Alexander Hamilton Book Report

625 Words2 Pages

A man who helped shape America; there are few historical figures who have been debated about as much as Alexander Hamilton has. Like all of us, he was a person. He made mistakes. I enjoyed this book because it shows a side of Hamilton which is not taught in history classes. This biography by Ron Chernow tells us the story of an ordinary man, who did extraordinary things. This biography is not just about the story of Hamilton, but the story of a country’s legacy in the making. The first sections of the book detail Hamilton’s early life in the Caribbean, “surrounded by failed, broken and embittered people” (Chernow 26). Chernow displays how Hamilton, like any of us, had baggage from his past he wanted to keep a secret. One of the best effects of the biography is how it doesn’t portray Hamilton as the “hero” of the story. He is an actual person with flaws and not everyone liked him. Not only does this book describe the life of Hamilton, but the people around him as well. Chernow tells the story of his family, enemies, and friends. While this story does expose the little known flaws of Hamilton, it also shows how intelligent he was. Many of us today wish we could …show more content…

Most of us do not like to admit it, but we love to hear about drama, and Hamilton’s life was full of it. Just one example of this is Hamilton’s affair with another married woman: Maria Reynolds. Much like today, when news of the affair got out, it spread like wildfire. Today the drama would be spread by text or the internet, but back at that time, Hamilton actually exposed himself in his writing. Hamilton published The Reynolds Pamphlet in 1797, the pamphlet tells everything that happened between the two married adults. Also, how Hamilton was blackmailed into paying Maria’s husband in order to keep him quiet about the affair. Yet, even though this was an unfortunate incident, it kept me wondering what happened

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