Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

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Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 15,254 ratings · 956 reviews

In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award—winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.

The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 17...more

Paperback, 290 pages

Published February 5th 2002 by Vintage (first published January 28th 2000)

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Nov 03, 2010 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: americans, 18thcentury, history

What an exciting book! Ellis conducts you right into the political chaos of the early republic, when the revolutionary fraternity was splintering in feuds, faction and duels (which are preferable to purges, terrors, and nights of long knives):

The very idea of a legitimate opposition did not yet exist in the political culture of the 1790s, and the evolution of political parties was proceeding in an environment that continued to regard the word party as an epithet. In effect, the leadership of th

...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Nanette Bulebosh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ellis is a great storyteller who has much to say about the men (and a few women, notably Abagail Adams) who formed our country. He focuses on six specific events that, he believes, crystallize and best exemplify the magnitude of the founding fathers' work and their dramatic legacy. Among his topics: the Burr-Hamilton duel, Washington's farewell address, the infamous "dinner" at Jefferson's house, Benjamin Franklin's poignant, end-of-life attempt to end the slave trade, John Adams' turbulent pres...more

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Aug 14, 2008 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Early American History Afficionados

Shelves: history

I think giving this book five stars actually does a disservice to the author: It deserves 20! Joesph Ellis' work, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, is a wonderful narrative that immerses the reader in the minds of the founders of the United States of America, and explores the consequences of their actions (or inactions).

Ellis divides the book into six chapters, each revolving around a pivotal point in time, or around specific persons. People mentioned, specifically:
* George Washin...more

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Feb 05, 2008 Ginger rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one.

Recommended to Ginger by: my american history prof.

This book was the first book that ever made me cry because it was too hard to read pleasurably. I felt like the author took stories we all already know about, and locked himself in a dark room with a thesaurus and babelfish and used the LOLZCATZ approach to writing, only in historese. I frustra-cried, it was that bad.
I felt double bad about this book because I had bought it for my dad earlier in the year as a birthday gift, and when it was on the required reading list of my American History cou...more

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May 16, 2008 Julie (Mom2lnb) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in American history

Shelves: read-2008, history

As a lover of all things historical and a casual reader of history books, I thought that Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation was very informative and educational. I learned many things about America's founding fathers and the revolutionary period of history that I didn't previously know. The book is laid out in six separate vignettes, each following a crucial event in that era of history: the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; a private deal that was made between Hamilto...more As a lover of all things historical and a casual reader of history books, I thought that Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation was very informative and educational. I learned many things about America's founding fathers and the revolutionary period of history that I didn't previously know. The book is laid out in six separate vignettes, each following a crucial event in that era of history: the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; a private deal that was made between Hamilton, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson on the location of the new capitol in exchange for passage of Hamilton's finance plan; the silence of the founding fathers on the issue of slavery; George Washington's farewell to public service; the sometimes contentious collaboration between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the years following Washington's presidency; and the renewal of Adams and Jefferson's friendship in their waning years. The book is also something of a character sketch of each of these key players in America's history.

The thing I enjoyed most about Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, were all the little facts and anecdotes I was able to glean from the text. Things like the loving, devoted marriage that John and Abigail Adams shared, in which he seemed to view her as his equal and value her political counsel above all others. Joseph Ellis has compiled a volume of John and Abigail's letters to each other which I think might make for interesting follow-up reading. Another fascinating little tidbit I learned was that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1826). Also, as someone who is intrigued by forensic science, I found the forensic-style analysis of the Burr/Hamilton duel to be very engaging. It's all the little things that always help to bring history alive for me, and many small details like these were woven in with lots of scholarly prose to make a strong narrative that would, in my opinion, be useful to anyone looking to learn more about American history. I would warn the casual reader though, that the academic nature of the book does not make for light reading, but neither is it so complex as to be completely inaccessible to the general reader. While I didn't find it to be entirely dull and boring, it did have a slow pace that failed to fully spark my interest and hold my attention. It actually took me quite a while to finish the book, but I'm glad that I did. I was not at all surprised to find that this book was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for history.(less)

