About this title: This group portrait of the Founding Fathers emphasizes the sometimes intense associations and rivalries among Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and Washington.The author examines six defining moments when the personal and the political collided, and shows how their distinctive styles and visions forged a new nation. A New York ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: 2002 Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books, New York
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375405440ISBN:0375405445
Description: Very Good. Used paperback in very good condition, a little shelf wear but hardly used. In this landmark work of history the national book award-winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals-Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison-confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for the American nation. read more
Edition: First British Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Faber & Faber, London
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780571212170ISBN:0571212174
Description: Fair. Used book in fair condition. Slight water damage to bottom front corner. This book informs our understanding of American politics and gives us a new perspective on the unpredictable forces that shape history. 288 pages. read more
Description: Good. Book shows wear to corners and edges of cover. Spine has wear at edges. Contains notes/highlighting/underlining throughout book. Book is in good reading condition. read more
Description: Acceptable. Slight water damage to text. Book is ACCEPTABLE with noted wear to cover and pages. Binding intact. May contain highlighting, inscriptions or notations. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text. read more
Description: Good. GOOD with average wear to cover and pages. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text. read more
Description: Very good. Appearance of only slight previous use. Cover and binding show a little wear. All pages are undamaged with potentially only a few, small markings. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375705243ISBN:0375705244
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
"This book is worth reading. It shifts the approach often taken to the founding fathers, by looking at them as brothers, with all the rivalries, rational or irrational, that brotherhood entails. But Ellis does not merely stop at a clever formulation. Rather, he tells a series of stories, in an easy and readable fashion, that highlight the personalities of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton et al., and the importance of such personalities, in how the debates that shaped the founding of this country, were formed. The last chapter, on the Jefferson-Adams relationship, is brilliant in this regard. In short, Ellis accomplishes the notable feat, of demystifying the founders, without being pedantic, or scurrilous, in doing so, while mystifying their accomplishment, of safeguarding the longest, and most successful, democratic revolution in world history."
"I have now purchased this title in CD, and two paperbacks. Whenever I try to explain the American character, I find myself referring back to this text and buying it as a gift. Because they did not know in advance that they would not end up hanging either together or separately, these American Revolutionaries behaved with the highest integrity possible and trusted each other's sense of honor and integrity. Character mattered because integrity mattered, and Ellis explores these historical greats' characters with wit, compassion and wisdom in prose that is easy to read and enjoy. From unravelling the mystery of who first pulled the triggter in the Hamilton-Burr duel to the final exchange of letters between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who died within hours of each other on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this is a terrific read!"
"I've had this little book of popular history by Joseph Ellis since the week it came out. But, I never really got around to it. Then, last year at the Washington Book Festival, Ellis came to sign and speak. So, after listening to him, and getting him to sign the book, I decided it was finally time to read the damn thing.
Well, it was an enjoyable little read. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2001. That may have been a little much given the book is composed of vignettes which are at least passingly familiar to most folks who have spent much time reading about the American founding.
I did enjoy his characterization of the Adams-Jefferson correspondence. Since I have yet to read McCullough's John Adams, the book did fill in some gaps in my knowledge of the early Federalist period. But I would characterize this as old stories well told, rather than adding much to my knowledge of the period. Still a good quick read, and if the Founding is not your thing, it is an excellent introduction, and is likely to whet your appetite for more."
"I think the premise for this book is fascinating and true that the American form of government was an experiment based on a theoretical premise that "All man were create equal." Although we regard it as the best form of government at this time, it was not a forgone conclusion back then. Far from having foresight that this experiment would work, it was a work in progress held together by strong leadership with a common purpose which was the success of the republican form of government.
I think what is great about this book is that it tells the historical significance of a period in shaping America through stories of the interactions of our founding fathers. Thus, proving once again, the importance of individual action in shaping the destiny of the nation.
The Duel:
The chapter tells of the duel that killed Hamilton and shamed Burr. The duel occurred because Hamilton felt that Burr was a man who was politically gifted but who did not have character of a leader which was the most dangerous thing a new nation could face. Since America was experimenting on a new form of government that had never been tried before, the leadership of the new nation had to have character in order to forge the new nation into a success. Thus, people who were opportunistic and self-serving were a real danger to the new republic's survival. As Ellis succinctly puts it, "Honor mattered because character mattered. And character mattered because the fate of the American experiment with republican government still required virtuous leaders to survive. Eventually, the United States might develop into a nation of laws and established institutions capable of surviving corrupt or incompetent public officials. But it was not there yet. It still required honorable and virtuous leaders to endure."
