We asked our contributors:
Which personality of the American Revolution or the founding era (other than Benedict Arnold) is remembered for the wrong reasons, and why?
Jason Yonce
Silas Deane, like his friend Benedict Arnold, contributed so much to the patriot cause only to fall from grace. His infamous letter to Robert Morris could have been fatal to the American cause had Morris decided to withdraw his financial backing. Deane’s image as a profligate traitor never recovered and later died under mysterious circumstances.
David Price
Nathan Hale’s legendary-hero status is based on his having said something that in all probability he did not when hanged as a spy, i.e., regretting that he only had one life to give for his country. According to the diary of British officer Lt. Frederick Mackenzie, who observed the execution, Hale said “he thought it the duty of every good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear.”
J. L. Bell
American culture remembers John Hancock for his signature on the Declaration of Independence and as a profit-minded businessman. In fact, Hancock was lousy at business. He inherited a great fortune and left a little one. But Hancock was a natural politician. He had a keen sense for the mood of the voting public. Over almost thirty years, he never lost a race. When in the mid-1780s the unrest in western Massachusetts looked insoluble, Hancock retired as governor for his health. After the Shays Rebellion spoiled the popularity of his successor, Hancock recovered and ran again, remaining governor until his death in 1793.
Matthew M. Montelione
John Adams. He’s often misremembered as an ineffective president, but his wit and subdued diplomatic skills avoided full-scale naval war in a crucial time in the early republic. He’s often mislabeled an ineffective figure due to his complicated presidency and his failure to preserve the Federalist Party. This is compounded in the general public’s consciousness due to the ill treatment of Adams in the otherwise spectacular Broadway show “Hamilton.” How lucky we are to be alive right now.
Don Glickstein
Alexander Hamilton is remembered more for how he died than how he created modern America. As co-author of the Federalist Papers and then Treasury secretary, Hamilton gave the U.S. a strong—and solvent—central government that encouraged economic growth. In essence, he made the U.S. a country, not a confederation. Hamilton’s polar opposite, Patrick Henry, is known for “Give me liberty, or give me death.” He really should be known as a reactionary states’ righter who complained about the concept of “We, the People” instead of his preferred, “We, the States.”