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Feb 06, 2008 Tom rated it 2 of 5 stars

What a disappointment. Founding Brothers reads like an apologetic for long-time Founding Father of disrepute, John Adams, whose aggrandizement here expectedly reduces Thomas Jefferson to the dual role of timely revolutionary opportunist and self-deluding contradictorian, which may not be a word. Given this, Adams' non-maneuver of allowing the Treaty of Tripoli to be unanimously ratified by the Senate in 1797 is a conspicuous no-show. Or did it not quite raise the pedestal to advertise his imprim...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Ob-jonny rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's fascinating to hear about the politics behind the historical events of the revolutionary generation. James Madison was always behind the scenes pulling the strings!

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Jan 02, 2009 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Joseph Ellis sets out to depict the Founding Brothers (Washington, Jefferson, Burr, Hamilton, Franklin, Monroe and Adams) in what you may call their true light. Though the actions of this small group of political elites have left their mark our American history they were like you and I merely people with the some of the same flaws. Ellis does an excellent job of taking this group of extraordinary men and providing everyday insight into their lives, successes, and squabbles and helps to decode ho...more

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Dec 23, 2008 DANIEL rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ellis' book is a highly entertaining recount of selected key events involving members of the Revolutionary Generation. The initial chapters are spirited and reveal dynamic portraits of figures such as Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Washington, Madison, and others. Ellis is particularly good at adding interesting shades of character that break the staid portrait we often have of these 'Founding Fathers'.

However, the final two chapters concerning the famous and often contentious relationship betw...more

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Dec 19, 2008 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book uneven. The first chapter, and several others, I enjoyed very much and felt it gave me great insight into the personalities and events of the American Revolution and the time afterwards when the survival of our country was not assured. But there were other chapters that I found fair too long and therefore boring and hard to get through.
I did like the perspective of the book, that is, the structure the author used to talk about these times and these people. Instead of trying to...more

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Jun 01, 2013 The Thousander Club rated it 4 of 5 stars

Adam C. Zern shares his thoughts . . .

"Reading a book like Founding Brothers reminds me why I love American History so much. Although I also enjoy more hardline, fact-filled, and focused historical accounts, I thoroughly enjoyed Founding Brothers because of its greater focus on individual personalities (although there was no shortage of historical facts). Founding Brothers provides wonderful insights into some of our most revered founder fathers, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton,...more

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May 05, 2013 Stephen Tryon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I consider this one of my favorite books--definitely top five of all time.

The book consists of six vignettes about central figures from the revolutionary generation. Each vignette is about 50 pages, and can be read independently of the whole. Some of the vignettes are more well-known than others, but they are for the most part things that one only touches on in passing in a normal curriculum of civics and social studies and history. The six vignettes are the duel between Hamilton and Burr (then...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Zach rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's easy for those of us living in the 21st century to take the revolutionary generation for granted. The Founding Fathers, the American War of Independence, and the establishment of an independent United States have become so familiar to our country's history that it's difficult to imagine a different course of events. In "Founding Brothers," Joseph Ellis takes us back to the late 18th century to remind us about the fragility of the new republic, and how incredible it was that history turned o...more It's easy for those of us living in the 21st century to take the revolutionary generation for granted. The Founding Fathers, the American War of Independence, and the establishment of an independent United States have become so familiar to our country's history that it's difficult to imagine a different course of events. In "Founding Brothers," Joseph Ellis takes us back to the late 18th century to remind us about the fragility of the new republic, and how incredible it was that history turned out the way it did.

