New Events on Hamilton’s Economics

By Nancy Spannaus

Sept. 7, 2022—I am pleased to announce the availability of two new events on Hamilton’s American System of economics which are being held this September. I am the lead speaker on both occasions.

The first has already occurred, but it’s not too late to access it, since it is now posted on the AmericanSystemNow YouTube channel. It is an hour-long radio show entitled Revolution Road, which is sponsored once a month on Sirius radio by the Journal of the American Revolution (JAR). Following the JAR’s recent publication of my article “Alexander Hamilton Was Right: True Liberty Demands Economic Independence,” I was invited to appear on the show.

Host Jimmy Mack interviewed me on September 2, which happened to be the anniversary of the establishment of the Treasury Department. We had a wide-ranging discussion of Hamilton’s economics and those, like Jefferson, who opposed him. Mack was well-informed on the history of the conflict, and I think you would enjoy the dialogue.

The second event, a presentation by me on “Alexander Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures: The Ideas That Shaped Our World,” will occur on Thursday, September 22, at 6:30 Eastern Time. I will be speaking over zoom under the auspices of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. The AHA Society, founded by the late Rand Scholet 10 years ago, is the pre-eminent organization advancing and preserving the historical truth about Alexander Hamilton.

Pre-registration is underway and can be accessed here.

The promotional blurb for the lecture reads as follows:

The importance of Alexander Hamilton’s magnum opus, his 1791 Report on the Subject of Manufactures, is often dismissed. After all, Congress hardly debated it, much less adopted it as policy. Yet a thorough understanding of its ideas, and how they have been put into effect through history, shows that document to be of world-historical importance, not only for the United States, but for the world as a whole.

In her upcoming lecture, author Nancy Spannaus will highlight the leading features of Hamilton’s Report, as well as how those principles  influenced political economy far beyond his lifetime. As it ranges from economic theory to government policy, to specific economic proposals,

the Report on Manufactures provided a foundation for defending the liberties won in the Revolutionary War and fulfilling the goals outlined in the Preamble of our Constitution.

Spannaus has studied Alexander Hamilton since the 1970s and has authored two books dealing with his economic thinking: The Political Economy of the American Revolution (1977; 1996) and Hamilton Versus Wall Street: The Core Principles of the American System of Economics (2019). She also blogs on Hamilton and related themes at americansystemnow.com.

Time to register for the AHA Society event.  I hope to see many of you there.