The Revolutionary Generation By Joseph Ellis

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 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.

They were part of the Commander-in-Chief’s staff under George Washington. Burr often supported Generals Lee and Gates protesting Washington’s proposals. Hamilton, regardless of his difference of opinions with Washington, often attacked Generals Lee and Gates. The duel between Hamilton and Burr on July 11, 1804 is still remembered today as being very symbolic in the political life of the country. Hamilton and Burr met in Weehawken and they each loaded their pistols in one another’s presence. They calculated the distance, and had someone else give the command. Hamilton and Burr both fired at the same time, and Hamilton was killed with a shot to the abdomen. The backlash that Burr was a traitor had spread throughout the political universe and it showed how Hamilton’s death caused political rifts that under any other circumstance might not have happened considering Burr was the Vice President of the United States. The purpose of this paper is to show if Burr’s killing of Hamilton was justified. Hamilton formerly said that he had by no means a dispute with Burr, other than they had opposing political views. (Hamilton vs.

Joseph J Ellis included “The Duel” in his book, Founding Brothers to show the extreme complexity behind the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. This duel is normally represented in a short few lines that includes the date, the location, the outcome, and little details about the fashion in which they dueled. Although these representations are short and concise, they do not give the duel the justice it deserves. Ellis’ model does so by adding a lot more detail to help the audience understand it was more than a short and random interaction. Ellis explains how in order to understand the duel, one must examine the many and intricate causes of it, rather than what actually happened in those few seconds on top of the cliff in Weehawken, New Jersey. Ellis’ record of the most famous duel in American History can be used as a historical reference for the songs “Your Obedient Servant” and “The World Was Wide Enough” that are a part of the Hamilton soundtrack. One thing that was made sure after reading this book and listening to this song is that Lin Manuel Miranda did his research and made the songs in his soundtrack as historically accurate as possible.

In many U.S. history classes all over the country, the Alexander Hamilton Vs. Aaron Burr duel is taught with little detail. Hamilton is a founding father, Burr is the Vice President, they challenge each other to a duel and Hamilton dies. However there is much more to the story as Hamilton consciously made the decision to throw away his shot and give Burr all of the power. This may not be the kind of decision that most people would make in this situation, but for Hamilton it was necessary. Alexander Hamilton had been through a great deal of hardships in his life. In the beginning his childhood was dark and filled with death, he tainted his love life and career with an affair, he gave his son fatal advice, and by speaking what he thought to be true he landed himself a spot in the duel against Burr. Within all of these aspects, Hamilton found himself helpless and no matter what he tried, he could not seem to fix the situation. Perhaps Hamilton decided to lay his fate in the hands of someone else for once because he never truly felt in control.

Hamilton didn’t wanted Burr to become president, he convinced a member of the federalist in congress to change his vote (page 56), that made Jefferson win the election. Aaron Burr automatically became vice president for four years, but Burr didn’t want to be vice president. Burr wanted to be president, but he know he couldn’t win against Jefferson I n the 1804 election. Burr chose to run for governorship of New York. Burr couldn’t run for governorship, because Alexander Hamilton held a lot of power it the New York state politics. Once again, Hamilton prevent Burr to win governorship. Burr was getting furious at Hamilton for destroyed his political career. Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel. A duel were, when two parties agree on a weapon to use, and fight each other. In this time period, people really didn’t fight at duel, they would had fire their weapon in the air to showed gentlemanliness and sense of Christian. However, Burr shot Hamilton for real. Burr was a murder and a fugitive. Burr headed to the India territory in the Appalachian Mountains. In the Appalachian Mountain, Burr form an nation in the in the Louisiana

Ellis dedicates an entire chapter to slavery because it was the most controversial topic of the era. Slavery and the slave trade were so heavily debated yet no compromise or conclusion came of the matter. In a country built on compromises, one could not be concluded when it came to the slavery issue which is baffling. Ellis does an excellent job exploiting the neglect of the subject that is impactful to many (that is taking into account the enormous importance of human rights today). Benjamin Franklin and Pennsylvania Quakers called upon the Continental Congress to take action with petitions. Ellis claimed that these caused intense debate and yet again another divide between those who were pro-slavery and those opposed. How was one to interpret the “egalitarian principles on which the American revolutions [were] based?” (88) While creating the Constitution, the founders made no mention of slavery in order to appease the Southern states. The Constitution did, however, state that no laws regarding slavery could be made until the year 1808. The fact of the matter is that Ellis wants it to be known that every time the slavery issue was delayed, the more intense debates became and the further the nation was divided. It was the initial actions of the founding brothers that set American history down

