alexander hamilton was given the task to write to general washington. hamilton and washington had a tortured relationship. alexander hamilton arrived in america just before the revolution. timing is everything. went to college, became a lawyer, then the war broke out. he joined the army, became a captain in the artillery, distinguished him, a very fine soldier. came to the attention of general washington who invited the young man to be his secretary, which he accepted. and he served washington until one day at headquarters, washington was going up the stairs, colonel hamilton coming down the stairs. the commander in chief said to the colonel, colonel, i wish to see you immediately. the colonel responded, i'll be with you in a few minutes, sir. not the right answer to the commander in chief. washington turned on hamilton, berated him in front of his fellow officers. hamilton then resigned as secretary. returned to the army

the alleys and are -- the alexander hamilton post, which represents the lgbt-focused veterans agency. "on behalf of the 200 lgbt war veterans, alexander hamilton post in san francisco would like me to speak a few words on behalf of our lgbt elders. our country would not be strong or successful if it were not for them. sexual orientation does not diminish the sacrifices that made for our nation. these citizens carry the burden to ensure that our society, with all its complexities, could succeed courage to those in the 1970's and 1980's, i cannot imagine what you winter in the early years. we owe you a great deal of gratitude. thank you again and got less all of you today." -- god bleesss all of you today" "discrimination can take many forms, including discrimination of omission, refusal of rice to receive visitors, denial of access to hormone therapy, being threatened for expressing gender identity, being segregated, being harassed on the basis of hiv status, refused the right to visit a partner, and refusal of life-planning documents the dead -- of life-planning documents. we have wor

again, going there with alexander hamilton, though. but i don't think -- i think it was something that grew on washington. and by the way, washington never lost his instincts for taking the battle to the enemy. and indeed, frankly, in the last campaign, you know, he didn't intend to go to yorktown. he intended to try to retake new york. which tells you a couple things. first of all, he was willing to set aside his own strategic which tells you a couple things. first of all, he was willing to set aside his own strategic prejudices, if you will, and allow circumstances to govern his actions and those of the army. so, i think that's maybe the answer to your question. i'm not sure there was ever a time when he resigned himself to this. i think he always understood the war as more than a conventional military conflict. it was a war for mind, more than capitals and armies. i think you can make the case that washington is a much more moderate general than he is generally described. >> how big was the army went wh it went into valley forge and

imperfectly contained the opposing schools of thought personified by secretary of the treasury alexander hamilton and secretary of state thomas jefferso of state thomas jefferson. inevitably, the arist to cat who considered himself a friend to man versus hamilton with a belief in regional sin and no shortage of personal experience to back it up. taking note of hamilton's reputation as a lady's man, washington had given his name to the house ped, a large headed amorous tomkat. like fire and frost, they were temperamental opposites who not even washington could reconcile. he performed a juggling act with historic consequences. two centuries before bill clinton and his aggressive young campaign team declared that it's the economy stupid, washington resolved to put his country's credit on a sound basis. quote. i think i see a path as clear and direct as a ray of light, he wrote. which if pursued will ensure permanent felicity to the commonwealth. to support hamilton's audacious scheme to have the federal government assume state debts left over from the war, was a perfectly logical expression of this

alexander hamilt hamilton. to middleton's tavern and they write an extended home about how much fun they had. the poem, it reminds me of dr. seuss. it just rattles off the tongue. it's very rhythmic. beautiful night. they had already mentioned that the great table seemed to grown under the load of their music. the minister at saint anne's church -- they composed most of the music and the modern u.s., the earliest chamber music was not written by the -- so this club spirit, unfortunately, this particular club, with the death of alexander hamilton -- let's look at this supply of beef sticks, they still meet, they dress up for the occasion, they eat well, they drink well and they sing. wonderful group of men. the first thing he did was take their club song book and made fun of the americans from the british perspective. he liked that. sublime society still in existence. about 30 years after the sublime society was founded, another group of men based in the theater in -- and remember, 18th century, europe, mid 18th

