What are three bad things that Alexander Hamilton did?

Answer 1

1.) He had an affair with a married woman while in office and already married. When her husband found out, he blackmailed the president for money. Counterargument: Okay, first of all, if that is bad, what about Thomas Jefferson raping his teenage slave and having 6 kids with her? Hamilton was always very against slavery. Also, he was kind of manipulated by the woman who he had an affair with. He's not the only one that she and her husband tricked.

2.) He lied about the affair in office. Later in retirement, he confessed and shocked his supporters. He ruined his reputation for the rest of his life.

No, he didn't lie about it. Yes, he did later confess in a 90p-page pamphlet on it, that was stupid, but you could argue that that was him being way too honest. Okay, sometimes being too good is bad, sure. I see the point.

3.) He had very different ideas. He wanted the president to serve for his whole life, the power for the president to be able to absolute veto anything, and he wanted a monarchy.

He really didn't trust any Founding Father other than Washington.

Fun Fact: One of the Founding Fathers was actually a con man. I wouldn't trust him either. He did believe more in a meritocracy than a democracy, partly due to his origins. He worked his way up from a bastard orphan on a tiny island in the Caribbean to the first Treasury Secretary. He really wanted a strong central democracy, and he had a very pessimistic view of people and the world in general, so he didn't trust people to make choices for themselves. However, some historians believe that he suggested the more powerful president (HE NEVER WANTED A MONARCHY!) in order to make the state plans seem less extreme. (You know, when everyone was arguing over whether all states should get an equal say or if it should be based on population?)

4.) He was disliked in general. He was Thomas Jefferson's rival.

THOMAS JEFFERSON WAS A HORRIBLE PERSON. He was an active slave owner, who made it part of the Constitution that Congress could not even begin to talk about the issue until 1808. He made it so that slaves, although unable to vote, counted as part of the population. He wanted America to be made of isolated slave-owning rich white male farmers. I guess the farmer dream isn't that bad... but I like Hamilton's idea of America leading the global economic market, there being no slaves, and having huge centers of culture and innovation a LOT better. And again, remember Sally Hemings? Also, they were related! Incest is not good!

Answer 2

As far as I know, he went against John Adams and went behind his back and tried to keep him from winning the election. He also had a scandal with Maria Reynolds that ruined his reputation. God knows the rest!!!

Answer 3

He couldn't have been toooooo honest, or he would not have had the affair. Since being really honest would cause him to pause and think to himself, "if I go through with this, I'll have to tell my wife". He didn't a lot of times..... so much for being honest. I'm not saying he was worse then Jefferson, not by a long shot.