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  • Writer's pictureJoshua Li

34. The Adams Administration (video)

Updated: Sep 2, 2023


Although not holding much significance on its own, this song can be marked as the lead-up to the beginning of the end of Hamilton's career. At the start of the song, Burr accuses Hamilton of "ardently [abusing] his cab'net post". Although there are a few possibilities, this is most likely a reference to Hamilton's veteran case.


Here's a little bit of background information: during and after the American Revolutionary War, veterans were promised bonds as a form of payment for their service. However, due to the country's unstable financial situation, the bonds depreciated in value, so many soldiers sold them to speculators at much less than face value. When Hamilton became Treasurer of State, he proposed a financial plan, which also included issuing new federal bonds to stabilize the country's finances. His political opponents, however, accused him of corruption by allowing speculators to buy bonds at a cheap price before government assumed them at full value.


The next important line, "Adams fires Hamilton", is a little inaccurate. Hamilton did not work for Adams. Instead, Adams fires his Secretary of War, James McHenry, and Secretary of State, Thomas Pickering, for being more loyal to Hamilton than to Adams.


However, the reason John Adams and Hamilton have a poor relationship is because while Washington was president, he let Hamilton get away with a lot of inappropriate behavior, hence the line "Washington can't help you now/No more mister nice President". However, after Adams became president, Hamilton wrote pamphlets criticizing Adams while Adams was still president and in the same party as him. With this, Hamilton essentially destroyed his own political status by publicly embarrassing Adams.

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