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The Founding Brothers Summary

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In The Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J Ellis, the founders of America-Washington, The Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and Burr-are discussed and examined from top to bottom. He goes back in time and goes over the events that took place then, explaining to the reader how the decisions the leaders made created the ripple effect that it had on the current time period. Periods in the timeline such as Washington retiring from The Presidency, The arguing between the North and South side over African slave trade, and the issue of the countries national debt are examples of what he discusses. As the book progresses, the reader is given a chance to view the timeline of events from a modern perspective, and …show more content…

Before they came to this compromise, the Americans were divided mostly between the North and the South. The states were still independent and against the idea of a federal government overruling the people of the states. If the South hadn’t made the deal to help the North with its debt, they might have fallen into a extremely severe depression, and the nation might not even be together. Hamilton understood the need for the states to stand on a united front, which is why he supported The North. Madison led the South, which was against the taking on of the rest of the countries debt due to already being rid of their own. Madison and Hamilton both knew that some form of federal government was needed, but Madison was not for one on this scale. The People still remembered what rule under Britain was like, and were hesitant to put themselves back into a situation where history could repeat itself. In the end, the two were able to come to an agreement. The South got to choose the capital’s location, therefore deciding the location of the heart and soul of the country. Both had logical views, but Hamilton was right to try and explain the importance of unity. Though it would not be the last step on the path to becoming a whole nation, it was a step in the right direction that wouldn’t have been taken without leaders such as

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351 Words | 2 Pages

In Joseph J. Ellis’s book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, Ellis gives the readers a sense of clarity and even gives the few that are unfamiliar with the American Revolution a feeling of comfortability by understanding the work. Ellis also resists the uncontrollable felling of choosing one side over the other by making sure he was clear when explaining the diversity and general upright character of the Founding Fathers that were trying to create a platform to keep the new federal government from crumbling. Ellis main purpose for writing this book was to focus on the thoughts and manners of essential figures within the Revolution, including George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Thomas, Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and

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622 Words | 3 Pages

Founding Brothers In the "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis he tries to tell us a story about our founding fathers and their great generation. He tells us about some of our founding fathers and what they had to do to set the frame work for our government today. He also talks about some of the issues they face and how they will later dissolve into issues to follow later. These leaders are considered to be our revolutionary leaders. They argued that succession from the British empire is enviable.

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239 Words | 1 Pages

Despite the thirteen colonies defeating Great Britain and gaining independence, new problems erupted regarding how their new nation should be governed. Founding Brothers, written by Joseph Ellis, highlights the challenges the founding fathers faced when attempting to establish a functioning government. Although there were many differing ideas, the widely known men discovered a middle ground allowing them to combat the challenges both at home and abroad, which resulted in the United States of America. Compromises were reached when solving a conflict, but before that stage, the founding brothers had many differing ideas preventing them to move forward. For example, the Compromise of 1790 was discussed with Madison and Hamilton over dinner hosted

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761 Words | 4 Pages

The second act shows us Hamilton’s goals of taking control within the governmental system. Hamilton has several debates with multiple leads in government. Hamilton and Jefferson have multiple altercations within the government during the first planning stages of the government. Hamilton’s plan of The Compromise of 1790, is one result of a debate Hamilton had. John Adams, Aaron Burr and a few others had multiple encounters with

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Many of the people that were mentioned in the book are a part of the Founding Fathers such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Rush and George Washington. These are some of the people that had such a great impact on creating what is now known the United States of America. The Founding Brothers the Revolutionary Generation was divided into seven different sections (The Generation, The Duel, The Dinner, etc.) it also uses many techniques that help show that both the people and the historical events that are included in the book helped create the United States of American. In each of the seven paragraphs that the book has it talks about a different historical events and

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1518 Words | 7 Pages

During the 1970’s, Ellis emphasizes that this is the most decisive period in our nation’s history, which contains the greatest leaders of their generation. In addition, Ellis concentrates on the eight most prominent political leaders in the early republic. They are, Abigail and John Adams, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington. Consequently, these founders arose together to define the New Republic and direct its passage for the pending centuries.