The Dinner:
This chapter deals with the Compromise of 1790 in which Hamilton's plan to have a central bank in where there would be one currency and the foundation of modern day capitalism (in which capital would be concentrated in the hands of people who love money so money could be capital in order to create a more prosperous society) was enacted in exchange for Madison remaining quiet so the capital of the new nation would be in the South which would be modern day Washington DC. The importance of this Compromise assured that the United States would be a capitalist nation as oppose to an agrarian one but at the same time having the economic and political nexus of power separate from each other, thereby having a diffuse power base that assures some sort of check and balance in society.
This chapter struck me because the Federalist position of concentrating power into the national government which was what the Constitution based on and the Democratic-Republican notion of diffuse power in the form of local government deciding what is best for its people which what the Revolutionary War was based on (fear of far away power controlling everything ) is still played out today with the Democratic and the Republican party.
It is also interesting to note how Obama's administration bailout to jump start the economy and rid of toxic debt has significant parallels with Hamilton's assertion of having centralized government taking control of the country's monetary problems so the economy can get moving again. Likewise,the Republican party's assertion that the bailout is the first step toward socialism is very similar to the argument of the Madison Virginians that concentrating capital will lead to lesser power of the states.
Silence:
Is about the issue of slavery for the Founding Fathers. Even the Declaration of Independence was clearly against the idea of slavery, practically speaking it was hard to get rid of slavery because it served as the basis for the southern economies. People who were advocating abolition of slaves had no slaves (ie: northerners)and the south who are dependent on slaves for their way of life and economy were pro-slavery. And religion was conveniently used to justify the issue of slavery for people who had slaves. So the founding fathers decided to ignore the issue of slavery in order to preserve the fragile union that was just created 5 years prior.
Farewell:
This chapter is about Washington's farewell letter to the nation. Even though Washington was the god of a the revolution who was a legend in his own time and thus could have been a dictator with support of the general populace until his death, he decided to retire. The precedent was important for all democratic society in showing that a person with all the power can give it up and thus showed for all to see that the institution of the presidency is more important than anyone who occupies it.
The Farewell letter also states that the president should rise above partisan bickering in favor of the public good. He actually said that partisanship and political parties were not good for the country. (Tell that to the present-day politicians)
And last but not least, the farewell letter says that the country should focus on westward expansion and should not be involved in the political infighting of European nations. In other words, the United States should be an incubator for the Republican experiment and until it congeals as a nation stay out of affairs that can disrupt the destiny that is the republican government. In terms of foreign policy, Washington was a realist and defined his policy as the school of Real Politic.
It is interesting that even though the spirit of '76 was against a monarchy type of leader, the new nation could not survive without Washington who embodied and advocated a strong executive branch/federal government for the new nation to be a distinct America instead of a confederation of states with their own agenda.
The Collaborators:
This chapter focuses on Adams and Jefferson and the beginnings of political parties. Even though Adams during his presidency tried to rise above political partisanship, the realities of the era and the advent of competing ideologies necessitated the creation of political parties to institutionalize these ideologies. People with similar ideologies thus organized themselves around parties. With Jefferson's opposition to the Federalist movement, he became the chief architect of the advent of political parties.
This chapter also highlights how political ideology has the potential to destroy or strain friendships that was forged in the common experiences of the revolution and the founding of the country as it did with Adams and Jefferson.
The Friendship:
Politically, one should start with an ideology but tempered by facts on the ground. Policy should be made with ideology + facts.
To the founding father's the issue of slavery was non-issue. All of the prominent members thought that slavery was evil. The issue was who should get rid of it the states or the federal govt. This is how state's rights became synonymous with slavery and later white supremacy.
Whereas Jefferson thought the American Revolution and the republican govt. was destiny of humankind that would sweep the world, Adams continued to believe that American republican government was just an experiment and thus not inevitable. History of course prove Jefferson right and shows that people prefer mythological storys that cast them as the good guys against some evil empire rather than the reality of shades of grey.
It is also interesting to note that Adams preferred to see the American revolution as a continuum of events and people rather than a dominant event or a major personage."
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