Republican Empire: Alexander Hamilton on War and Free Government. By Karl-Friedrich Walling. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, I 999. Pp. xii, 356. $40.00.)

Abstract

War and free government have rarely coexisted for long over the course of human history. The United States seems, to date, to be the exception to this trend. In his noteworthy new book, Republican Empire: Alexander Hamilton on War and Free Government, Karl-Friedrich Walling gives primary credit for this achievement to the Founding Fathers in general, and Alexander Hamilton in particular. Walling argues that the traditional "militarist" interpretation of Hamilton, which generally sees Hamilton as a threat to American liberty during the founding era, is simplistic and short-sighted.