US Naval War College professor discusses connections between Washington and Hamilton

The Potenziani Program in Constitutional Studies, the Constitutional Studies Minor, and Notre Dame Research recently hosted Stephen Knott, Professor of National Security Affairs at U.S. Naval War College, to discuss his latest book. Co-authored with Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America explores the improbable collaboration of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton and their joint role in the founding of the United States.

Knott began by speaking about the unlikely alliance of the two men, pointing out historians’ typical focus on the partnership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison instead. Describing Washington as a “wealthy, Virginia planter” and Hamilton as a “brash immigrant from the Caribbean” with a dysfunctional background, Knott argued that their wartime experiences brought them together as well as set them apart from their Founding brethren.

Continuing on their war experience, Knott spoke about their resulting aversion to revolutionary violence, causing them to be “sober revolutionaries.” This, Knott posited, was why the American Revolution did not ultimately consume itself as other revolutions had done before. While they were certainly supportive of the Revolution, they were not as zealous as Jefferson or Thomas Paine.

“Both Paine and Jefferson’s theoretical musings erred dangerously close to the revolutionaries of modern times, who profess a kind of abstract love for humanity frequently from the confines of a cloistered library, to envision mankind free from the strictures of the past, and reaching new levels of perfectibility,” Knott said.

He continued, “Washington and Hamilton never suffered from any of these illusions, and, in fact, they were convinced of the flawed nature of man, and both men stood firmly for reason over passion and for stability over speculative change.”

Knott argued that this largely explains present-day hostility toward Hamilton, whose candor regarding the failings of public opinion stood in contrast to the “feel-good rhetoric” of Jefferson. Hamilton’s belief that the public sometimes errs and can be led by opportunistic demagogues to betray its own interests reflects his and Washington’s concern with the populist forces of their time.  

The biggest separation between the attitudes of these founding alliances, however, lay in their views of the French Revolution. Knott explained Jefferson’s “juvenile notions” of the benefits of revolutionary bloodshed and said Washington and Hamilton were far less taken with such notions due to their firsthand experience with revolutionary violence and upheaval. Hamilton saw no common ground between the American and French revolutions, with one oriented towards “sober expectations” and the other “totalitarian upheaval.”

While to this day, critics of the Federalists tend to focus criticisms exclusively on Hamilton in order to avoid attacking Washington, the two men had very similar policies. Knott mentioned, however, that the Broadway hit Hamilton: An American Musical has improved the perception of Hamilton in America and undoubtedly saved his place on the ten-dollar bill.

“Throughout much of [America’s] history, he was seen as somehow un-American, a closet monarchist … and a man whose dictatorial ambitions were checked by the champion of the common man, Thomas Jefferson,” Knott shared.

As Knott put it, these myths, cultivated partly by Jefferson and John Adams in the 22 years following Hamilton’s death, make him one of the “first victims of the politics of personal destruction.” Hamilton’s reputation in America peaked at the dawn of the 20th century when Republicans such as Theodore Roosevelt invoked his nationalism and embrace of robust government as imprimatur for their progressive governance. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Knott claimed, substantially harmed Hamilton’s reputation and built up Jefferson’s in the process.

In conclusion, Knott shared his hope that Americans would put aside the caricature of the nation’s early history that pits the “supposed champions of the people—Jefferson, Madison, and their party—against the forces of privilege and authoritarianism—Hamilton, Washington, and the Federalists.”

Knott finished, “If the American people do so, they will discover that due to the exertions of [Washington] and [Hamilton], the American people began to think continentally, as Hamilton put it, and created a strong union which decades and then centuries later helped defeat fascism and communism, explored the universe, produced endless scientific and psychological breakthroughs, and … most importantly abolished slavery and Jim Crow, thereby securing the blessings of liberty for all of their fellow citizens.”

Matt Connell is a sophomore studying management consulting. He recently began listening to the Hamilton soundtrack and can thus be found walking around campus singing about our nation’s founding. You can reach him at mconnel6@nd.edu.