Would Alexander Hamilton have been a Democrat or Republican?

[kentuck]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande06.html

<snip>
In 1787 delegates met in Philadelphia to repair the weak Articles of Confederation, which were failing to hold the union together. Hamilton, a New York delegate, believed that the solution to the problem involved creating a stronger central government and providing a steady revenue stream for this government.

Although Hamilton had little influence on the writing of the Constitution, he was a driving force for its ratification. Along with John Jay and James Madison, Hamilton wrote "The Federalist," a series of essays that defended the yet-to-be-approved Constitution. Hamilton composed more than two-thirds of the 85 essays, which were published in New York newspapers in 1787-88. Later in 1788, Hamilton attended the New York ratification convention. Using his considerable skill as an orator, he turned back an overwhelming Anti-Federalist tide to win ratification.

Upon his election in 1789, George Washington chose Alexander Hamilton as the nation's first Treasury secretary. Hamilton crafted a monetary policy that undoubtedly saved the nation from ruin. Among the features of the Hamilton plan were the payment of federal war bonds, the assumption of state debts by the federal government, and the creation of a mechanism for collecting taxes.

During his tenure as Treasury secretary, Hamilton clashed repeatedly with another cabinet member, Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton favored a powerful central government while Jefferson feared it; Hamilton favored closer relations with Britain, and Jefferson, with France. The men would both resign their Cabinet posts before the end of Washington's first term. They would remain lifelong political enemies.

....more at link

[underpants]

1. Atheist

[roamer65]

2. Hamilton would love the government we now have in the US.

He was in favor of a very powerful, oligarchical central government.

[JI7]

3. like Bill Clinton

[edhopper]

4. He was in favor of a strong Federal Govt.

And Federal dominance over States, so a Dem.

[ReRe]

5. Definitely a Republican...

Most definitely.

[Stallion]

7. To an Extent Yes but the Democratic Party Platform Relies Upon a Strong, Centralized Govt

the Republican Party relies more on the Articles of Confederation and the rights of state and local government

[ReRe]

8. I think we concur. n/t

[Hortensis]

9. Unquestionably Republican. Personality would remain

true through the centuries, while ideology would adjust to new situations. I've read about Hamilton. An extremely remarkable and knowledgeable man, to whom we owe some gratitude for his assistance in keeping our new nation from collapsing, but he is unquestionably solidly conservative.

The Federalist Papers were actually propagandized versions of what he really intended, watered down and restated to reassure people who believed that they were now equal to anyone in the land that his plans would not change that.

Hah! Thank goodness for Jefferson and Madison, and other liberals who fought with them. We owe our government of, by and for people who are all equal under the law (or supposed to be) to them.

Like many far-right leaders today, Hamilton was committed to fixing that great misunderstanding the Declaration of Independence had fostered. Given his way, we would have had a European-style government based mostly on England's, with a president for life with almost monarchical powers and senators for life, chosen from among an American aristocracy by an electoral college. There absolutely would be no Bill of Rights.

Hamiltonianism and Federalism have a great deal of support today among America's conservative elites, and dumbheads living in rusted trailers too.

[ReRe]

13. Thank you Hortensis...

(I love that name). There's been a lively discussion about Hamilton on DU, and all the praise that goes out to the Broadway play. But as I remember my independent study of US history NOT taught by a professor, but by roaming stacks in the history section at the library and using the bibliography in the back of each book. If it didn't have a bibliography, I put it back. I read backwards and forwards and checked if there were discrepancies between different historians.

Anyway, I didn't come away from it all with a very good feeling about Alexander Hamilton. And slap my mouth if you need to, but John Adams was right there behind him on my unfavorable list. Of course I loved the story of John and Abigail and the back and forth between Adams and Jefferson, right up to the last day of their ilves. Boy was that not a coincidence!

[Hortensis]

14. I really like your name too. ReRe was what our

small granddaughter used to call her sister. And as you say, about the relations over the years! What a shame Jefferson destroyed most of his papers.

[Stallion]

6. Alexander Hamilton Was Largely Proven Correct

...and his genius allowed the United States to become the most powerful economic power in the world. I know some don't like words like capitalism and private enterprise-but the vast majority of Americans still do. Its strange that Jefferson was so enlightened on the rights of men but so wrong about economic theory. Jefferson helped create a government that could evolve and survive for Centuries but Hamilton invented the economic model that could evolve and survive

[craigmatic]

10. He would've been a blue dog dem.

[erpowers]

11. Democrat

Alexander Hamilton would be a Democrat because the current Republican Party is opposed to just about every idea he supported. The Republican Party is opposed to a strong central government. Republicans are opposed to the Federal Reserve. Republicans are opposed to having a Department that collects taxes.

[Jim Beard]

12. self serving

Hamilton’s position on slavery is more complex than his biographers’ suggest. Hamilton was not an advocate of slavery, but when the issue of slavery came into conflict with his personal ambitions, his belief in property rights, or his belief of what would promote America’s interests, Hamilton chose those goals over opposing slavery. In the instances where Hamilton supported granting freedom to blacks, his primary motive was based more on practical concerns rather than an ideological view of slavery as immoral. Hamilton’s decisions show that his desire for the abolition of slavery was not his priority.

One of Alexander Hamilton’s main goals in life was to rise to a higher position in society. His humble birth meant that he would not only have to work hard but that he would have to befriend the right people — the wealthy and influential. During the eighteenth century, a large number of upper-class Americans held slaves. When Hamilton had to make a choice between his social ambitions and his desire to free slaves, he opted to follow his ambitions.

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Hamilton’s involvement in the selling of slaves suggests that his position against slavery was not absolute. Besides marrying into a slaveholding family, Hamilton conducted transactions for the purchase and transfer of slaves on behalf of his in-laws and as part of his assignment in the Continental Army. In 1777, before he married Elizabeth, he had written a formal letter to Colonel Elias Dayton, relaying Washington’s request that Dayton return a “Negro lately taken by a party of militia belonging to Mr. Caleb Wheeler.”[6]



Hamilton and Slavery

[thelateshow]

15. I say Republican

I would have to go against the grain here. I see him as republican. Things change over time. Jefferson feared government because industry had yet to become the primary establishment. Once business became the potentially oppressive force, the liberal, or right-brained folks, realized the importance of government. to me, the irreconcilable differences between jefferson and hamilton, that resulted in a two-party system, represents two fundamental types of people: liberal and conservative. that being said, it makes sense that jefferson thought better in terms of government, while hamilton in terms of economy. Furthermore, the fact that hamilton was fond of britain and jefferson france.. britain was much more conservative with the influence of religion in government, and france was more intellectual and progressive. jefferson was an idealist. a writer. a pretty boy, if you will. although he dressed like a commoner as president, to make the point that the president was merely a public servant. jefferson had actual compassion for the blacks. he wrote with grandiloquence. the federalist papers are much more straightforward in verbiage. also, jefferson wasn’t a good soldier. etc. etc. etc. all these things constitute the way that i perceive the fundamental differences in the liberal and conservative personalities.