even alexander hamilton thought the act went too far. but you have to understand the fear that these people had. i think the goal of historian is not to take sides and say the federalists were right or the republicans were right, but rather to explain why people thought as they did and acted as they did. and in this case, there were legitimate fears on both sides. >> there's also at that time which must have added to the disquiet if not to the fear, there's social changes going on as people figure out what this new political system means and what its ramifications are. and you had -- i love it when you or any historian highlights a story that is unfamiliar. and it may involve a familiar person, but it just throws a light on something. and one of my favorites in this book involves john rotledge who was a considerable figure in south carolina and at the constitutional convention. and then someone i had certainly heard of, and i guess that's the point of the story, a man named william thompson. but this throws a light on that shift. >> righ

as a compromise, or as a way of making it possible to yield to alexander hamilton's favoring of this proposal, jefferson and madison urged that the new national capital be located where it is now on the banks of the potomac. and if you look at that right now, that's full of irony. joseph ellis said, by selecting the potomac location, the congress had implicitly decided to separate the political and financial capitals of the united states, washington and new york. the exciting synergy of institutional life in the metropolis new york was deemed less important than the dangerous corruptions likely to afflict nexus of politicians and financiers. if you don't feel the irony about that one in the year 2011, you haven't been reading the newspapers or believing them. these are those -- that kind of agreement, of course, jefferson thought would be a way whereby as ellis puts it that they would not abandon the new government of the united states, but they would capture it, like the new capital, it would become an extension of virginia. which was virginia -- both virginia and massachusetts' amb

alexander hamilton was a firm believer in ending slavery. the democratic republicans were a little slower. mainly because the base of the party came from the south. but -- so what's ironic -- truly ironic is that irish immigrants who were not yet citizens were being given the vote in pennsylvania while at the same time blacks -- freed blacks who had been in the country for generations were having their suffrage taken away. so that was democracy, so to speak, the dark side of democracy in that period. >> mm-hmm. now, you know, this isn't all just history. a lot of this is news. i mean, we are seeing in the newspapers and on television right now it's in cairo. >> right. >> but also, it's very bloody in syria. we have this whole arab spring. now it's autumn. it's been going on for months. you know, despites toppling or tottering. it seems as if there could be a chance for more democracy. is there anything our example could say to those people on the streets by either way of instruction or warning? >> yeah, i think the arab spring, we're all exc

alexander hamilton could have pulled back on calling aaron burr despicable. could have, but didn't.ator zell miller talks to me. but we have politics. newt ain't quitting this fight. this politic

cannot imagine john adams or for that matter thomas jefferson or had he been able to be elected alexander hamilton for that matter coming up with executive privilege and making it stick. it was against this background that washington warned, in his famous farewell address, against what he called the small but artful and enterprising minority whose primary allegiance was to a party. in their place the president demanded, quote, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty. that's washington's politics. that's washington's vision of america. a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty. and then he gave the ultimate meaning to those words by doing something the crowned heads of europe found beyond improbable. he, of course, voluntarily stepped away from power. what he hoped to do halfway through his first term and again at the end of the first term, and finally, was able to do after eight years in office. no action that he took did more to shape the presidency than his voluntary relinquishment of office at the end of two t

this view is corroborated by zend alexander hamilton 1967, when he deemed the recess clause a supplement or an auxiliary in nature. the debate records clearly show that the delegates voiced great distress of the executive and expressed the need for checks and balances to un

alexander hamilton could have pulled back on calling aaron burr despicable. could have, but didn't.s to me. but we have politics. newt ain't quitting this fight. this political ducell going to continue and it's going to get more deadly. there's a presidential nomination at stake and romney's cruising for more bruising. and liberals, believe it or not, are rooting for the newtster. and that's "hardball" for now. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now.

. >>> an air of mystery has surrounded this bronze likeness of alexander hamilton. in dedicating the 10-foot tall figure that greets visitors to the treasury department. it might have been the gift of andrew miller who admirers like to describe as the greatest secretary of the treasury since hamilton himself. sculpted by james earl frazier, hamilton wears a slightly quizzical look on his face. it was his famous deal is that led to federal assumption of state debts in return of the capitol's removal of money mad new york to an entirely new city. the pedestal on which he stands makes to reference to his reality transactions. it pays tribute instead to his financial genius. he touched the dead corpse of the public credit and it sprang upon its feet. >>> throughout the weekend here watch personal interviews about history events on oral histories. our history bookshelf features some of the best known writers. revisit battles and events during the civil war. visit college classrooms during lectures in history. the presidency looks at the policies and lek sis of past ameri

