Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding

by Darren M. Staloff

Where The Ideas for which We Stand came from.

In this incisively drawn book, Darren Staloff forcefully reminds us that America owes its guiding political traditions to three Founding Fathers whose lives embodied the collision of Europe's grand Enlightenment project with the birth of the nation.

Alexander Hamilton, the worldly New Yorker; John Adams, the curmudgeonly Yankee; Thomas Jefferson, the visionary Virginia squire—each governed their public lives by Enlightenment principles, and for each their relationship to the politics of Enlightenment was transformed by the struggle for American independence. Repeated humiliation on America's battlefields banished Hamilton's youthful idealism, leaving him a disciple of Enlightened realpolitik and the nation's leading exponent of modern statecraft. After ten years in Europe's diplomatic trenches, Adams's embrace of the politics of Enlightenment became increasingly skeptical in spirit, and his public posture became increasingly that of the gadfly of his country. And Jefferson's frustrations as a Revolutionary governor in Virginia led him to go beyond his Enlightened worldview, and articulate a new and radical Romantic politics of principle. As a consequence, Americans demand a government that is both modern, constrained by checks and balances, and capable of appealing to our loftiest aspirations while adhering to decidedly pragmatic policies.

Genres: History, American History, Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, American Revolution, Economics

437 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2005

Reviews

[Sarah W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at three American founding fathers (Hamilton, Adams, & Jefferson) through the lens of the Enlightenment and political thought. While this book was by no means my first about any of these men, it did add to my understanding of them and how they approached the American founding and politics during the years following the American Revolution. My admiration for Hamilton and Adams (especially Adams) increased, and my opinion of Jefferson sunk to a new low (it seems the more I learn about him, the less I like him). Overall, this was an engaging read and I learned a lot of about political thought, Enlightenment politics, and the early American republic from this book.

[Pomegranates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for research purposes a few months back, but was so intrigued by it that I decided to try and find it again-- this time to read it all the way through. Staloff writes a great introduction to the Enlightenment, explaining its context, its sources, and its character. I think it really improved my overall understanding of the movement, from how individual philosophers fit into larger trends to how the dynamic between "enthusiasm," Rationalism, and Empiricism developed. Although Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson lacks the excitement to immediately enthrall, it is nonetheless an immensely rewarding read.

In terms of the individual chapters, I really liked Staloff's take on his subjects' relationships with the Enlightenment-- he had a keen awareness of when the threes' major shift in political outlook occurred. Although I disagreed with some of his conclusions, Staloff's interpretation was altogether clever and well-supported. He had an fair grasp of all three characters, and did a notable job factoring their environments into the construction of their personalities and belief systems, especially with regards to Adams and Jefferson (the contrast in attitudes towards education in Virginia and Massachusetts was particularly striking). Jefferson's tenure as governor received plenty of attention, more than I would have expected, as did Adams' vision of ideal government. On the topic of Hamilton, Staloff has a thought-provoking theory regarding the reasons for his surprising lack of popularity and supportive historiography. I'm not sure how well some of his concepts translate into real life, but in spite of this they're very fascinating.

It's a shame Staloff failed to incorporate a conclusion-- especially considering what an informative work his introduction was, it would have been quite beneficial to see; the book needed a more fulfilling sense of closure and a technique to connect its three focuses.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a mixed bag. It is part biography, part panygeric and part examination of how the principles of 18th century Enlightenment philosophy and culture influenced the thought, writings and careers of three of our principal Founding Fathers. Having read through Staloff's arguments, it seems to me that the influence of the Enlightenment applied mostly to Adams, whose thinking, as the new nation's first genuine political scientist, evolved from his vociferous advocacy of "learned republicanism" in his early years in fiery Boston to the disappointed cynicism of his presidency. Hamilton, the most pragmatic of the three, was more a product of his long-suffering wartime frustrations with the Continental Congress and the incurable self-interest of his fellow Americans than ever he was the product of any political philosophy (with apologies to Adam Smith). As far as the the sources and manifestations of Jefferson's world view, that's as much a muddle of contradiction and hypocrisy as is the man himself. In the end, Staloff makes the case that their personal experiences of the Revolutionary War and the young government it produced transformed each of these Founders from children of the Enlightenment to very different men: Hamilton became the bare-knuckled capitalist; Adams, the insufferable skeptic; Jefferson, the agrarian idealist.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Staloff examines the three men named in the title, assessing their relationship to (his version of) the Enlightenment. As the chapter titles make clear, Hamilton embodies the Enlightenment, Adams transcends it, and Jefferson is a proto-Romantic. Staloff's Enlightenment is primarily centered around political and economic writings, particularly those of the Scottish Enlightenment (especially those which influenced Hamilton).

