Respect and admiration are attitudes held by Americans toward George Washington. Perhaps also affection. But unlike many other national heroes, he has no nickname and even after two centuries is rarely treated with familiarity. Washington is remarkable in a number of ways, not least because he forthrightly rejected opportunities for self-aggrandizement and retention of power. In this he is quite out of the ordinary as a nation's founder. A lecture on his character and career would be useful. See Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism (1993); Forrest McDonald, The Presidency of George Washington (1974); and Glenn A. Phelps, George Washington and American Constitutionalism (1993).

Alexander Hamilton was quite another sort. Ambition and brilliance are the usual tags. Hamilton's financial program and its implications are both complex and exceedingly important in understanding the new nation. A lecture on the man and his work would help students understand the political divisions struggles over economic legislation. See Forrest McDonald, Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979), and Gerald Stourzh, Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government (1970).

The fragility of the new nation is well described in the textbook. The situation in the present day is so radically different that students will benefit from a closer look at a tiny United States being bullied by the big powers. The instructor may wish also to suggest differences between the situation of a weak nation at the end of the eighteenth century and one today. See Charles R. Ritcheson, Aftermath of Revolution: British Policy Toward the United States, 1783-1795 (1969), and appropriate titles in the chapter bibliography's section on "Diplomatic, Military, and Western Affairs."

It is a cliché that the protection of personal liberty requires constant vigilance. The Alien and Sedition Laws were intended to serve those who held power and wished to retain it. A full explanation of the circumstances, including the consequences for people like Matthew Lyon, will be instructive. See James M. Smith, Freedom's Fetters: The Alien and Sedition Acts and American Civil Liberties (revised edition; 1966).