I recently finished reading McCullough’s “John Adams” where one of the charges frequently leveled against Adams was that he wanted to establish an American monarchy. I have also heard that George Washington was asked to be a king, and I have heard that Alexander Hamilton wanted to establish an American monarchy as well. So I was curious as to the sentiment regarding monarchy in the Americas, particularly from 1776-1800. Were the new Americans anti-monarchy or merely against King George III? Would a King Washington (or Hamilton, or Adams, or etc etc) have been able to gain and/or maintain power? Or was republican sentiment simply too strong by that point?
Hamilton’s views, as well as attitudes generally toward monarchy, are addressed at length in: Scheuerman, William. “American Kingship? Monarchical Origins of Modern Presidentialism,” Polity, Vol. 37, No. 1, (Jan. 2005). Not the very best I’ve ever read, but still relevant.