Essay Questions

Who is Alexander Hamilton and what is his significance?

The story of Alexander Hamilton is told by Ron Chernow to edify the reader of the struggles and challenges that the immigrants are facing in the United States of America. Alexander is born as a refugee in the Caribbean and he is abandoned by his father after the death of his mother. He struggles and enters the USA where life turns out to be extremely difficult for him because he is an immigrant. However, due to his intellect, determination, trust, and hard work, he later emerges as one of the prominent politicians in the United States of America.

How does Ron Chernow develop the theme of servitude in the book Alexander Hamilton?

Most of the parts of the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron talks about the misfortunes and sufferings that the black slaves go through in the hands of their masters. Slaves are treated as personal properties and once sold; the owner has the right of doing anything to them including killing them. Almost all the slaves are transported from African coasts by the slave dealers. These slaves are brought to America to work in the sugar plantations. Ron paints a picture of what these slaves are going through when he says that they are mercilessly beaten for negligible mistakes. They are also branded with hot metals to indicate which master they belong to.

What does Ron Chernow mean when he says, “Hamilton, the human word machine?”

According to the narrator, Alexander Hamilton is a great author, and during his lifetime he wrote more than fifty publications comprising constitutional articles and federal papers. The narrator refers to him as a human word machine because he is able to write many publications within a short time.