Allan Mclane, in his book The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton, claims that Alexander Hamilton “never fully recovered from this loss” (Mclane 214). Mclane claims that Hamilton had been grooming his son, Philip, for his work and had hoped his bright, young boy would someday be his protégé. Hamilton had suggested education, a job, and how Philip should live day-to-day for his son and took care to make sure Philip followed his advice. Philip Hamilton’s future had been Hamilton’s pride, and having this pride taken from him would have been devastating for Alexander Hamilton. Mclane cites letters from various friends of Hamilton, including Talleyrand, all expressing their condolences on Hamilton’s loss of his son. However, Mclane also mentions Alexander and Philip Hamilton’s strong bond. Rather than only grieving his son because he was his heir, Mclane claims that Hamilton and…show more content… Bell starts his article out with sharing the warnings Hamilton’s friends gave him around the duel, including a chilling quote by Rufus King, comparing Hamilton to a lamb before the slaughter. Bell even mentions Hamilton’s second, Nathaniel Pendleton, had published a testimony that Hamilton had no intention to actually duel Burr. Before the duel, Hamilton published a letter to be published if he was shot, stating “I have resolved… to reserve and throw away my first fire,” (Bell), which Bell uses, along with Pendleton’s claims, to further the claim of Hamilton’s suicide. Bell mentions that many New Yorkers also believed these two pieces of evidence were linked, and probably results of Alexander Hamilton’s suicide. Bell combines all these pieces of evidence and makes the claim that Hamilton was suicidal in his later years, and his duel with Aaron Burr allowed him to complete this wishes without being held
