American Machiavelli: Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of U.S. Foreign Policy

by John Lamberton Harper

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was an illegitimate West Indian emigrant who became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. American Machiavelli focuses on Hamilton's controversial activities as foreign policy adviser and aspiring military leader. In the first major study of his foreign policy role in 30 years, John Lamberton Harper describes a decade of bitter division over the role of the Federal government in the economy during the 1790s and draws parallels between Hamilton and the sixteenth century Italian political adviser, Niccolò Machiavelli. Harper provides an original and highly readable account of Hamiltonas famous clashes with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and his key role in defining the U.S. national security strategy. John Lamberton Harper is Professor of Foreign Policy and European Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center. He is the author of America and the Reconstruction of Italy, 1945-1948 (Cambridge 1986), winner of the 1987 Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies, and American Visions of Franklin D. Roosevelt, George F. Kennan, and Dean G. Asheson (Cambridge 1994), winner of the 1995 Robert Ferrell Prize from the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including The American Historical Review, The Journal of American History, The Times Literary Supplement and Foreign Affairs.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to read this book because it combined Hamilton and Machiavelli, two political figures I have an interest in. But, it felt more like the title was an attention grabber and the author just kept bringing Machiavelli up as a topic to keep the topic vaguely connected to the title. The information was decent, but I found the book to be quite disappointing.