Goodbye, Alexander Hamilton

Driving in to work this morning, I heard that there is a proposal to replace Alexander Hamilton on the American $10 bill with Ronald Reagan. I do not wish to discuss President Reagan's worthiness here, but I would rather not see Hamilton replaced, because I think he deserves to be acknowledged for his contributions. Most of the American Founding Fathers have both good and bad points, and strengths and weaknesses, but even flawed idols can still be worthy. I don't mind at all if other posters disagree, but here are some of the reasons why I believe that Hamilton deserves continuing recognition:

I'd have to start with his contributions during the war for independence. He left college to join the Revolutionary Army, and soon was invited to join General Washington's personal staff, where he eventually rose to a position similar to chief of staff. He was a very brave soldier. He commanded the charge at Yorktown against one of the British gun emplacements, and insisted on being the first man over the wall.

After the war, when it became clear to many that the Confederation adopted initially by the colonies was too weak to survive, he was one of those who led the move to draw up our present Constitution, and then wrote the majority of a series of newspaper articles, now known as the Federalist Papers, to persuade the states to ratify it. Since the new Constitution had many enemies arguing against its adoption, the so-called anti-Federalists, it is likely that these articles played a significant role in tipping the balance in favor of ratification.

As Washington's Treasury Secretary, he took a small, weak nation, riddled by debts it could not pay after eight years of war and several years of the the innefectual Confederation, a country so weak that it was the jest of Europe, and personally reformed its finances, with a series of brilliant innovations, including the creation of the first national bank. He also created the Customs Service and the Coast Guard, and played a crucial role in creating the United States Navy (the Naval Act of 1794).

Do you agree, disagree???