Respectability: Politics in Early America in Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

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In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis discusses how the relationships of the founding fathers shaped the United States, looking not only at what happened historically but the myths that have prevailed in modern times. I have few issues with this book one of which is that the narrative often jumps from one time and place to another, and while it provides the relevant information and keeps the reader’s attention, it can be hard to follow at times. In addition there are times were he explains the same incident more than once, which is distracting and unnecessary. Despite this Ellis supports his thesis well through stories of political and personal events between the founders, and clearly shows how it affected their treatment of each other. This shows why they fought and worked together the ways they did and why they left certain issues closed, and others open to later interpretation. I appreciate Ellis used journals, letters, newspapers and other public documents to see into the minds and lives of the founders, and the various quotes portray the depth of the founders’ feelings very well. Overall, while confusing at times, the book was engaging and displayed the Founding Fathers in a variety of lights adding to the books’ appeal. Ellis Starts off his book with a request to the reader to consider the American Revolution not only as how we see it today, but how it would of looked to the founders, and what actually happened. He introduces you to some of the key figures in the founding of our country and the idea that some of the founders found the successful creation of the United States as inevitable conclusion. Ellis highlights some of the dangers of what the founders did along with the improbability of the “miracle at Philadelphia”. H... ... middle of paper ... ...would be kept as historical record. Ellis sates that the way they use language is reflective of this and he states that “If he could only control himself, if he could speak the lines that history wanted to hear… he might yet win his ticket to immortality”. They still disagreed politically and had more arguments, but always reconciled quickly. Their letters showed off their skills as writers and they wrote in such a way as they thought history would expect of them. Eventually they started to discuss their own mortality and their hope to be reunited with their fellow founders soon. Rush’s prediction that the two would die at the same time was in fact accurate, the two died on July 3, 1826 just minutes apart. This ending to the book suggests to me that Ellis saw this as the death of the founding generation, though he has already stated that their influence lives on.

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