The how and why of our beloved republic, are so much better known and understood, than the who. The United States of America was born in 1776, but it was conceived 169 years before that. The earliest settlers had watered the new world with sweat, and they had built substantial holdings for themselves and their families. When the time came, however, to separate them from the tyranny an ocean away; at the best it meant starting all over again after the ravages of war. This paper gave me a whole new outlook on what the Founding Fathers of our great nation endured and sacrificed in order to bring to us the United States as we know it today. All other of the world’s revolutions were initiated by men who had nothing to lose. Our ancestors had everything …show more content…
24 were judges and lawyers, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, eleven were merchants, and the remaining twelve were doctors, ministers and politicians. Well-educated men of means who put everything they owned and their lives and the lives of their families on the line for this cause they so strongly believed in, knowing full well that signing such a document would mean certain death if they were captured. King George III had denounced all rebels in America, as traitors. The punishment for treason was hanging. With this in mind, the names on this document were kept secret for 6 months. These 56 men sacrificed everything to ensure our freedom. Five were tortured and subsequently died, 12 had their homes ransacked and burned, 9 died fighting in the Revolutionary War. They soon realized just how significant the last paragraph of the Declaration was to become; signing that “we pledge our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honour.” They knew that if they won this fight, the best they could expect would be years of hardship in a struggling nation, and if they lost, there would most assuredly be a hangman’s noose awaiting. Despite their fears, they still signed their names, and below is the fates of many of those brave men who changed the course of world history …show more content…
Signer Richard Stockton, was captured by the redcoats, tortured, and his health soon deteriorated to the point that he reached his demise by age 51, and his estate was pillaged and then burned. Signer Thomas Heyward Jr. was captured when Charleston fell, and Signer John Hancock became well-known in history due to a quirk of fate, letting England know just what he stood for…that large, sweeping signature towering over the others. He was one of the wealthiest men in New England, yet he stood outside Boston, one terrible night of the War, and he said, “Burn Boston, though it makes John Hancock a beggar, if the public good requires
Today, many American’s are proud to identify that the Declaration of Independence marks the beginning of freedom for North America. However, as students in history classes across American schools and colleges dig deeper into the realities of the country’s battles for freedom of rights it represents that from the beginning the Revolution was in the hearts and minds of the American people. The signing of the Declaration of Independence on the face of it depicts it as liberty and democracy, but the realism is that the American colonists had little choice or no choice at all, in how the American British governed its people. It is clear, the American colonies never gave up their fight for freedom and human rights, but the British Revolution still
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 analysis of the our country’s fight for independence, historians and many others have looked deeper into what the war really was about and how “revolutionary” it would be identified as. The topic itself has been brought down to two broadened opinions delving into whether the war was conservative or radical. After taking on ten primary documents that could help to solidify one answer, it has been recognized that the Revolution was less revolutionary than originally suspected. Parts of these documents have influenced the analysis, such as Document #2, #9, and #10. These documents help show a more conservative perspective on how our country received its independence. More becomes clear about the way the Revolution negatively affected other groups of people excluding the rich, white men that made up the majority of our founding
The founding Fathers were men of great knowledge and bravery. They were left with the task of revolutionizing America into the world power that it is now. From gaining independence from England, to the revolutionary war their impact has gone beyond what was expected. This impact has also extended to what we know as the constitutional convention. During the convention the founders had to coincide with their peoples needs and the challenges that they were faced with in order the fix their government in a way that could benefit America then and as well as in the future. With the incoming of immigrants, slave trade, and a debt to pay back, the founders were faced with a lot of challenges. The key to understanding the motives of the founding fathers is to consider all of the political attributes that affected the decision-making. Though the main purpose of the Convention was to reshape the government in an organized manner, it was also meant allow for peace within the colonies. The founders also wanted to make sure that all of the states were represented equally insuring a balance of power between the states and government.
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 Founding Fathers of America are a vital part of what makes America what it is today, giving the people several principals to follow in the forms of documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as well as creating a stable government for the citizens. With this importance of making us what we are today, it should come as no surprise that people would become interested in the Founding Fathers, with almost every generation looking into the history and reasoning behind their decisions and applying them to their own time. One reason why this is believed is due to the heroic nature of the founders at this time. The thought of everyday people taking a stand for what they believed in and winning the battles that others might
I think it is of high importance to understand a little more about the personal lives of our country’s Founding Fathers. Understanding the peculiarities of their lives gives us a greater understanding of why they developed our Constitution the way that they did. It also gives us an excellent insight as to what was developing in their minds as they worked to develop a set of rules and standards that sets us apart from other developing nations during the same time period. I feel that delving into their psyche, so to speak, gives us a better understanding of the controversies we have today because we can form a more rational basis as to why our country was conceived in the way that it was. I have attempted to take a more formal role in our various political spectrums, and books such as this one has helped me to do so. As I pursue a Master’s of Science degree in Vocational Rehabilitation, this book sets my mind up to understand the sophisticated views and philosophies that our nation was framed under.