After grabbing our attention with page-turning coverage of the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, Mr. Ellis focuses on the major issues the new republic faced following the establishment of the Constitution and the inauguration of the first president, George Washington. The immediate pressing issue was the financial status of the United States. With the states facing accumulated debt from the expenses of fighting the Revolutionary War, the debate centered on whether the federal government should assume the debt of the several states. Such a move was opposed by states like Virginia, which paid off its debts responsibly. In exchange for building a capital for the federal government on the Potomac, key supporters from the South agreed to a compromise. So began the accumulation of our national debt and the establishment of a site for the nation's capital of Washington D.C.

Other key issues during the time included ardent relations with France, the establishment of land and naval military forces, and the issue few chose to talk about: slavery. Mr. Ellis dedicates an entire chapter to the mindset the Founding Fathers had when dealing with one of the most polarizing issues at the time. For those of us living with 21st-century hindsight, it may seem obvious and reactionary to say that the revolutionary generation should have struck an immediate blow to the institution of slavery. However, without compromises with members of the South, the constitutional experiment would have ceased to exist. Mr. Ellis titles this chapter "The Silence," implying that the Founders decided this was the most pragmatic way to deal with the issue at the time. Unlike us, they could not foresee this issue being resolved through a civil war over seventy years down the road.

During this key moment in American history, Mr. Ellis does a remarkable job in reminding us that the Founding Fathers were living, thinking human beings who faced the unique and tough challenges that came with establishing a free republic. For readers who want to understand the often-romanticized history of the beginnings of the United States and the men who made it happen, you can't do much better than this book.(less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Mike Hankins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-revolution, politics

Founding Brothers might be my favorite book on early America, and thats not something that I say lightly. Joseph Ellis essentially picks a few vignettes, some familiar, some not, that exemplify the idea of respectful conflict among the founding fathers. Essentially, Ellis is showing us that America has always been founded on the conflict between two contrasting interpretations of what America is, and that this is ok -- its the ability to engage in respectful debate and compromise that makes the...more Founding Brothers might be my favorite book on early America, and thats not something that I say lightly. Joseph Ellis essentially picks a few vignettes, some familiar, some not, that exemplify the idea of respectful conflict among the founding fathers. Essentially, Ellis is showing us that America has always been founded on the conflict between two contrasting interpretations of what America is, and that this is ok -- its the ability to engage in respectful debate and compromise that makes the nation and its original leaders so powerful.

To demonstrate this idea, Ellis tells several short stories, ranging from familiar stories of conflict, such as the infamous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, to the creation and reception of Washington's farewell address, to a lengthy discussion of the roller-coaster friendship between Thomas Jefferson and john Adams. All these stories, while incredibly interesting in and of themselves, with expert scholarly analysis by Ellis, exemplify the idea of conflict and compromise among the nation's founders.

Ellis' point here is twofold -- first, to demonstrate that the founding fathers were hardly united in any single vision. Rather, vacillations between two visions of America dominated their political and personal discussion. These contrasting visions take many forms, it can be viewed as states rights vs. centralization, populism vs elitism, etc. These often take the form of determining whether the Revolution's work was completed in the Articles of Confederation, which were later undermined by the Constitution, or the opposite view, that the Constitution was always the main goal of the Revolution. Secondly, Ellis is showing that this conflict was not one that destroyed the nation, but rather the tension between the two has always been a part of the American experience, and that embracing this conflict is something that these founding brothers took part in regularly. The fact that such conflicts did not become violent (with a few small exceptions and one very large exception, of course) makes America stand apart from many countries that experience inner turmoil.

