He was one of the giants of American history: a hero in the American Revolution; the new nation's first Treasury secretary; architect of the nation's monetary system; an early and vociferous opponent of slavery. Yet recent history has often bypassed Alexander Hamilton's contributions to the formation of American society. Documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, a member of the Historical Society's board, says none of the founding fathers is less well-known or more relevant to the contemporary world than Hamilton.
He was in many ways the first modern American," Ric Burns says. "He was a bastard from the Caribbean and an immigrant, a man who believed in and thrived on flux and change and new New York was the capital of those things. He was the ultimate upstart in the ultimate upstart city. He was a man who came to epitomize the spirit of the society that was coming to teach itself that who you were and where you came from, mattered far less than what you could do and where you were going."
"He was the first Treasury secretary," Richard Brookhiser says. "Most people know that. They know that he was the money guy, the guy that put America's finances on a firm footing. I do not think they understand how important that was or how difficult that was or how little it was understood by Hamilton's great peers. The founding fathers who understood the emerging world of modern finance could be counted on one hand."
Listen to podcast about this wonderful exhibit. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2004-10/2004-10-08-voa1_hamilton_exhibit.cfm
Our many programs during the next 6 weeks can be found on: http://www.bcpl.lib.ut.us/alexanderhamilton.html
We are the only Utah Library to have this exhibit. Come and enjoy
Sue
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