Quotes from Ron Chernow

I lose all taste for the pursuits of ambition. I sigh for nothing but the company of my wife and my baby.

take off as much time as you like.

Many people knew that Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were the authors, but the trio proclaimed their authorship to only a chosen few and then mostly after the first bound volume was published in March 1788.

If it is a failure, I will take the loss.

This argument miscarried on several counts: Rockefeller resented any references to his infamy, felt no need to cleanse his reputation, and rebelled against any insinuation that his charity was selfishly motivated.

As the Mellons emerged as a worrisome threat in the export market, Rockefeller feared they might strike an alliance with the French Rothschilds.

As Rockefeller moved into retirement, his wealth was accumulating at an astonishing rate.

Golf was his greatest indulgence.

With the Neutrality Proclamation, Hamilton continued to define his views on American foreign policy: that it should be based on self-interest, not emotional attachment; that the supposed altruism of nations often masked baser motives; that individuals sometimes acted benevolently, but nations seldom did. This austere, hardheaded view of human affairs likely dated to Hamilton's earliest observations of the European powers in the West Indies.

This left French politicians in the dark during critical moments in the bargaining.

John never aspired to popularity at the school.

Buoyed by these dividends, the price of Standard Oil shares leaped from 176 in 1896 to a high of 458 three years later.

Hamilton's first act in Philadelphia paid homage to Franklin. The sage had opposed salaries for executive-branch officers, hoping such a measure would produce civic-minded leaders, not government officials feeding at the public trough. Others

He was especially intent that the federal judiciary check any legislative abuses. In number 78, Hamilton introduced an essential concept, never made explicit in the Constitution: that the Supreme Court should be able to review and overturn legislation as unconstitutional.

John wanted to be quiet and inconspicuous and blend into the crowd.

Rawlins let loose a stemwinder of a speech that lasted forty-five minutes. His voice throbbing with emotion, he thundered, "I have been a Democrat all my life; but this is no longer a question of politics. It is simply country or no country. I have favored every honorable compromise; but the day for compromise is passed.

Baptism fostered a rational outlook that was well suited to advancement in capitalist society.

This is abundantly borne out by Rockefeller's private papers, which show that the practice was even more pervasive than Tarbell realized.

Junius pocketed a fortune from this sudden windfall.

Whether unnerved by the episode or upset at having paid the unnecessary premium, Rockefeller went home ill that afternoon.

It was a rare case of Rockefeller boasting about his wealth, but it was clearly meant to lift public morale.

On May 12, a thousand New Yorkers cheered from the docks as Jay sailed to England, hoping to avert war.

Rockefeller was convinced that he had a God-given talent for making money, was obligated to develop it, and was liberally rewarded by God—all compatible with Baptist doctrine.

His grandson wrote that Hamilton's personality was "a mixture of aggressive force and infinite tenderness and amiability.