Rioters take note: Alexander Hamilton’s protest moment

On May 10, 1775, nearly one month after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord, New York City supporters of declaring independence from Britain massed to vent their frustration and anger.  

When the “fake news” that Myles Cooper, the president of nearby King’s College, had been responsible for patriot deaths in Massachusetts made its way through the crowd, some in the boisterous assembly moved to the institution with tar and feathers to make a public example of the man.

{mosads}Although at heart a loyalist to the British monarchy, Cooper had been an outspoken supporter of the crown.  His career, of course, depended on it.  Yet, as he retired for the night on that May evening, he didn’t realize his physical safety was in jeopardy until the procession was nearly upon his dwelling.

One student observing the scene, concluding that Cooper was in imminent danger, positioned himself at the top of the stairwell leading to the residence to slow the vengeful crowd’s advance.  He too had been vocal about the British situation in the colonies but the young man’s stance was directly opposite Cooper’s.

Sympathizing with their passion but not their prospective deed, the student warned that the actions of the mob would “disgrace and injure the glorious cause of liberty.”  The delay by a 20-year-old immigrant named Alexander Hamilton allowed just enough time for Dr. Cooper to escape into the night and flee to England where he would lament the revolution and its resulting effects.

In some cities today, violent demonstrations are again upon us, sparked by issues that should be fostering legitimate discussion.  Instead, legitimate election results have become the justification for destruction, questionable actions of the police have become the excuse for looting and an exercise of free speech the mob disagrees with has become the rationale to violently obstruct free speech.

Those who don’t understand why the Framers of our Constitution feared a violent and oppressive mass as much as a powerful and oppressive government learned a valuable lesson watching events unfold at UC Berkeley, NYU and other venues around the nation.

Protest as a form of vocalizing dissatisfaction is not only necessary and constitutionally protected but, in the context of our political process, nothing new.  

Our nation was formed by it.  Unique to our contemporary politics is the acceptance of violent protest as a seemingly legitimate and normalized part of the process.  Our rights allow for debate and discord and the airing of both reasonable and unreasonable voices.  In the end, however, our civil society has decided that policy differences would be resolved by elections and community engagement of public officials not by how many cars or flags can be set on fire.

Hamilton would go on to be a staunch defender of the U.S. Constitution and the stability it provided to society.  

“Why has government been instituted at all?” he wrote in 1788.  “Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.”  A valuable lesson from May of 1775, recounted in the New Yorker’s acclaimed biography written by Ron Chernow, had made its way into the structure he helped to create.

Over the past year we have celebrated Alexander Hamilton in song and dance.  Today, we need to begin learning the lessons his life can teach us.  Not all his actions were shining examples of exemplary character but in the episode with Dr. Cooper we can say that the New Yorker believed the tactics used to achieve an objective was just as important as the objective itself.

Those among us, the heirs to the American Revolution, who would destroy instead of debate, inflame instead of engage, are armed with an ignorance of history, an entitlement mentality and a cell phone, smiling and laughing through the demolition of property and acts of violence.  

Perhaps the causes they champion, in many cases deserving of our attention, would be far better served if there was even one Alexander Hamilton among them standing at the top of the stairs.

James Coll is an adjunct professor of American and constitutional history at Hofstra University and Nassau Community College and the founder of ChangeNYS.org, a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting civic education in New York State.

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