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Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Hamilton was born out of wedlock on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. He rose to prominence through his role in the Revolutionary War. The founder of the Federalist Party, Hamilton served as Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington. Hamilton was the main champion of the Federalist cause, and led the campaign for the assumption of state debts. Ellis portrays him as a man of exceptional ambition and talent who made many enemies, including John Adams and Aaron Burr. Hamilton’s history of undermining Burr culminated in Burr inviting him to a duel. Burr shot and killed Hamilton, probably unintentionally. Hamilton’s funeral was an “extravaganza of mourning,” and he was memorialized as a martyr of the Federalist cause.
Alexander Hamilton Quotes in Founding Brothers
The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Alexander Hamilton or refer to Alexander Hamilton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
Strictly speaking, Hamilton’s concession should have been the end of it. Affairs of honor were supposed to involve only personal charges. Political or ideological disagreements, no matter how deep, lay outside the field of honor on which a gentleman could demand satisfaction. Hamilton’s distinction between personal and political criticism was designed to change the dispute with Burr from an affair of honor to a political difference of opinion.
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The hyperbolic tone of Hamilton’s anti-Burr comments derived not so much from intense personal dislike per se as from his intense fear that the precarious condition of the infant nation rendered it so vulnerable to Burr’s considerable talents. Burr embodied Hamilton’s daring and energy run amok in a political culture still groping for its stable shape.
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Alexander Hamilton Quotes in Founding Brothers
The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Alexander Hamilton or refer to Alexander Hamilton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
Strictly speaking, Hamilton’s concession should have been the end of it. Affairs of honor were supposed to involve only personal charges. Political or ideological disagreements, no matter how deep, lay outside the field of honor on which a gentleman could demand satisfaction. Hamilton’s distinction between personal and political criticism was designed to change the dispute with Burr from an affair of honor to a political difference of opinion.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The hyperbolic tone of Hamilton’s anti-Burr comments derived not so much from intense personal dislike per se as from his intense fear that the precarious condition of the infant nation rendered it so vulnerable to Burr’s considerable talents. Burr embodied Hamilton’s daring and energy run amok in a political culture still groping for its stable shape.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