Hamilton insulted Burr but asking him what the word “despicable” meant which not only insulted Burr’s character, but his intelligence. Hamilton and Burr were constantly bickering in letters so Burr asked for a public apology, later leading to a duel

Slavery, an underlying theme throughout the first chapter of Founding Brothers, takes center stage in the second chapter. Ellis blames Congress for not appropriately addressing the issue. Congress failed the nation by refusing to either seek a compromise or acknowledge the compromise's impossibility.

Joseph J. Ellis makes plain his argument in the preface of “Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation”. He argues that “the central events and achievements of the revolutionary era and the early republic were political” and that because these events shaped the development of the republic up to, and including, today, these events are “historically significant” (pg. 13). For this reason, Ellis argues—contrary to what historians such as T. H. Breen and Alfred F. Young argue in their own works—that the most important participants in the Revolution and the era immediately after it were not the ordinary individuals but rather the leaders and the political figures who history has chosen to remember the clearest (pg. 13). Ellis argues that these men developed a sense of their own historical significance long before they were historically significant. He suggests that the fact that they are remembered the clearest is not necessarily an oversight on the part of historians, but rather, they are remembered best because they are the ones we ought to be remembering (pg. 13).

Joseph J. Ellis author of Founding Brothers The Revolutionary Generation is an award-winning author. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history for the book Founding Brothers. Ellis has also written other books about the Revolutionary generation. He attended and earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1965. He went on to pursue his education and received a Master of Arts, a Master of Philosophy, and a Ph.D from Yale University. After serving in the U.S. Army, he taught at West Point then became a history professor at Mount Holyoke College. As starting off as a professor he served as dean of faculty for ten years, and received the Ford Foundation Chair in American History. Supposedly around that time there were rumors of

However, Ellis selects his facts carefully (based on his bias) which conveys a modified version of history to the reader. Through Founding Brothers, Joseph Ellis credits most things to George Washington, as if he is the reason America is where it is currently. He identifies few of Washington’s flaws, and those that he does state, Ellis does not take into consideration how that impacts Washington as a leader. Though Ellis gives a new perspective on the revolution, he could not help but bringing his biased perspective in with it. All that Ellis has written is factual, however the selection and portrayal of the information acts as a filter for the real revolutionary

The history presented by Ellis Joseph in American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson concerning Jefferson’s life, including his drafting of the Declaration of Independence, diplomatic experiences in Paris, domestic time spent at Monticello, terms of presidency, and final years, clarify the development of his character and political views. Reoccurring themes of Jefferson’s character include his timid and conflicting demeanor, shown from his fright of public speaking and attention, his use of paradoxes, shown by his opinions on slaves and Native Americans, and internal conflicts regarding his large sums of debt, an alleged scandal with a his slave, and his constant desire for a personal utopia. Yet despite Jefferson’s contradictory character,

After resigning as Vice President due to his infamous duel with the late Alexander Hamilton in July of 1804, Aaron Burr began partaking in suspicious activities. According to rumors, Burr planned to overthrow the government somehow. It now known that Burr and his allies intended to make a new nation in the middle of North America. Word of the cabal’s intentions reached President Thomas Jefferson who ordered an arrest warrant on Burr for treason. It was recently revealed to the public that the person that sold Aaron Burr out is General Wilkinson who was a close ally of Burr. Burr received news that there was a warrant out for his arrest and surrendered to local authorities. There was contemplations of the terms of Burr’s arrest. During this

Aaron Burr is a person whose influence in American History is rivalled only by our founding fathers of the time. He had a working relationship with many of the people who helped to forge the United States of America and he left his own lasting legacy in many places that can still be seen today. He was revolutionary war hero as well as a leader in the politics of New York City and Colonial United States. His ambition and motivation to succeed would be legendary, but it was his methods that would cast doubt and a shadow on his character for history to remember him by. Aaron Burr’s life, successes, and failures are so great that many books have to been written to try to encompass them in the pages of history. This paper serves to document a few small elements of his life that displayed his extraordinary leadership and some of this successes and failures that resulted.