889, the history of the jefferson administration, and adams is the first one to sort f pull this great beast quote. Hamilton allegedly said ad a dinner party around 1800 that your people, sir, are a great beast. Adams pulls this out of the object scrure jurist in massachusetts. The point im getting at here is the quote was allegedly uttered in 1800. The source, source a told source b who told source c, who then published a book 60 years later with that quote. No scholar worth his salt should cite that quote. Its a fourthhand account published 60 years after the fact, by a person who despised amilton. Ok . But this quote has taken on a life of its own. And scholars who should know better continue to cite it. Some of them will Say Something to the effect of, well, he may not have actually said it, but it sounds like hamilton. And thats, in my view, very professionally irresponsible. Let me talk about a few more miths associated with hamilton that persists to this day despite the great work of miranda and michael newton, whos in the audience today. The idea that Alexander Hamilton was an opponent or a foe of liberty. This was another myth first pop grated by the jefferson and by jefferson himself. Jefferson is the source of the quote that Alexander Hamilton believes that Julius Caesar was the g