I am shocked, shocked that none of the erudite and witty contributors to this excellent thread have not pointed out three of my most annoying AH cliches. They (surprise, surprise) involve Alexander Hamilton:
1. AH was ineligible to be elected President of the U.S. because he was from some exotic Caribbean island (Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, etc. etc.). I sincerely hope that people will take the time to read the Constitution before making this assertion.
2. The reverse of above. The Constitution was specifically drafted to allow AH to be elected President and he would have been elected President if he had just avoided Maria Reynolds. I don't think so. AH was a brave soldier, a great lawyer, a brilliant writer and a clear headed thinker about the new Republic's economic needs and its possible future. He also apparently never had an unspoken or unwritten thought, was constantly aggrivating friends and potential allies and infuriating political opponents. Not a good personality profile for a successful politician. He was also "the bastard brat of a Scotch peddler" as John Adams so succintly put it and no marriage into the Schuylers or success on the battlefield or the courtroom was going to change that. Secretary of the Treasury? Sure. Chief Magistrate of the Republic? No way.
3. And my all time favorite (?) AH alternate history cliche; AH was the evil genius of monarchism and proto fascism who with a few lucky breaks would have imposed on the Republic a British style monarchy, a Napoleonic empire (with himself as Emperor) or a military dictatorship; take your pick. All according to his long held and secret plans hatched when he was growing up in Bermuda (or was it Jamaica?). In reality, AH was not Dr. Evil but one of many men of property and commerce (we now call them the Federalists) who wanted a stronger and more effective national government and who was willing to make the effort to convince the people of the various states by accepted political means that this was a good idea. A 21st Century "power to the people" democrat? Certainly not. A monarchist or proto fascist? No.
Your obedient servant
1. AH was ineligible to be elected President of the U.S. because he was from some exotic Caribbean island (Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, etc. etc.). I sincerely hope that people will take the time to read the Constitution before making this assertion.
2. The reverse of above. The Constitution was specifically drafted to allow AH to be elected President and he would have been elected President if he had just avoided Maria Reynolds. I don't think so. AH was a brave soldier, a great lawyer, a brilliant writer and a clear headed thinker about the new Republic's economic needs and its possible future. He also apparently never had an unspoken or unwritten thought, was constantly aggrivating friends and potential allies and infuriating political opponents. Not a good personality profile for a successful politician. He was also "the bastard brat of a Scotch peddler" as John Adams so succintly put it and no marriage into the Schuylers or success on the battlefield or the courtroom was going to change that. Secretary of the Treasury? Sure. Chief Magistrate of the Republic? No way.
3. And my all time favorite (?) AH alternate history cliche; AH was the evil genius of monarchism and proto fascism who with a few lucky breaks would have imposed on the Republic a British style monarchy, a Napoleonic empire (with himself as Emperor) or a military dictatorship; take your pick. All according to his long held and secret plans hatched when he was growing up in Bermuda (or was it Jamaica?). In reality, AH was not Dr. Evil but one of many men of property and commerce (we now call them the Federalists) who wanted a stronger and more effective national government and who was willing to make the effort to convince the people of the various states by accepted political means that this was a good idea. A 21st Century "power to the people" democrat? Certainly not. A monarchist or proto fascist? No.
Your obedient servant