. >>> an air of mystery has surrounded this bronze likeness of alexander hamilton. so claims author james m. good in his definitive book on the outdoor sculpture of washington, d.c. in dedicating the ten foot tall figure, the great visitors president warren harding talked about an anonymous donor. could it have been andrew mellon who liked to describe as the greatest secretary of the treasury since hamilton himself. sculpted by james earl fraser, the protege of augusta st. gardens, hamilton wears a slightly quizzical look. perhaps he is trying to recognize his surroundings. after all, it was his famous deal with congressional supporters of thomas jefferson that led to the assumption of the states debts to an entirely new city or the built on the banks of the potomac. the pedestal on which he stands makes no reference to hamilton's real estate transactions. it pays tribute instead to his financial genius. he smoked the rock of the natural resources that reads an abundant streams of revenue gusts forth. >>> this is c-span 3 with politics and public affairs programming

indeed i would tend to want to use some of the very same words that alexander hamilton used in federalist 67, the most comprehensive treatment of the recess appointment's clause, because, you know, one of the things you discover when partisanship really gets bad, when, in fact, we're not seeking to integrate the powers, to have a workable government, but instead we're simply looking for ways to throw in the brakes. to stop all progress. to make sure that that bill that was passed with the majority of the people's representatives, the dodd-frank bill which i suspect most people in this room find anathema, but neth neverth was passed by a majority of the people of the united states. when the appointment power is used to defeat the will of the majority, it seems to me that we've got a problem, and we've got the same kind of problem that hamilton addressed when he was addressing those who were making up arguments about the recess appointments clause overstating the problem. what was their argument at the time? their argument in federalist '67 was that the recess appointments clause would allo

money, of course, is not new in politics and one can go back to alexander hamilton to see that, but money is used in much larger quantities than 1960 and especially when kennedy comes up with the idea that the only way he can win the democratic nomination is by winning primaries and he had to spend a lot of his own money in order to do so and the combination of the money for tv ads and also money for staff in running a campaign that starts way before the nominating convention, and all of this is an innovation. since he has more or less locked up ahead of time doesn't have to worry about the nomination, but he can see that kennedy is on to something and in 1968 nixon copies the kennedy formula using a lot of money and lining up television commercials and so forth and is, of course, successful in '68 as well. one of the things that we need is a big book on the 1960 election. i wrote one that was commissioned by a press to be short, and so i didn't have space, but a book similar to the one done in 1968 by the three british journalists is something that would go into all of the details at the

the treasury, governor morris, no relation to robert but an important figure in the congress, alexander hamilton, james madison and, perhaps, a few others met for dinner. it was at these dinners that these men discussed what had happened in the congress that day, usually very little. they discussed the fact that the nation was bankrupt, the congress was paralyzed, and the army had not been paid. what to do. what to do. these men formed the core of a kind of shifting political alliance in the congress of men who were nationalists. these were men who saw america as a great nation, but only if it had a more powerful central government. that, of course, was not the general sentiment in the congress itself. the congress was very much mindful of states' rights, parochial in particular. as the months wore on through the winter, washington and martha enjoyed themselves, but virtually nothing got accomplished. nothing politically. in the meantime the army was there in the hudson valley, unpaid, waiting. everyone knew sort of that the war was coming to an end, wasn't certain, but there were rumors, even t

and one can go back to alexander hamilton to see that. but money is used in much larger quantities in 1960. and especially when kennedy comes up with the idea that the only way that he can actually win the democratic nomination is through by winning primaries, and he has to spend a lot of money. a lot of it his own money, in order to do so. and the combination of the money for the tv ads but also money for staff and running a campaign that starts way before the nominating convention, all of this is an innovation, nixon, since he has the nomination more or less locked up ahead of time doesn't have to worry about the nomination. but he can see that kennedy is on to something. and of course in 1968, nixon copies the kennedy formula running in the primaries and using a lot of money and lining up television commercials and so forth. and he is, of course, successful in '68 as well. i think one of the things that we need is actually a big book on the 1960 election. i wrote one that was commissioned by a press to be short. and so i didn't really

