Reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a rewarding experience. It is well written and flows nicely. After reading Chernow, I feel as if I knew Hamilon in person.

Hamilton was driven, well read, confident in his thinking and a prodigious writer. He studied hard and practiced what he studied until he felt a true understanding. He studied the greatest authors and stood on their shoulders.

He showed up in the US at the right time and was able to engender support from his community. This may be because he was outspoken, well read and not afraid to stand up for what he believed in.

He was hungry for military glory and not afraid to risk his life for what he believed in.

He waited to get the position with Washington where he could exert his influence. And continued to prod Washington for a commanding position.

We may be 250 years in the future, but politics and power hasn't changed. Everything happening today, happened back then. Each party controlled their own papers and the party leaders wrote to support their own cause. Some seemed for the good of the public, some for their own interest. Hard to always decipher which was which.

When Hamilton decided that the US should compete in US manufacturing, he decided that Patterson NJ would be the primary location and was perfectly fine with stealing secrets and people from Britain to support the cause. China and the US today, or yesterday.

After the Revolutionary War, Hamilton studied and took the Bar for New York. He became a sought after lawyer. By writing the Federalist Papers (with Jay and Madison) he was well positioned to be the foremost expert on the constitution. This must have been important for constitutional law cases.

After Washington resigned as president, Adams created a standing army and recalled Washington as the General and Hamilton, with the insistence of Washington, as the inspector General. The number two spot in the US army. It seemed that Hamilton had large ambitions for this army, beyond protecting the US from Napoleon. Hamilton wanted to go on the offensive and claim more lands for the US.

After his son Philip was shot in a duel, their daughter had a mental breakdown and needed to be supported for the rest of her life.

It's hard to understand Hamilton's desire to have a duel with Arron Burr. He had a large family, a successful law practice and a new home, The Grange. Why would he give it up? The risk seemed much larger than the reward, but maybe his ego got in the way. Arron Burr seemed hardly worth it and seemed like a sleazeball.

He was shot at 49, when the average lifespan in his age was 55, so it was not as early in life as a modern person would think. Yet, given more time, he may have made many more extraordinary contributions.

When he died, he left a large debt. Eliza had to get many loans and his friends raised a large amount of money to support her. Eliza remained part of the world of her husband and family for the rest of her life, even being visited by the President in old age.

With all the "New World" ideology, it seemed there was a small group of people involved. The same names came up over and over. Washington, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Burr, Clintons, Livingstons, Schuylers.

While he was extremely intelligent, he wasn't flawless. He had his share of shortcomings. Supported things that didn't make much sense. Wrote the Reynolds paper, which proved to hurt him politically and no doubt personally. He wrote against Adams and it did not seem to have the effect he desired. He supported policies that reduced his influence.

Hamilton had an out-sized influence on our government. He created a lot of the government and defended it well. I believe he did it out of a true belief in, and a desire to protect, it's ideals. His main flaw, maybe, was that he let it get to his head.