Keep Hamilton on the Ten

As Hamilton biographer Willard Sterne Randall points out, "You'd think [Hamilton] would be the absolute hero of the Republican Party. For one thing, he founded what is now the Republican Party! Not to mention our whole financial system: if it weren't for Hamilton, there would have been no Ronald Reagan, no Wall Street, and no modern corporations."

Ronald Reagan already far surpasses Hamilton in national tributes and accolades. Taking away Hamilton's only nationwide acknowledgment would be unforgivable.

Most Americans seem to agree. According to an ABC News survey, respondents oppose removing Hamilton from the $10 bill by a 54 to 36 percent margin. This, however, has not deterred Norquist, McConnell, Hayworth, or other proponents of the change. They are determined to exploit the outpouring of sympathy for the Reagan family and the fact that Republicans control both houses of Congress.

As advantageous as the environment might be for Reagan fans, it seems unlikely that the twentieth century's greatest proponent of free market economics would want to send the Father of American Capitalism to the ash heap of history. That, however, is the price for agreeing to Hayworth's bill. Honoring Ronald Reagan should not mean dishonoring one of our greatest Founding Fathers. Surely, there is a better way.

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For more information, check out the Alexander Hamilton Society at

http://www.hamiltonsociety.org

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