Ellis' work, aside from being great, insightful history, also serves a timely message, mainly that by engaging and even embracing the debate about the true identity of America is a part of what it means to be American. This a great read, completely worthy of the Pulitzer it earned.(less)

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Nov 29, 2012 Bobby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Joseph J. Ellis' Founding Brothers provides a deep insight on the founding fathers of America. Some of the topics that he talks about are the duel between Hamilton and Burr, the silencing of the slavery dispute, George Washington's farewell address, and Thomas Jefferson's partnerships. This book has changed my view of American history, I now have a great interest in it. After reading this intellectual book, you will truly understand the thoughts and actions of these men that greatly impacted the...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Jennifer Weibel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

Ellis sure has gots him some awful big words. The series of historical snapshots in this book give an intimate look at the political aspirations and personality foibles of the revolutionary generation. However, it is written in quite the high flautin' style. I'm a fancy person, but this book was too fancy even for me. That, coupled with the sensation that I was constantly missing something, made this a difficult read.

I'm not a regular consumer of historical non-fiction and it has been a few lon...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation
© 2000
288 pages

Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, we knew not how, we rode through the storm with heart and hand and made a happy port. (Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams)

The Founding Fathers loom over Americans all of our lives: their portraits hang in our schoolrooms; their likenesses adorn our money. They are a peculiarity: an elite who created a de...more Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation
© 2000
288 pages

Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, we knew not how, we rode through the storm with heart and hand and made a happy port. (Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams)

The Founding Fathers loom over Americans all of our lives: their portraits hang in our schoolrooms; their likenesses adorn our money. They are a peculiarity: an elite who created a democracy. The same set of men dreamed the American Revolution into being in Boston, fought for it at Trenton and Yorktown, struggled to bring its fruit to bear in Philadelphia, and finally attempted to steer the new ship of state onto a right course in Washington as one after the other assumed the presidency. Joseph Ellis’ eminently entertaining Founding Brothers focuses on how the interactions between these men as friends and rivals shaped the fate of a new nation, telling their story in six pieces.

Interestingly, Ellis opens the book by killing one of the central characters in his drama, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton perished in a duel against Aaron Burr (as anyone who saw a particular “Got Milk?” commercial in the 1990s will remember vividly), but Ellis doesn’t take us to the misty ridge that is the site of their ritual just for kicks. He digs into the history of Hamilton and Burr’s feud, which – while it became personal – originated from their varying political beliefs, between the Federalists who desired a strong national government and the anti-Federalists (“Republicans”) who despised the idea. Ellis thus establishes early on that the modern penchant for looking back to “the Founders’ intention” is futile, because the Founders were rarely of one mind on any issue. In “The Silence”, two Quakers surprise Congress by asking them to consider the issue of slavery – an issue which they wanted to pointedly avoid. The blaze of debate raged for days thereafter, seeing every argument southerners would cite throughout the early 19th century put into field. They were not blind to the hypocrisy of hailing victory and maintaining slavery, but somehow they found justification – in believing that slavery was a doomed enterprise and would die naturally if left alone, or in arguments from ‘economic necessity’. Throughout the book, these men argue about the meaning of the Revolution, and the ambiguities built in to the Constitution itself become clear. It was not meant to decide what kind of nation the United States was to be – only to give it its start. The Founders’ own uncertainties and passionate disagreements are a central theme.

Although Ellis introduces the founders as an American pantheon, and refers to them (lightly) as demigods throughout, Founding Brothers somehow keeps these men on their pedestals while simultaneously freeing them from being simple marble idols to be admired from afar. In their fraililities and passions, they are manifestly human, and Ellis’ background allows us to step into their minds, to not only sense their emotions and understand their thinking, but to grasp why they were the men they were. This matures into a strangely intimate piece for a history book, especially in the final sections which focus on the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – first political allies, then foes, then tired old friends who write letter after letter to one another with the attitude that “we two ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to one another”. This is a beautifully effective way to close out the book, not only because their dynamic is particularly touching but because it allows the reader to linger on the unfinished legacy of the Revolution, to seek an answer for themselves as to what it means.

Founding Brothers is a finely crafted book, a genuine pleasure to read and to consider.

