Commentary On Founding Brothers By Joseph Ellis

The founding fathers, or as the book calls them the founding brothers, are an assorted group of men from wildly different backgrounds. In political terms, they were divided. Yet, they came to together to help shape this country into the place it is today. Now on their journey towards the making of this country they did encounter some trouble. They encountered heated debates among themselves though for getting through these debates they show just why they deserve to be called, founding brothers.

Founding Brothers The Revolutionary Generation , written and narrated by Joseph J. Ellis, is separated into six chapters and a preface. The six chapters are crucial events in American history, mostly the time surrounding the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which are described using many techniques, such as, quotes and dates. While each section contains one point, as a whole they can be understood to work together. The main purpose of Ellis’ writing was to inform readers of the early stages of government and how it was discussed. Founding Brothers focuses on ideals of the early revolutionary generation leaders and how conflicting their political views were. Ellis describes the personalities of Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Washington, Madison, and Jefferson with great awareness and detail. The results of these influential individuals have molded our country, and their acts of integrity will live on past America’s existence.

Founding Brothers, written by the illustrious Joseph J. Ellis and winner of the Pulitzer prize, is an extraordinary combination of perspectives from several founding fathers. Ellis seeks to give understanding into the people behind the acts that grant Americans the freedom they so greatly boast of, but also, Ellis seeks to show a few of the shortcomings, be they nationally detrimental or otherwise, of America’s founding fathers. Ellis, however, sums up an interesting insight into these men with his words, “The old adage applies: Men make history, and the leading members of the revolutionary generation realized they were doing so, but they can never know the history they are making” (4).

In the novel, Founding Brother’s by Joseph Ellis, Ellis depicts six defining events from U.S. History. These six events explore the challenges and realities that the American Founding Fathers faced as they built up the American government that we know today and what occurred afterwards. Ellis focuses the novel on the most prominent members of the Founding Fathers which include: George Washington; John and Abigail Adams; Thomas Jefferson; Alexander Hamilton; James Madison; Benjamin Franklin; and Aaron Burr. Ellis examines the relationships and conflicts that these men were faced with, and how exactly the events were affected by the conflicted time period that they lived in and how they established their influence in American history.

Who or what is the first thing that comes to mind when the word whiskey is mentioned? Jack Daniel’s or a fun Saturday night out? Perhaps, but most likely not the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791. This Rebellion resulted from the passage by Congress of an excise tax to be applied to distilled liquor and was led by Pennsylvania farmers. Occurring from 1791 to 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion ended when President Washington sent close to 13,000 soldiers to the relatively small area to stop the protesters.(Page 141) This event is a classic example of the struggle between States’ rights and Federal Authority, which Joseph J. Ellis illustrates in the book Founding Brothers. Even today, the battle of power continues between the States and the Federal Government

The American Revolution had many players that made it a successful revolution. The American Revolution began in 1760’s, the author separates this memorable events in history into different chapters following the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The key player in the book are Aaron Burr, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Each of these men contributed greatly during the American Revolution, with these men greatness each came across challenges against each other once in history. Some of the founding brothers serve both their country in battle and through their legislation for the people. The main

In the book, “Founding Brothers,” by Joseph J. Ellis, he captures the significant moments from the past in post-revolutionary America and the lives of every single member of the Founding Fathers. The primary members included Washington, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, and Jefferson while Aaron and Franklin were somewhat in the background. He examines the “Founding Brothers” influential moments in the Revolutionary generation and from that changing the course of what the United States would become. Even though he seems somewhat unsure of his claim, his factual research and profound specific details in the book shows his desire to reveal the importance of the “founding brothers” decision making in the disasters of the American republic. Ellis quotes, “an attempt to recover the urgency and improvisation, what it looked and felt like, for the eight most

The idea that the United States was once a struggling and fragile nation is very challenging to grasp. The notion is tricky to understand because of how powerful the country has been for years and years. The founding fathers could never see just how prosperous and advanced the country would become years later. Joseph Ellis succeeds in transporting all who read his novel, Founding Brothers, as it realistically portrays how risky the creation of the nation was in its early years. The book truly throws readers into the difficult conflictions of the times through Ellis’ writing.

The Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis is about the time after the revolutionary war and the people who tried to figure out the future of the early United States. Ellis talks about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, and Aaron Burr. He goes into detail about six different events that these men were apart of, their relationships with each other, that effected the new nation. The first chapter is about the fatal Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr and what he thinks happened, the second chapter is about Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison’s secret dinner about Hamilton’s proposal for the U.S to take the states debt, the third chapter is about Benjamin Franklin petitioning to end slavery, the fourth chapter is about George Washington announcing his retirement from his presidency and his final advice to his country, the fifth chapter is about John Adams as Washington’s successor and attempting a scheme to pass the presidency down to his son, the sixth and final paragraph is about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson putting aside their differences and rekindling their friendship.

All events in American history wouldn’t have been possible without the American Revolution. The American Revolution is what first gave Americans Independence as they first reasoned that an island could not rule a country. Thanks to John Adams preserving copies of great events that had passed, we could now look back at them in the future. As Ellis describes, “the creation of a separate American nation occurred suddenly rather than gradually” (5) Ellis also informs us that we take our freedom for granted as if the British would have acted faster, there would’ve been a competition as to who would be hung the quickest.

During the time of the American revolution, differing opinions of freedom took place in the colonies. While the majority viewed defeating the British as “securing Independence”, many felt the opposite. Loyalists, or Americans who remained loyal to the British crown, made up a quarter of the American population, and an estimated 20000 fought for the crown. They felt that there could be “no existence [of Liberty] without obedience to laws” (Foner 218). They saw this newly found Freedom as a loss of Liberty, and for good reason feared the majority.

In the Preface, Ellis recreates the urgent tone felt at the time of the revolutionary period. Ellis discusses how the founding members of the revolutionary generation began their legacies through battle and continued through legislation. Ellis reminds the reader that our forefathers betrayed the British, thus risked being hung for treason. No other country at that time in history had ever endured as a republic, thus the United States had no basis to build upon.

In the midst of revolution, influential authors Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson each speak volumes about the clear vision that is to become independent America. It is the work of these individuals that one may accredit the characterization of America as it stands in the present day. In a country built on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” certain values have been deemed favorable by the founding fathers. American political culture has thus been molded into one representative of liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, and nationalism; each of which Paine, Franklin, and Jefferson advocate for in some capacity through their writings.

The Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis is about the time after the revolutionary war and the people who tried to figure out the future of the early United States. Ellis talks about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, and Aaron Burr. He goes into detail about six different events that these men were apart of, their relationships with each other, that effected the new nation. The first chapter is about the fatal Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr and what he thinks happened, the second chapter is about Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison’s secret dinner about Hamilton’s proposal for the U.S to take the states debt, the third chapter is about Benjamin Franklin petitioning to end slavery, the fourth chapter is about George Washington announcing his retirement from his presidency and his final advice to his country, the fifth chapter is about John Adams as Washington’s successor and attempting a scheme to pass the presidency down to his son, the sixth and final paragraph is about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson putting aside their differences and rekindling their friendship.

The American Revolution of 1776 marked a milestone not only in the American history, but also in the Western world history. The Declaration of Independence clearly stated that all Americans were entitled the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as the Congress demanded the united colonies be independent and absolved from any relationship with Great Britain. A series of events that led up to the Revolution can be categorized into economic concerns, regarding the well-being and prosperity or poverty of the people, and political ideals, regarding the rights, liberty, and power of the people. Although the Acts passed by the British Crown on the colonists created economic burdens in the colonies, the economic concerns had little impact in inciting the colonists to rebel against the Crown. The true seed of the American Revolution stemmed from the colonists’ highly revered political ideals: of the individual’s rights and liberty, of the judiciary rights and powers, and of the consent and the internal sovereignty.