There is an introduction, but no conclusion. At the end of each chapter the author tries to assess the legacy of each man by tying them to the present, not always successfully. At no point (that I could find) does he explain why he chose these three "Founding Fathers". Despite a generally academic tone, Staloff throws in the occasional colloquialism in a way I can only describe as jarring ( he uses "hooked up with" when discussing Hamilton's mother).

The book raises some interesting points, especially if one uses it as a starting point to consider how each of the men approached and appropriated the ideas of the Enlightenment.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good review of the political careers and writings of these three major founders with special attention to their status as thinkers of the Enlightenment and subsequent intellectual currents (such as Romanticism). It's a tad repetitive in parts, as the introduction in some cases uses the same sentences that appear later in the text, suggesting that it could have been a bit better edited. Most notable is its canny evaluation of Thomas Jefferson that places his hypocrisy in context as an effect of the type of rhetoric he established as a fundament of American politics. In other words, rather than excoriate Jefferson, Staloff recognizes him as the founder of a politics of principle that doesn't feel the need to reflect its stated values in its actual policies - the American way!

[Luke Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitle: The Politics of the Enlightenment and the American Founding

Darren Staloff, Ph.D., a historian at the University of Florida, considers three prominent Founding Fathers in Hamilton, Adams, and Jefferson. He takes up each with reference to their role in the founding of the United States, and with reference to each other. Using their own writings and extensive quotes from contemporary and later sources, he paints an extensive and even-handed portrait of each. Steeped in the thought and politics of the time, these in-depth sketches immerse the reader in the personality and the grand achievement of each. They will round out your understanding of each in grand if unblinking style.

In grossly broad strokes, mainstream Enlightenment thought rejected any appeal to the supernatural or divine revelation. This trend brought into common thought a disenchantment with the idea that the world was run by force of some supreme being, and contemplated instead, the natural forces which one could observe and test.

Continuing broadly, Hamilton used a superior mind and indefatigable energy to push through his vision of a strong central authority, with a central bank, a very active commercial market, and government investment in infrastructure. In his view these would together generate wealth and plenty for the new nation. This was at a time when the new country was overwhelmingly agrarian in nature, both in output and civic vision. Obviously his program ultimately carried the day.

Adams was a brilliant, sometimes prickly, always vain but honest statesman and politician, whose vision for the new Constitution was enacted in its entirety. I believe that any sharing of this credit, by any other contemporary thinker or Founding Father is illusory, and simple myth-building. Plain wrong.

Jefferson’s gift for lofty language created a grand American myth; his phrasing has inspired foreign revolutionary zealots and American schoolchildren alike. His presidency failed, however: the Embargo Act plunged the new nation into its first deep depression, and produced none of the desired results of projecting nascent American power internationally. In addition, his questionable parochiality about the slavery question, and his hare-brained scheme for solving it did nothing to prevent or forestall the bloody sectional conflict to come. In fact, it helped assure that the conflict would come.

As a history of the period, and three of its principal and most influential actors, this book is thorough and balanced — excellent.

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[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little long, but not windy. A great book that covers these three ridiculously influential individuals from US history, and interesting at that.