Related:
Founding Rivals: Madison and Monroe and the Election that Saved a Nation, Chris DeRose
Washington's Secret War, Thomas Fleming(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, american-revolution

For those that enjoy an educated and nuanced view of revolutionary history, Ellis' book provided some interesting insight into the settings, characters and stories surrounding a handful of our early "Founding Fathers." The chapters cover a wide breadth of topics, from Burr and Hamilton's famous duel, to the seldom mentioned precursor debate over slavery, and concluding with three intertwining chapters highlighting the legacy (and precedent) of our first three Presidents. While I enjoyed the insi...more For those that enjoy an educated and nuanced view of revolutionary history, Ellis' book provided some interesting insight into the settings, characters and stories surrounding a handful of our early "Founding Fathers." The chapters cover a wide breadth of topics, from Burr and Hamilton's famous duel, to the seldom mentioned precursor debate over slavery, and concluding with three intertwining chapters highlighting the legacy (and precedent) of our first three Presidents. While I enjoyed the insight and level of detail, I found Ellis' writing style to be lacking.

First and foremost, the chapters meandered consistently and frequently between subtopics. It was not uncommon to follow one tangent with yet another, and so on, only to return to the main point several pages later. Normally this would not be a problem, as I enjoy it when an author leads me carefully down a well-written path to a brilliant conclusion (which Ellis did do on occasion, to be fair.) That is, except for the rest.

Ellis made a seemingly obsessive point to overload each sentence with as many words as possible. It was as if there were some unconscious desire or quota to squeeze six to ten adjectives and adverbs between each noun and verb. As an casual reader, I found these choices more wasteful than not, and left me begging Ellis (sometimes aloud) to spend less time getting to the point.

This occured so often that it inflated each statement to the point where it seemed it might not end. So common was this phenomenon that I found myself stopping at the end of a sentence, re-reading the first statement and walking back through the entirety to reconcile it with the conclusion. These four and five-line "paragraph-sentences" were commonly an abrupt and annoying distraction, and the reason why it took me so long to finish this book.

With these things in mind, my only qualms with Mr. Ellis' book is in it's style and form. Admittedly, I am accustomed to more casual reading than engrossing myself in collegiate-level historic non-fiction. But I couldn't help but find Ellis' style to be unnecessarily verbose, somewhat rambling and a bit stuffy. Perhaps this is unfair, but I did enter into this book with the ambition of taking on something a bit more challenging than your standard pop fiction.

In truth I can not detract from the unique insight and perspective presented in this book. I found what he had to say to be intriguing, thoughtful and well-reasoned (albeit from the point of a novice history reader such as myself.) I was looking to learn more about our early revolutionary history, contrast the politics and problems of the day with the present, and receive a unique perspective into the beginnings of our nation. In that, he succeeded.

So I leave Mr. Ellis with three stars (i.e. "liked it,") just one star short of where I believe this book could have been. I would recommend this book to avid history readers (who have probably already read this book) or to anyone with a high tolerance of verbosity.
(less)

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May 07, 2012 Will rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a good book. It is a useful antidote to the panegyrics we usually hear about the founders. Ellis presents the context concisely. His founders are self-interested men who often fall short of their better ideals. He argues persuasively that George Washington's controversial decisions of the 1790s were all wise and broadsighted, explaining at length why the Jay Treaty, the payment of the war debt, and the suppression of the whiskey rebellion all helped the country to prosper.

