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FFQF: Alexander Hamilton on Liberty
Friday, September 19, 2008
FFQF: Alexander Hamilton on Liberty
Posted by Hercules Mulligan at 12:00 AM
Labels: Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father's Quote Friday, liberty, Religion and the Founders, revolution
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7 Comments:
This is one of my dearest Hamilton quotes. It speaks so poignantly and so true. I did mone today, too. I posted another Franklin quote-- hope I'm not overwhelming you guys with Franklin! But it seemed so fitting for this week.
Happy FFQF!
OOOOPS, that was me, Mrs. Mecomber, who posted that "anonymous" comment. I hit "Publish" too soon. Sorry. :S
It is amazing that he was only 18 when he wrote this. I wonder if he was in love at the time ... that tends to make people more poetic. :)
Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, commenting, and participating in today's meme! It just reminded me to go around and check everyone's posts ('tis but another thing to do!)!
Mrs. Mecomber -- yeah, mine too! And I don't mind you putting in Franklin a lot. I must admit that I'm not as much of a "Franklin reader," so your posts help me catch up!
Jean -- amazing, isn't it? And just think -- his education was not funded by the property taxes of Americans! Unbelievable, I know! :) As for the poetic ring -- I think it was something else. You can always tell when Hamilton was particularly inspired by a particular theme. And he liked poetry. Here is a particular piece he wrote, shortly after his conversion to Christ. Very interesting.
Thank you all again for your input. Off I go to read your posts!
The great Americans of this era considered the principles of liberty to be obvious and not necessarily contradictory to Christianity.
They require independence of mind and an environment that encourages you to fulfill your potential.
They are antithetical to the cynicism and despair of modern society, which are characterized by the denial of free will and personal responsibility; the denial of a divine plan; ignorance of the Bible; submission to the morality of the crowd; and the dependence on federal government to solve personal problems and clean up personal mistakes.
While reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, I came across Hercules Mulligan. I did not realize he and Hamilton were friends when they were younger. Very interesting. What happened to Mulligan after the war?
Hello Dave and Kieran. Thanks so much for leaving your thoughts and comments.
Dave, you are absolutely right. I guess I never thought about postmodern humanism as denying free will, but when you think about it, it really does. It definitely denies personal responsibility. The Founders didn't base this nation on radical humanism. They based it upon principles that are ultimately harmonious with biblical truth.
Kieran, isn't that neat about Hercules Mulligan? After the War, he pretty much resumed normal life, but he was pretty active in his sphere of influence. When Hamilton founded the New York Manumission Society, Mulligan became a member. And if President Washington needed an outfit for a special occasion, he called up Mulligan. In fact, when Washington came to NY right after the war, he publicly rode beside Mulligan in a parade, and had breakfast with him. I don't remember when he passed away, but he did so in ripe old age, and in latter life penned his recollections of young Hamilton.
There is a rare book by Michael J. O'Brian which is a biography of Mulligan. That is where most of my information comes from. I've written a little blog post some time ago, on Mulligan. If you are interested in learning more about him, feel free to read and ask questions.
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