and the ancestors he chooses are alexander hamilton, henry clay, abraham lincoln, and theodore roosevelt. and what i'd like to assert is contrary to what some of my conservative friends would argue, the notion of a strong and influential federal government that was essential to american economic growth goes right back to the founding of the constitution was not created to create a weaker central government. it was created to create a stronger central government because our founders understood that the situation of the articles of confederation to which on some days i think governor perry wants us to return, was inadequate to the needs of a great nation. and i think that by going back to t.r. rather than fdr, president obama was underscoring that there is a tradition of national action in our history. and it is the tradition that on the whole has served us better. what did t.r. talk about in the osawatomie speech? is it irrelevant to today? well, he had a whole lot to say about the influence of corporate money on political campaigns. and if you go back and read what he said about that and

the party in which james madison, thomas jefferson, and alexander hamilton met around jefferson's dinner table to see if they could decide in 1790 whether or not the federal government should be charged or permitted to assume the war debt of the revolution. and that was feared especially by virginia politicians because they didn't want to federal government to be that centrally involved in the economics of the new nation. as a compromise or as a way of making it possible to yield to alexander hammiltohamilton's faf the proposal, jefferson and madison urged that the new national capital be located as it is now on the banks of the potomac. and you look at that right now, that's full of irony. joseph ellis said by selecting the potomac location, they had decided to separate the political and financial capitals of the united states, washington and new york. the exciting synergy of institutional life in our all-purpose metropolis, new york, was deem less important than the corruptions likely to inflict the financiers. if you don't feel the irony about that one in the year 2011, you haven't be

americans who fundamentally were conservatives alexander hamilton john adams and you had americans who were fundamentally liberals john james madison and thomas jefferson the most well known and what the difference between the two was that these guys thought the people were basically evil and therefore you had to have the appearance of democracy but not too much and that therefore the compromise for example when they wrote the constitution that the senate would not be directly elected or you know on the other hand you had jefferson and madison say no all the power has to be with the people and they were so emphatic about that that the constitution read article three section two it says even the supreme court shall function under such regulations as the congress shall make in other words everything a subordinate to congress why is that because congress stands every two years for election it's the closest to the people it's the way that you make sure that the people's will is is followed which brings us to today's occupy movement the question that they're facing is are they going to be a

. >> talk about alexander hamilton's affair? did we talk about john kennedy. is that the legacy we talk about? no. >> politics and scandal. defending what appears to be the indefensible. >> why not have a dialogue with him. why am i the only person going there to talk to him. >> only in america. why is this man baned from the oscars? this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening, the big story, the battle for the gop. rick santorum and mitt romney are fighting for the lead as they head for the contest in michigan and arizona on tuesday. much more on that later. from hollywood to tehran. why he's defending ahmadinejad. >> he's been vilified. we label him as an extremist. the speeches i heard him say were clear in the sense he preached we are all made in the image of god, all people of all countries, all colors are brothers and sisters. that was his clear message. >> we begin with the big story, the race for the white house. as far as the gop is concerned, it could come down to the michigan primary on tuesday former michigan governor, jennifer granholm. governor,

alexander hamilton was talking about england and it's relevant today. superiority she has long enjoyed has tempted her to plume herself as a mistress of the world. that's what's happening in california. they think that government there they think that they're just a mistress of not only californians but americans. just government gone wild. and you know as leslie was talking about earlier with the car seats. they get to pick and choose which things they like. in other words car seats for 8 years old okay, that's good. a child can get an abortion at any age in california without parental consent. >> bill: i know. but the overall philosophy here, leslie, is that the government knows best. that in sacramento we're so enlightened we know best. but you know what the unintended consequence is? >> what, i'm sure you will tell me. >> bill: the state is bankrupt. it costs money to implement all this crazy stuff. >> no question. the voters speak, right? and the voters in this state they vote for this governor. they vote for this. >> they don't have any choice tho

right now between newt gingrich and mitt romney and how it reminds me of the aaron burr and alexander hamilton real thing. we begin with mitt romney saying he is not concerned about the very poor. john harris is editor in chief of politico and joan walsh the editor of salon. in all fairness we'll show the whole thing. this isn't the first time mitt has said he was focused on the middle class. nbc reported this afternoon he said something similar in october, but his choice of words this morning were certainly eye-popping for people like me and everyone watching. let's listen to what this front-running candidate for the republican nomination for president said on cnn today. >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they're doing just fine. i'm concerned about the very heart of america, the 90%, 95% of americans who right now are struggling. >> i think there are lots of very poor americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. can you exp