The portrait t...more

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Mar 09, 2012 msdanconia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ellis, despite his protests, does present a rosy-eyed view of the men who shaped the early American Republic, with a definite bias for the winners over the losers as he constantly refers to the vision that successfully made America in to what it is. That said, Ellis offers a unique view into the relationships between the men - Jefferson and Washington, Jefferson and Madison, Jefferson and Hamilton, Hamilton and Burr, and of course Jefferson and Adams, to whose friendship he devotes two whole cha...more Ellis, despite his protests, does present a rosy-eyed view of the men who shaped the early American Republic, with a definite bias for the winners over the losers as he constantly refers to the vision that successfully made America in to what it is. That said, Ellis offers a unique view into the relationships between the men - Jefferson and Washington, Jefferson and Madison, Jefferson and Hamilton, Hamilton and Burr, and of course Jefferson and Adams, to whose friendship he devotes two whole chapters. Jefferson does not exit the book as clean as he entered it, however, as Ellis documents how Jefferson passively destroyed his friendships with Washington and Adams in favor of pushing a Republican victory over a Federalist one as part of the development of the party system, and though he repeatedly denied it to his friends, spread rumors and gossip designed to damage the men he'd worked with. Then again, Jefferson is not really rosy to begin with, as a man who kept slaves while preaching against the institution. While Washington at least had the decency to free his slaves after Martha's death, Jefferson let his own slave children be sold in to the Deep South, so it was interesting to see how the Jefferson and Adams friendship, in particular, was destroyed and repaired after so many years, and how these men who created and survived a revolution together came to depend on each other. Strangely ommitted from the history of the Jefferson-Adams contest of 1800 is that Jefferson only won the election via the inclusion of the 3/5 clause, so while Adams remained unpopular in the South and parts of the North, he won the vote of free men.

The role of women in this book is limited, though Ellis does pay particular attention to the friendship and partnership between Abigail Adams and John Adams, and other women are mentioned in passing through their correspondence with their men. That aside, the book is an easy read that offers another view of the formative generation of the Revolution and the issues they faced together, and those they were unwilling or unable to face and left to the next generation in the name of saving the tenuous union between North and South.(less)

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Feb 19, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, nonfiction

I read this relatively quickly. In a way, it reminded me of the papers I used to read when I was in college. Ellis lays out his arguments in a very scholarly manner, in my opinion.

Founding Brothers is a sampler of the history of early America. Ellis chooses to focus on a few key moments that, as we could tell with hindsight, were ultimately formative in the development of our young nation. The Hamilton-Burr duel, Washington's decision to step down after a second term and his Farewell Address, A...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-politics

A series of relatively short vignettes on various members of the "Revolutionary Generation" (Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Washington, Burr, Franklin & Madison) and their relationships with one another, particularly their rivalries, friendships and (in some cases) hatreds. The first chapter deals with the long, bitter political rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr that culminated in their famous duel in 1804. The last chapter, fittingly, details the rise, fall and rebirth of the r...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Historian Joseph Ellis's thesis seems to be that the so-called "Founding Fathers" may be better understood as "Founding Brothers," men who were peers, who watched history unfold in realtime, men who made mistakes and sometimes learned and sometimes didn't.
This expansive history examines these very human figures in the context of (mainly) the 1790's and brings them to life through the lenses of six different events.
Though this was my second reading of this excellent book, I found much that I had...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Brynan rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who enjoy being confused and lost

Shelves: horrific

"And so while Hamilton and his followers could claim that the compromise permitted the core features of his financial plan to win approval, which in turn meant the institutionalization of fiscal reforms with centralizing implications that would prove very difficult to dislodge, the permanent residence of the capital on the Potomac institutionalized political values designed to carry the nation in a fundamentally different direction."

This is a sentence found on page 80 of Joseph J. Ellis's Foundi...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Scott K rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-history, non-fiction, ellis, joeseph-j-ellis

After listening to David McCullough's "John Adams" Joesph Ellis' "Founding Brothers" was a disappointment. Ellis writes about 6 events surrounding the lives of John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

The events, Burr and Hamilton's deadly duel; Hamilton; Jefferson, and Madison's secret dinner, where the capital's permanent location & Hamilton's financial plan were planned; Franklin's drive to end slavery, and Madis...more

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May 19, 2011 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This fascinating book explores the American republic in its infancy, from 1787 to the early 19th century. Far from being the realization of a dream, the fragile new nation was fumbling its way through a variety of challenges, any one of which threatened to break it apart. Ellis has selected 6 significant events, or topics, to illustrate the problems faced by the revolutionary generation and the ways in which they solved them.