During the Revolutionary period, the founding fathers set forth many goals and values to shape American politics. They saw the great potential that America possessed to become a united nation and leading economic power. Even though the U.S. was in debt as a result of the Revolutionary War, the founding fathers did not approve of debt and warned future generations of its danger. The founding fathers also warned future generations of the importance of an isolationist policy to prevent foreign entanglements. Throughout American history, freedom of the press has been continually threatened. Therefore, American politics today does not uphold the goals and values the founding fathers set forth for America during its creation because of national debt, current foreign affairs, and freedom of the press.
In the book “Founding Brothers” by Joseph J. Ellis, he explores the challenges faced by the Founding Fathers in a series of 6 defining events as they formed a new government for the U.S. after the revolution. Focusing on the more important figures from the revolutionary era, who he calls “Founding Brothers”, a slight change from the original “Founding Fathers”. They are as follows: George Washington, John and Abigale Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Arron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. In this book there’s 7 sections, each showing a different problem, which Ellis tries to explain in a neutral perspective using both foresight and hindsight. He tries to show the sense of urgency of the issues faced while providing a better perspective using the centuries of hindsight acquired. He tries to focus on the different relationships the men had and how they were influenced by the events and each other during this very formative chapter of the country. “Founding Brothers” is a non-fiction novel in which Ellis attempts to focus on the highlighted events in both post-revolutionary times and the lives of the Founding Fathers. He attempts to address each specific relationship and how they were impacted by the harsh times in which they lived. The 7 sections in the book allows deeper hindsight and foresight into specific matters so we may better understand the hardships these men were subjected to, as well as history’s opinions of them. Ellis shows his intentions
In the book Founding Mothers and Fathers: Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society by Mary Beth Norton, she explores not only the initial formation of the American colonies, but also how it related to the family unit, which was quite important to both English society and the one forming in the colonies. This text, which explores the time period from 1620 to 1670 is written in three parts, each centered on a family or individual who defied the traditional societal norms as well as analyzing the ways in which the colonies dealt with these dissenters from the social norms. The book begins however with an explanation of the view of the world that the colonists likely lived by when they first arrived on American shores, as well as its lack of female influence, and how it would eventually change to something not unlike what we have in our society today.
The united states managed to free itself from Great Britain and gained its independence. The thirteen colonies were not seen the same they gained a new name. The united states of america, which was founded by seven people. The seven people were known as the “founding fathers of america”. As well , when the united states established its liberty, documents were established. The most important documents are : the declaration of indepence , the bill of rights , and the constitution. The documents were signed by the founding fathers and they excluded people of color. Anyone who wasn’t a U.S citizen was seen as an alien ,racism occurred at the time and is rising.
Our Founding Fathers took part in the fight for our independence and the overall creation of the United States of America. They believed in our nation and the capabilities it held for its future inhabitants. However, in the world we live in today, these Founding Fathers would not be able to recognize the America they fought to unify.
The creation of the United States of America was never an easy road as we may think today. Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, the book that will be reviewed today, mentions the importance of our founding fathers, or brothers, to out country today. Ellis’ intention of writing this book was to show how the road to creating The Constitution required a lot of arguments and challenges along the way. As stated in the introduction, Ellis’ main argument in this book is that the success that the USA has today was not “a foregone conclusion” or certain at that time period. This statement means that the arguments and events that occurred did not have obvious answers, due to the uncertainty and fear of the nation falling apart, the format of the government being unorthodox, during a
Election Day… is the day of people coming together as one to vote for our future. It’s also the day where society host festivals, fireworks, and bring hope to all. This is just the highlights to cover the struggles that the founding fathers have created to bring resolution to our nations. To understand and appreciate how electing begain we would have to go back in the late 1700s were the founding fathers created the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. The design of the electoral college was that each State was allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representative. This arrangement built upon an earlier compromise in the design of the Congress itself and thus satisfied both large and small States. What was not allowed was that members of Congress and employees of the federal government were specifically prohibited from serving as an Elector in order to maintain the balance between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. The electoral government has been developed in so many ways to improve our laws and to have peace with our nation.
The Founding Fathers were a very powerful group. Our Founding Fathers are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin. This group of men created the American democracy and will always have an enormous effect on us till the end of time. The Founding Fathers are highly known for creating the Declaration of Independence. The Thirteenth American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and overthrew the power of Great Britain. They then founded the United States of America. Ever since then we have been proudly independent. The Founding Fathers were proud elites. They were all wealthy and educated. They established a stable federal government and a constitutional government.