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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Robert George — The Confederate flag and Hamilton: Getting the nation’s symbols right

Robert George, a black conservative writer for The New York Post, opines about Alexander Hamilton's contribution to ending slavery while helping to put the nation on a solid financial footing.


The New York Post:

"Save perhaps for George Washington himself, Alexander Hamilton is most responsible for much of the glue that binds this nation together — its financial system.

It was his firm belief that a young nation that fought a war for independence together should pay off its debts together. In that view, he was initially opposed by Thomas Jefferson, who thought Virginia shouldn’t be burdened by the financial problems of less-wealthy states.

Hamilton ended up winning the day and the Compromise of 1790 the two men forged (alas, the moving of the capital from New York to outside of Virginia was collateral damage) was one of the signature moments in the early days of the young United States.

More important to today (and the post-Confederate flag discussion), Hamilton was an abolitionist, whose best friend attempted to raise a regiment of slaves to fight in the Revolutionary War, promising them freedom for their service (a moment recognized in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” musical heading to Broadway next month)."

Read morehttp://nypost.com/2015/06/28/the-confederate-flag-and-hamilton-getting-the-nations-symbols-right/