The blurriest episode, the first written, is the story of the Hamilton-...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Erwin rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Founding Brothers" gets inside of the relationships between the founding fathers, and describes how our view of the founders changed in the years following the founding of the American Republic.

Shortly after the nation was founded, the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, were focused on building a strong central government to hold the union together.

Meanwhile, the republicans were focused on maintaining states rights.

The founding of the republic was by no means a "sure thing" as Americans a...more "Founding Brothers" gets inside of the relationships between the founding fathers, and describes how our view of the founders changed in the years following the founding of the American Republic.

Shortly after the nation was founded, the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, were focused on building a strong central government to hold the union together.

Meanwhile, the republicans were focused on maintaining states rights.

The founding of the republic was by no means a "sure thing" as Americans are taught today - like most business or political ventures, the founding of the republic was a long series of negotiations and compromises, with each step like walking on the blade of a knife.

In the years after the republic was founded, July 4th was made a holiday, which focused ever more attention on the "Declaration of Independence", and it's author Thomas Jefferson. During the founding of the republic, the declaration was just one event among twenty, one that didn't have such significance, but with the creation of the July 4th holiday, the other important events (and other important founders) were gradually forgotten, and attention for all events became concentrated on just one event: Independence Day.

Thomas Jefferson was a Bill Clinton of his day. His politics were flexible. He could quickly make a policy reversal. He was an excellent politician, but not necessarily the unerring leader that he's remembered as in American propaganda.

The Founding Brothers covers Hamilton and Burr, moving the capitol from NY/Pennsylvania to the Potomac River and Hamilton's "Federalization" that was part of the deal, silence on slavery that would erupt later in the civil war, Washington's farewell address and his policy of neutrality for 20 years hence, relationships between pres. John Adams and his wife Abigail and the collaboration between James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and the friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (even though that relationship was on ice for nearly two decades).(less)

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Apr 04, 2011 Lowell rated it 3 of 5 stars

A wonderful book... save for one item that bothers me so much I give it a 3-star review instead of 4. Joseph J. Ellis tries to convince us that these great men were "posing" for history; that they knew the historic significance of everything they did, and wanted to set a standard for generations to follow.

I respectfully disagree, and prefer David McCullough's approach to history. Speaking at Brigham Young Univeristy in 2005, McCullough said:

"[N]obody ever lived in the past. Jefferson, Adams, Geo...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Susanne rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who really wants to understand the contstitution painlessly

Takes six of the founding fathers and looks at events in their intwined lives that illuminate constitutional issues that still live today.

It gets down to the nitty gritty details in an interesting way. And you need those details not just the leftist or Glen Beckest generalizations about the times and persons. (I found out the importance of details when I took a course on the history of Greece -- full itself of secondary sources -- but so much better than the fluff on TV shows. Pictures may be w...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ellis focuses on six pivotal events that he feels epitomize seven U.S. founding fathers. The first three events -- the Hamilton-Burr duel, Jefferson's brokering of an agreement between Madison and Hamilton to locate the permanent U.S. capital in Washington D.C. in exchange for support for Hamilton's plan for the federal government to assume state debt, and Franklin's death-bed attempt to force the legislature to confront the slavery question -- went beyond information that I had learned in colle...more

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About Joseph J. Ellis

Joseph J. Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, is a nationally recognized scholar of American history from colonial times through the early decades of the Republic. The author of seven books, he is recipient of the National Book Award in Nonfiction for American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson and the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers. He lives in Massachusetts.

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic

Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams

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“[quoting someone else] the American constitution is a document designed by geniuses to be eventually interpreted by idiots” — 8 people liked it

“Lincoln once said that America was founded on a proposition that was written by Jefferson in 1776. We are really founded on an argument about what that proposition means.” — 6 people liked it

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title link	preview: Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
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Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

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