Joseph J. Ellis - Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

This particular book was quite short in comparison to the vast amount that could be articulated from this period of time in Americas infancy by someone as familiarized with it as Ellis. However packed into this book, quite nicely and precisely, are 6 separate stories relating to the Revolutionary Era and the immediate time proceeding it. Each recollection contains a great deal of information in relation to the founding brothers, all the while taking you to the time and place being described and discussed. You feel sensitized to it, or maybe thats just patriotism. I like the opening chapter that depicts the fatal duel between Hamilton and Burr, where Burr, in other ways, basically suffers the same death as Hamilton. It was a great way to grasp the readers attention and establish their interest in and anticipation of the book itself, I mean who doesnt love reading about an old fashioned duel, especially between these two extremely notable and at the time, prestigious individuals? The most engaging portion of the book I thought came during the last two chapters, between the friendship and rivalry of Adams and Jefferson because it was in quite good detail for a rather short book and also provided an intimate look at their mindsets and perceptions. The author exposes the attributes pretty well of the founding brothers, both the good and the bad, though Benjamin Franklin is somewhat overlooked, I assume because he died so soon after the culmination of the struggle for independence, which by no means diminishes his role in its acquisition. He was considered the founding grandfather. One might feel Jefferson is somewhat demonized every now and then, but if Ellis is accurate in depicting Jeffersons mindset and perspectives at the time, then the criticisms, though not delivered blatantly, are well deserved. I also acquired a deep found respect for Adams overall commitment to honesty and morality. He was portrayed more so after his presidency as maybe a little unstable mentally, obsessed with his place in history and at constant odds competitively with Jefferson, whom he rekindled his friendship with many years after a silence between them.

Two of the most significant things I came to understand from this book was the role of slavery in both the formation and continuation of this new nation, that was very compelling and Im certain that there is much in this chapter called "The Silence" that the ordinary person really had no idea about. And although every founding father owned slaves in modest numbers, each one of them also opposed slavery and considered it abhorrent to society and in direct conflict with the purpose and significance of the Revolution itself. Suppressing nearly all discussion and compromises pertaining to slavery, as deplorable as it was, is one of the substantial reasons why the country grew and remained unified up until the civil war. The civil war was possibly bound to occur but had it occurred much earlier in our history, our worlds and what we know of them might be an entirely different place, implying that the union very well may have lost the fight to sustain a society based on freedom and self rule, and therefore, though unknowingly, it was a blessing that the struggle against slavery was prolonged and even delayed. The founders didnt always know what steps to take next, but very often they knew what steps not to take in correlation with their objectives to witness a successful and lasting republic. African Americans should know, which most citizens do not, that their ancestors together played a very crucial role, because of slavery, in the govt, in the land and in peoples minds. Almost as if their cause or being was the center of attention the more so the dilemma was concealed and brushed under the rug. The formation of this land actually began the struggle to eradicate the slave trade, it simply required time and moral courage to dissimilate the practice from social normalcy and reliance without simultaneously sacrificing the country.

The second intriguing point, though there were many others, was how ordinary these people really were, how similar those times were politically and ideologically to ours today. This was an experiment and the founding fathers were making attempts to rewrite the history books, either in failure or through success, of which even they were not and could not be certain of the outcome. History provides a very glossed over and even distorted view of how difficult it was to achieve the great nation we have come to reside in today, it was a relentless struggle and through all the conflict and strife, one must teeter on the brink of believing maybe it was or had to be some sort of destiny because through it all, it could easily have been considered an unfeasible impossibility. Some of the creators of this nation made known that they didnt believe the country could withstand more than 100 years of unity and peace amongst itself. They were vulnerable, they argued, they had different ideas of what direction America was supposed to take, and their politics reminded me much of those we witness today unfortunately. In all reality the battle to maintain the progress of the land was more difficult than winning the freedom to create the land. But through it all they overcame and succeeded, they changed the entire world from then and until forever and the propensity of their impact cannot be adequately emphasized. When it was all said and done it was time for this generation of thinkers, achievers, fighters, dreamers, to pass away and hand down their work to those next in line, immortalizing themselves in the process. They lived to fight for what they perceived was their only purpose, they conquered a pessimistic history that sought to render them irrelevant, and for them their was nothing more noble and prominent than to revitalize and advance immensely the human condition. Freedom is comparable to being inherited and we must subsequently acknowledge and convey the utmost respect and appreciation without fail, to the fathers who established this new precedent in human history.