The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton

Princeton Univ Press. New. New Andrew Porwancher is the Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma His books include The Devil Himself: A Tale of Honor, Insanity, and the Birth of Modern America

For more than two centuries, his youth in the Caribbean has remained shrouded in mystery Hamilton himself wanted it that way, and most biographers have simply assumed he had a Christian boyhood With a detective's persistence and a historian's rigor, Porwancher upends that assumption and revolutionizes our understanding of an American icon

This radical reassessment of Hamilton's religious upbringing gives us a fresh perspective on both his adult years and the country he helped forge Although he didn't identify as a Jew in America, Hamilton cultivated a relationship with the Jewish community that made him unique among the founders As a lawyer, he advocated for Jewish citizens in court As a financial visionary, he invigorated sectors of the economy that gave Jews their greatest opportunities As an alumnus of Columbia, he made his alma mater more welcoming to Jewish people And his efforts are all the more striking given the pernicious antisemitism of the era In a new nation torn between democratic promises and discriminatory practices, Hamilton fought for a republic in which Jew and Gentile would stand as equals

By setting Hamilton in the context of his Jewish world for the first time, this fascinating book challenges us to rethink the life and legend of America's most enigmatic founder