Hamilton! The Musical. The Biography. Do We Need to Reconsider our Founding Fathers, Dueling, and Mt. Rushmore?

<p>The Best Paragraphs I've Read:</p> <p><br></p> <p>"It is puzzling that Aaron Burr is sometimes classified among the founding fathers.&nbsp; Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Franklin, and Hamilton all left behind papers that run to dozens of thick volumes, packed with profound ruminations.&nbsp; They fought for high ideals.&nbsp; By contrast Burr’s editors have been able to eke out just two volumes of his letters, many full of gossip, tittle-tattle, hilarious anecdotes, and racy asides about his sexual escapades.&nbsp; He produced no major papers on policy matters,constitutional issues, or government institutions.&nbsp; Where Hamilton was often more interested in policy than politics, Burr seemed interested only in politics.&nbsp; At a time of tremendous ideological cleavages, Burr was an agile opportunist who maneuvered for advantage among colleagues of fixed political views."</p> <p><br></p> <p>"Duels were also elaborate forms of conflict resolution, which is why duelists did not automatically try to kill their opponents.&nbsp; The mere threat of gunplay concentrated the minds of antagonists, forcing them and their seconds into extensive negotiations that often ended with apologies instead of bullets.&nbsp; Experience had taught Hamilton that if he was tough and agile in negotiations he could settle disputes without resort to weapons.&nbsp; In the unlikely event that a duel occurred, the antagonists frequently tried only to wound each other, clipping an arm or a leg.&nbsp; If both parties survived the first round of a duel, they still had a chance to pause and settle their dispute before a second round.&nbsp; The point was not to exhibit deadly marksmanship; it was to demonstrate courage by submitting to the duel."</p> <p><br></p> <p>"With the population widely dispersed, newspapers were unabashedly partisan organs that supplied much of the adhesive power binding the incipient parities together.&nbsp; Americans were a literate people, and dozens of newspapers flourished.&nbsp; The country probably had m