Historians on Hamilton, How a Blockbuster Musical is Restaging America’s Past Renee C. Romano and Claire Bond Potter, editors Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 2018, 399 pp. By Nancy Spannaus Aug. 2, 2018—While I did not have very high hopes for this book of essays critiquing the Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical […]
by Edward Spannaus Fifth of a series. The first four parts of this series, devoted to “John Marshall and the American System” can be found here. July 23, 2018–With the help of American System champion Henry Clay and his supporters, John Quincy Adams was elected President in early 1825, after […]
By Nancy Spannaus June 25, 2018—In his Report on the Subject of Manufactures, and elsewhere, American System founder Alexander Hamilton made it clear that the government’s responsibility in this area should be to foster technological advances and adequate supply in the industries crucial to the nation’s national defense and general […]
By Nancy Spannaus May 12, 2018—On April 23, 1834, a meeting of the “People of Mifflin County, Pa.” adopted the following resolution, which it sent on to the Congress of the United States: Resolved. . . . That the unwise and unlawful removal of the public deposits from the Bank […]
Alexander Hamilton on Finance, Credit, and Debt Richard Sylla and David J. Cowen Columbia University Press, New York City, 2018, 345 pp. A review by Nancy Spannaus April 13, 2018—When co-author Richard Sylla presented this book at the National Archives on March 14, I immediately thought that his Alexander Hamilton […]
By Nancy Spannaus March 16, 2018—Economic historian Richard Sylla of New York University presented his newly published book, Alexander Hamilton on Finance, Credit, and Debt, on March 14 at a National Archives noon lecture. His thesis was a forceful argument that it was Hamilton who was uniquely responsible for the […]
by Nancy Spannaus Jan. 25, 2018—The Jan. 22 leak of an outline of President Trump’s national infrastructure plan, which he says he will announce at his Jan. 30 State of the Union address, has amped up the national discussion on infrastructure funding. On Jan. 24, the President told a […]
By Nancy Spannaus Jan. 10, 2018—One test of an individual’s genius is the enduring quality and validity of his or her ideas, lasting from one generation to the next. A Leonardo, a Beethoven, an Einstein—to cite just a few examples—produced insights and beauty which have borne fruit, and inspired many […]
By John Ascher Sept. 19—Since the publication of Part One of this series, catastrophic events–and the challenge of an appropriate response– have intervened into our nation’s life with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. This series does not purport to present comprehensive plans for the infrastructure and great projects needed to […]
By Angela Vullo Feb. 17, 2019–Approximately fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King made his pleas for economic justice, we are confronted with the fact that wealth inequality has turned the United States into one of the most extremely income-stratified nations in the world. In this context, it is instructive […]
By Nancy Spannaus Feb. 15, 2019—Enraptured by the Hamilton musical? Eager to learn more about the Founding Father that many leftists love to hate? Or just downright disgusted with the fact that the U.S. Congress can’t seem to figure out how to rebuild our economy? If so, I have the […]
Ben Franklin on the Issue of Credit
By Nancy Spannaus Jan. 17, 2019—Some words of wisdom from our philosopher-founder Benjamin Franklin are surely appropriate in these times, and his 313th birthday—to be celebrated today—is a good time to pay them heed. Old Ben is known for shaping many aspects of our fight for independence, but one area […]