Joseph J. Ellis
Paperback | Pages: 290 pages Rating: 3.93 | 40017 Users | 1803 Reviews
Particularize Out Of Books Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
| Title | : | Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation |
| Author | : | Joseph J. Ellis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 290 pages |
| Published | : | February 5th 2002 by BALLANTINE BOOKS (first published October 17th 2000) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. North American Hi.... American History. Politics. Military History. American Revolution |
Chronicle Concering Books Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Informs our understanding of American politics--then and now--and gives us a new perspective on the unpredictable forces that shape history.An illuminating study of the intertwined lives of the founders of the American republic--John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
During the 1790s, which Ellis calls the most decisive decade in our nation's history, the greatest statesmen of their generation--and perhaps any--came together to define the new republic and direct its course for the coming centuries. Ellis focuses on six discrete moments that exemplify the most crucial issues facing the fragile new nation: Burr and Hamilton's deadly duel, and what may have really happened; Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison's secret dinner, during which the seat of the permanent capital was determined in exchange for passage of Hamilton's financial plan; Franklin's petition to end the "peculiar institution" of slavery--his last public act--and Madison's efforts to quash it; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address, announcing his retirement from public office and offering his country some final advice; Adams's difficult term as Washington's successor and his alleged scheme to pass the presidency on to his son; and finally, Adams and Jefferson's renewed correspondence at the end of their lives, in which they compared their different views of the Revolution and its legacy.
In a lively and engaging narrative, Ellis recounts the sometimes collaborative, sometimes archly antagonistic interactions between these men, and shows us the private characters behind the public personas: Adams, the ever-combative iconoclast, whose closest political collaborator was his wife, Abigail; Burr, crafty, smooth, and one of the most despised public figures of his time; Hamilton, whose audacious manner and deep economic savvy masked his humble origins; Jefferson, renowned for his eloquence, but so reclusive and taciturn that he rarely spoke more than a few sentences in public; Madison, small, sickly, and paralyzingly shy, yet one of the most effective debaters of his generation; and the stiffly formal Washington, the ultimate realist, larger-than-life, and America's only truly indispensable figure.
Ellis argues that the checks and balances that permitted the infant American republic to endure were not primarily legal, constitutional, or institutional, but intensely personal, rooted in the dynamic interaction of leaders with quite different visions and values. Revisiting the old-fashioned idea that character matters, Founding Brothers informs our understanding of American politics--then and now--and gives us a new perspective on the unpredictable forces that shape history.
Describe Books As Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
| Original Title: | Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation |
| ISBN: | 0375705244 (ISBN13: 9780375705243) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington |
| Setting: | Defuniak Springs(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Pulitzer Prize for History (2001), Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award (2001) |
Rating Out Of Books Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Ratings: 3.93 From 40017 Users | 1803 ReviewsCriticize Out Of Books Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
noEllis is a great storyteller who has much to say about the men (and a few women, notably Abagail Adams) who formed our country. He focuses on six specific events that, he believes, crystallize and best exemplify the magnitude of the founding fathers' work and their dramatic legacy. Among his topics: the Burr-Hamilton duel, Washington's farewell address, the infamous "dinner" at Jefferson's house, Benjamin Franklin's poignant, end-of-life attempt to end the slave trade, John Adams' turbulent
I picked this up in high school, trying to impress myself with how learned I could be. I really wasn't prepared for how much I enjoyed this book. I didn't think I was going to read more than a bit of it. Instead, I read it cover to cover and did it in less than two weeks. Which for a book about revolutionary war history is pretty unusual for me. This book deserves all the awards it got. It's impressively researched, fascinating, shows sides to these men that I never would have learned about
A wonderful book... save for one item that bothers me so much I give it a 3-star review instead of 4. Joseph J. Ellis tries to convince us that these great men were "posing" for history; that they knew the historic significance of everything they did, and wanted to set a standard for generations to follow.I respectfully disagree, and prefer David McCullough's approach to history. Speaking at Brigham Young Univeristy in 2005, McCullough said:"[N]obody ever lived in the past. Jefferson, Adams,
Ellis doesn't write bad history and this effort is no exception. An effort that illuminates the real men that our founders were.
Ellis gives us six insightful vignettes of leaders of the early American Republic. The author reminds us that the founders did not know whether their creation would last. They did know that it was historic, that it was fragile and that it was a bold experiment. We have to judge them and their actions in that context, in light of what they knew not what has since come to be true. The underlying theme is the dichotomy between the suspicion of central government and the need for a durable union for
You would figure that the history of Americas Revolutionary Era would be milked dry by now and the stories of its players a stale drama. This book represents the effort of a professional historian to forge new insights by looking collectively at the so-called Founding Fathers, stretching a metaphor for their alliances and conflicts as being emblematic of the very checks and balances that they built into the Constitution in 1787. Through a set of six lively essays, he probes the diverse
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