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July 14, 2008

In this entry: quotes, warm up questions, discussion questions, resources

VIDEO SUMMARY

Alexander Hamilton's HouseAlexander Hamilton, founding father, signer of the Constitution, and the first secretary of the Treasury built the house he called the Grange on his farmland in Upper Manhattan in 1801. This video looks at New York City’s effort to move the Grange from a crowded city street to a park two blocks away.

The story of the Grange follows the history of Manhattan as it transformed from Thomas Jefferson’s dream of an America of yeoman farmers to Hamilton’s dream of the power of finance and factory.

One of the remarkable aspects of this video is it shows Hamilton’s house lifted 40 feet into the air so that engineers could move it up and over a church.

WARM UP QUESTIONS

Who was Alexander Hamilton? What was his vision for America? Do you think the houses of famous Americans are worth preserving? Why or why not?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What in this video was new information and what did you know already? Do you think it was important to save Hamilton’s house? Why or why not? Would you visit it if you took a trip to New York City?
What if Alexander Hamilton wasn’t killed in 1804? Do you think he would have been president? What kind of president would he have been? How would America be different today?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Transcript of this video report
Historians Reflect on Founding Fathers
Conversation with Joseph Ellis, author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

Alexander Hamilton Web site of the New York Historical Society

Author

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