Alexander Hamilton Quotes
One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are.
Hamilton, Alexander. "Constitutional Convention. Remarks, 22 June 1787." The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, edited by Harold C. Syrett, vol. 4, Columbia University Press, 1962, p. 213.
The President had taken a hard line against Iran developing the capacity for nuclear weapons even though some other nations in the world had nuclear capability. However the President and other leaders of Iran had already publicly stated that there should be death to the United States, that our ally Israel should be wiped off the map. Critics of the President claimed that these statements were just rhetoric that is part of the culture of Islamic politics and oratory. The president responded with this quotation. Before WWII Adolf Hitler had written Mein Kampf and wrote about everything that he eventually did causing death and destruction throughout the world. At the time he wrote these things few took him seriously.
Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation's financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. As the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was the main author of the economic policies of George Washington's administration. He took the lead in the federal government's funding of the states' debts, as well as establishing the nation's first two de facto central banks, the Bank of North America and the First Bank of the United States, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. His vision included a strong central government led by a vigorous executive branch, a strong commercial economy, government-controlled banks, support for manufacturing, and a strong military.