Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, & the United States 240 Years Later

Perhaps at this point, you’ve heard of the bastard, orphan, immigrant presently featured on the $10 Bill (though he’s actually been on all of them). I’m talking about Alexander Hamilton, the founding father who’s seen a resurgence thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s incredible musical, Hamilton. And you know Thomas Jefferson, the founding father whose popularity is rivaled only by George Washington’s. I’ve been thinking a lot about these guys thanks to a book I recently read called Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation. But that’s not the only reason; today is the 240th Anniversary of the United States becoming an independent nation. 2015-2016 has been politically tumultuous and things don’t promise to get much better as we enter the primaries. However, I am reminded that there have been worse times, and our republic has survived. It’s almost a quarter of a century old, and that’s incredible.

Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation was a pretty illuminating book for me; I didn’t realize just how early party politics started (basically with Washington’s presidency) or how much the founding fathers fought each other. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson specifically has such different ideas about how the new nation should be structured and the power of government. Jefferson felt the national government should have as little power as possible, and Hamilton was accused of wanting to abolish states’ rights in favor of a very strong national government. As both men held powerful positions in government, they were both able to shape the early years of the United States. Today we can see the effects of both of their work.

Have Perspective through History

I mention this because it’s really easy to think that things are worse than they ever have been now. The 2016 election is shaping up to be a contest of who’s disliked less instead of 2 people who are fit to lead. The mudslinging and animosity towards people who think differently upsets me to my core; ignorance is seemingly more rampant today than in the early years of our country.

But this and other history books I’ve been reading have given me some perspective. Mudslinging was rampant back then too, the Election of 1800 was so divisive it came down to 2 people of the same party and was decided by Congress, and even then newspapers had strong political bias.

[bctt tweet=”Pride in your country should come from what it’s built on, not single events in its history.” username=”jcasabona”]

It’s easy to say this is the worst time, but it’s not. Things are probably better than they have ever been, despite what we see on TV and read online. This election is crappy but there have been lots of crappier ones. Barry Goldwater was basically 1964’s Donald Trump, and some good chances came out of that election.

240 years later the country I love and grew up in to me is still the greatest country in the world. Some of my friends have said recently that there is nothing that makes them proud of this country. Single events shouldn’t be what makes or takes your pride. It should be what this country is built on – the ability to change what we don’t like. We are a democracy that’s 240 years old and over the years a lot has changed. But what remains the same are the opportunities we have to educate ourselves and have a voice. That’s why I’m proud of the United States, and that’s why I always will be.

[bctt tweet=”We can educate ourselves & have a voice. That’s why I’m proud of the USA, and I always will be.” username=”jcasabona”]