Washington and Hamilton

The following review was posted on Amazon and Goodreads on 9/15/15:

Of the many, many books that have been written on George Washington, the American Revolution, and the founding of our nation, as far as I know this is the first to focus on the relationship between Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Such a book is long overdue—Hamilton remains our most underappreciated Founding Father and his career almost entirely involved working with the Father of our Country. And that is perhaps the book’s greatest weakness—that relationship was so integral to Hamilton’s career that the best book on the relationship is still probably Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton. Chernow’s biography of Washington, on the other hand, curiously has little to say about Hamilton (Knott and Williams reference Chernow often). That is a mistake, I think. Hamilton was just as important to Washington as Washington was to Hamilton.

Washington and Hamilton starts with short biographies of each leading up to the beginning of their relationship during the Revolutionary War. Knott and Williams are highly critical of Hamilton for breaking off the relationship, how he treated (or didn’t treat) Washington after that, and for his role in the Newburgh Conspiracy. Their criticism is somewhat misplaced in my opinion. The relationship between the two was simply not that important at that point.

After both playing prominent roles in bringing about a new constitutional order, Washington and Hamilton’s renewed relationship really began to blossom when Hamilton joined Washington’s cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury. Here I think Knott and Williams make their biggest mistake by omitted most of the work that rightly earned Hamilton the title Father of our Government (Chernow’s term, I believe). Instead they choose to focus more on his role after leaving the government, when the Federalists were feuding with what became the Democratic-Republican Party. Knott and Williams harshly criticize Jefferson here, not unfairly. Monroe and Adams are also targets of their scorn, with Madison escaping largely unscathed. It’s one of the great ironies of that period that Jefferson won the battle, Hamilton won the war, but Jefferson won the press conference. So to speak.

It’s a well written, solid work, although again a reader is probably better off starting with Chernow’s biography of Hamilton. Knott and Williams are very much pro-Federalist/anti-Democratic-Republican, but that’s fair and now you know it going in. They correctly see the importance of the war to Washington and Hamilton’s views and understand Washington’s brilliance was his judgment in leveraging Hamilton’s brilliance. They also appreciate that brilliance, although it doesn’t get its full desserts without a focus on his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury and only limited space devoted to the Federalist Papers. Ultimately, that’s its greatest failing. 352 pages doesn’t do its subject matter justice.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Washington and Hamilton through NetGalley.

A wonderful analysis of the partnership thar grew between the elder Icon Washington. and the younger Hamilton. Washington initially the leader but Hamilton advanced his position by the economic gifts he developed.