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575 Words | 3 Pages

Founding Fathers The Book turned movie, Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis, has seven parts; The Generation, The Duel, The Dinner, The Silence, The Farewell, The Collaboration and The Friendship, each showing us a key part of history that determined the present state of the United States of America. The book focuses on five main players including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and Aaron Burr as well as aspects of the rule of George Washington. Throughout the book, Ellis emphasizes that the foundation of the nation was built upon the will and ability of the founding brothers (and others) in settling issues that arose through various debates. This in turn caused the key players to attack each other personally through slander

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199 Words | 1 Pages

Taking time to understand the formation of our country takes a lot of time, patience, and understanding as well as being willing to learn all of the different government systems. During this time, the thirteen colonies had a desire to be free from Great Britain due to taxation and other issue’s. In order to become free from Great Britain, the colonies had to sign a document which is known as the Article of Confederation. After the situation with Great Britain was solved, another problem had to be handled. One problem that the colonies had was making decisions with each other.

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Hamilton had a goal of strengthening the federal government, by coming up with ways to work around the strain of debt, he boosted the United States economy by doing so. Dealing with a problem that affects the whole country, such as debt, is tricky to deal with. There are many ways to go about fixing the problem, but a consensus has to be made. If there is argument and hostility, it takes longer to resolve conflicts. Hamilton strived for a “..vigorous central government.

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In the late 1700’s, two Founding Fathers each created their own political party. Thomas Jefferon and Alexander Hamilton each had their own political party, the Democratic-Republican and the Federalists, and shared many resemblances. Both of these great men were Founding Fathers, committed to a successful government, writers, and were part of the Presidential Cabinet. Although they shared many ideas, they disagreed on the other person’s ideals. The conflicting ideas of these two unforgettable men created the US government.

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2000 Words | 8 Pages

Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis was full of complexity and detailed information of the understanding during the revolutionary generation. Joseph brought specific point of views and what really happened during this generation that many of us never thought of especially me, which was interesting to read. Joseph really opened my eyes to grasping information of the revolutionary generation that I never thought I would do. Ellis’s writing portrays the founders voice through his writing as if he were actually there at every moment. American history is seen as boring by some including myself sometimes, but with this book, it is showing young minds such as students like myself that America is fascinating and we should want to know all that happened

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395 Words | 2 Pages

Compromise was a huge part of America 's history and was extremely useful when it came to the “Articles of Confederation.” The government was starting to realize the articles weren 't strong enough any more and weren 't helping control the citizens. The government said they needed to be revised so Virginia and New Jersey both made an attempt at fixing them. The Virginia Plan was written May 29,1787 and the New Jersey Plan was written shortly after on June 15, 1787. Both plans were preposals for forms of government and both had many flaws.

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946 Words | 4 Pages

After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?

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497 Words | 2 Pages

There was many differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson,they both had different ideas of how to run the country. Hamilton was a Federalist; he wanted the nation government to be strong , while Jefferson was a Democratic- Republic, he wanted the states to hold more power.(Competing Visions of Government: The Federalists vs. the Republicans) They both have different views in political issues and ideals for the country. Alexander Hamilton wanted a strong central government because he experienced the results of a weak central authority.(The Differences Between Hamilton & Jefferson's Views on Political Party Beliefs)On the other hand Thomas Jefferson wanted a weak central government because he thought that the threat of cruel

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649 Words | 3 Pages

Each one had their own view of how to do this, but it was a main goal of both politicians. Alexander Hamilton was a founding father and leader of the Federalist party. Hamilton wanted America to be just like Great Britain. He believed that in the best interest for the country, the government should be run by elite people with lots of money. Hamilton was The United States Secretary of Treasury, during this time, and proposed many of his reform ideas to Congress.

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