Founding Brothers Analysis

Chapter One: The Duel was a well-known duel in American history. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. July 11, 1804 is the exact date when the duel took place. It was presumed to have taken place in Weehawken, New Jersey; when in actuality, the duel really took place on a ledge above the water near Weehawken. This isolated spot was foolproof for illegal acts like this. Hamilton ends up dying because of Burr. Burr shot him from a distance. The bullet hit a rib and then ricocheted off into his spine mortally wounding Hamilton. Hamilton was the one that chose the position and the weapons for the duel, but the public thought that Burr killed him in cold blood. The public also started to call Burr the new Benedict Arnold. (Benedict Arnold was considered a traitor.) Burr was never harmed in the whole incident. Because everyone thought Burr was the initiator, he had to leave the city and this was the decline of his political power. Both of these men’s reputations were failing by 1804. Hamilton was appointed the first Secretary of Treasury under George Washington after the Revolutionary War. The Federalist Party was in decline and Hamilton did not hold office for approximately ten years. Burr lost the support

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.

In an essay that incorporates the textbook, lecture and power-point notes compare and contrast the compromises of 1820 and 1850.

The chapters are titled "The Generation", "The Duel", "The Dinner", "The Silence", "The Farewell", "The Collaborators" and "The Friendship". In "The Duel", the story of the legendary duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is related in its entirety. It was by far the most prominent deadly standoff between two men in history. Ellis relates the background and brief biographies of the two men involved in the duel. He also reveals the context for the duel, a culmination of political and personal jabs at Burrs character by Hamilton. In fact these jabs held a good deal of truth, and finally resulted in Burr challenging Hamilton. Both Hamilton and Burr went to the plains in Weehawken to conduct the duel in defense of their honor and characters. Historically, Hamilton is seen as a martyr in the duel and Burr seen as a treacherous murderer. This Hamiltonian viewpoint is dominant among historians because it is widely believed that Hamilton went into the duel not intending to fire a shot and that Burr fired the first shot. Ellis believes this version of the story to be wrong. He believes that Hamilton honored his bargain of not firing on Burr, wasting his first shot by firing it into the trees. Burr, thinking that Hamilton fired at him, shot and killed Hamilton with his shot.

2. Describe in detail the arguments presented by James Jackson and William Loughton Smith in support of slavery. The arguments presented by James Jackson representative of Georgia was that he was outraged that such a question was raised calling them lunatics, William Loughton Smith seconded the outrage saying “America was economically

On July 11, 1804, a bullet from Aaron Burr’s pistol put an end to the life of Alexander Hamilton. However, it did not put an end to Hamilton’s vision for America. In 1806, a twenty-nine year old Kentuckian entered the U.S Senate and breathed life into Hamilton’s vision. His name was Henry Clay. For the next forty years, the man whom Abraham Lincoln called “My beau-ideal of a statesman” to natiously strove to implement a federal economic policy that closely followed

In the period between the drafting of the Constitution and the start of the Civil War, compromise was a main part in the governing of the United States. The Constitution itself is often referred to as a “bundle of compromises” and because of the effectiveness of these compromises it has been able to withstand time and continue to be the main source of our government. Conflict arose even after the Constitution and compromises were made to try to keep the Union together and decrease tensions between the North and South. In this paper, I will discuss the compromises that made up the Constitution as well as the compromises that were implemented leading up until the Civil War.

5. According to Ellis’s explanation, why did Hamilton and Burr duel in the first place?

During the days preceding the duel, General Hamilton attempted to calm tensions and avoid such a tragic confrontation with Colonel Burr. When Burr insisted on a duel to end disagreements, General Hamilton did the most

Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print.

Chapter one, The Duel, is an important chapter in the Founding Brothers.Chapter one is about the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, who was the vice president to Thoman Jefferson. It took place in New Jersey in July of 1804. During the duel, Alexander Hamilton was shot and died the next day while Burr was only wounded. In the book while talking about Hamilton, it says, “He also carried a military title, thus outranking Burr with his honorary designation as “General Hamilton.” During this time period, many men who became presidents had a military background and Hamilton’s was better than Burr and he was the vice president. This is important because Alexander Hamilton could have became president or vice president and that could have changed the

Compromise Essay To what extent was the United States from 1774-1865 an example of successful compromise? Compromises are a very important part of American History. The Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787 is one of many. To whom it may concern, America was a huge example of Compromise.

Alexander Hamilton was an important founding father to our country. He set the path for many achievements, such as new fiscal policies, during and after the making of the Constitution. He was a loyal patriot even before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, which he proved through his role with the Zenger trial. When helping with the Constitution and working in the George Washington’s cabinet, Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson suffered from a feud due to their strong opposing beliefs of government. Hamilton never changed his belief in a strong central government which is partly why our government is the way it is today.

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

This fight was one for the books as you read in the book itself. The fight began with exchange of pistols and they shot from their separate boats and as Burr fired he shot Hamilton’s right side and he died the next day. The reason behind the fight was both men were already at their climax point, it was a rivalry amongst them. As I stated in the beginning they viewed many things differently, but the outcome was that they grew together to become one. You can tell that Burr felt terrible for what had happened “he insisted on going back. I must go & speak to him” (25). I don’t think Burr expected that to happen but it did. The fight was about honor so of course one of them had to go down, it just so happened to be Hamilton.