Mine is an evil laugh.
Didn't see that coming.
Good update.
Waiting for more!!!
I'm glad you liked the update. The next part of the TL will commence before long.
Widukind, what books/sites did you use to research Hamilton?
Also, poor Jefferson.
EDIT: Why is there a yellow warning sign next to my post?
Well, being a weirdo who reads historical works for fun, I've read a
lot of stuff, and I'll gladly admit that my way of writing these personages is based on an understanding of them that I have gradually formed. (I'll also gladly admit that my understanding of them is, without doubt, nevertheless very limited.) All this is to say: I'm afraid I can't refer you to all the useful sources on Hamilton I may have read at one point.
Some good works on Hamilton include the very obvious biographies:
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and
Alexander Hamilton: A Biography by Forrest Mcdonald. That last one in particular is useful in placing Hamilton in his proper (conservative) context, by showing the way his political, moral and economic thought reflects the ideas of several conservative thinkers.
There's also a biography of Hamilton exclusively based on his own quotes. Very telling about his psychology.
Two further biographies are well-written, but almost bizarrely biased in Hamilton's favor. A
lexander Hamilton: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall, and
Alexander Hamilton, American by Richard Brookhiser. Especially that last one is amost entirely blind to Hamilton's many, many failings. I would not recommend them, and I'd urge any reader to realize that those books are not impartial by any stretch of the imagination.
More useful to me in the writing of this timeline have been three books that compare and contrast certain Founding Fathers.
Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged A Nation by John Ferling was invaluable.
Thomas Jefferson Versus Alexander Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation by Noble Cunningham is a different rake on the same idea (but be forwarned; whichever one you read first, the other will feel like a bit of a do-over.) Lastly,
Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character by Roger G. Kennedy. That one is mostly useful when it comes to figuring out Aaron Burr (it subverts all incorrect preconceived notions about the man), but is also worth reading when you're trying to get a better grip on the mindset and motivations of Hamilton and Jefferson.
As for the yellow icon... I have no clue, either.
Is it strange that I whole heartedly espouse Hamiltonian ideals and believe the federalists to be in the right. It seems to me, with the benefit of hindsight, that the one true way to ruin for a nation is to halt the fires of innovation and to blindly reject the path to greatness. An agarian nation is a failed nation, no matter its social values.
Personally, I'm convinced Hamilton (not all Federalist: hamilton in particular) was wrong about nearly everything. While both the Democratic-Republican and the Federalist factions covered a broad spectrum, I am firmly on the side of the former.
That said: Jefferson's personal love of agrarianism isn't shared by all in the South, either.
If I may be so bold as to debate OTL period politics (to explain my own thinking, and the way I write this TL): I'm convinced that free trade is good, and protectionism is bad. I'm firmly with the Dem-Reps... but unlike Jefferson, I'm convinced that free trade will lead to more rapid and effective modernization of a country. And there are many more points: Hamilton's love of a strong military etc. could easily lead to repression and tyranny. I for one would gladly "reject the path to greatness" if greatness comes at the cost of liberty.
Anyway, points of policy are always up for debate. As far as I'm concerned, everyone is entitled to his or her own views regarding economy, fiscal matters, miltary organization etc. etc. - So I don't really think it "strange" that you side with the Federalists. It's not my view, but I don't think we're here to force our own views on all others.
I do hope that when you say that you agree with the Federalists & mr. Hamilton, you do not mean that you also endorse repressive legislation, violations of civil liberties, religious intolerance, the mass suspension of habeas corpus and the subordination of the civil government to the military power. Because that's Hamilton's dark side right there. He's given more leeway to exert it ITTL, but it's all rooted in OTL opinions he held.
I am pleased with how you handle the byplay between the nations but I would ask for more imput on the part of the Northern Republic. I doubt the destruction of the public education system in New England as historically puritanism has been very friendly to public education, with an instruction that all towns needed to have a public school for education of all. Even federalist rhetoric would not change this fundamental truth.
Regarding education: the idea here is that the Federalists were essentially an elitist party, and Hamilton was the most elitist of them all. A recent thread yielded some examples of his general attitude towards "the masses" (which wasn't pretty). In a more polarized USA, I'm fairly sure the very Hamiltonian Federalists would seek to restrict the franchise as tightly as they could get away with. Public education doesn't fit in with their plans or their worldview.
We'll get more insight into Northern culture later on. What's actually happening is that state governments (and now the federal government), dominated by Federalists, have pretty much abolished public education. The fact that Jefferson is eagerly promoting it only increases their adversity towards it: they fear it, because it grants too much power to "the mob". (Keep in mind that Hamilton consistently used "democracy" as a dirty word.) On a local level, religious institutions are taking over that task. Most people are getting a basic education... but it's very much a religious affair. (Which only tells the Federalists that they are doing the right thing, because they generally applaud the Protestant Christian character of their nation.)
