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Dec. 2, 2018

2.10 – Checkmate: Hamilton

2.10 – Checkmate: Hamilton

Year(s) Discussed: 1798

Adams quickly comes to regret his naming George Washington as commander-in-chief of the US Army when Washington decides to appoint Alexander Hamilton as his second in command. As the threat of war looms, the President and his commanding general end up in a back and forth that threatens the preparedness of the Army. Meanwhile, Elbridge Gerry’s mission to France makes little headway as Talleyrand and Napoleon focus on plans to reestablish France as a major colonial power.

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  • Washington, George. “To James McHenry, 5 July 1798,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0296. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 2, 2 January 1798 – 15 September 1798, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 382–384.] [Last Accessed: 18 Nov 2018]
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  • Washington, George. “To John Adams, 13 July 1798,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0314. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 2, 2 January 1798 – 15 September 1798, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 402–404.] [Last Accessed: 10 Nov 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To John Adams, 25 September 1798,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-3028. [Last Accessed: 21 Nov 2018]
  • Wolcott, Oliver, Jr. “To John Adams, 17 September 1798,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-2994. [Last Accessed: 21 Nov 2018]
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Featured Image: “Alexander Hamilton” by William J Weaver, courtesy of Wikipedia