Founding Brothers The Revolutionary Generation Summary

Founding Brothers the Revolutionary Generation
This book report is on the book, “Founding Brothers the Revolutionary Generation” written by Joseph J. Ellis. The book has 248 pages and was published in 2002. The book examines the political lives of some of the key players in the American Revolution, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Janes Madison, Thomas Jefferson, The Adam’s (John and Abigail) and George Washington. The author examines six events that took place in our history: The Duel, The Dinner, The Silence, The Farwell, The Collaborators and the Friendship. Ellis uses these events to form his thesis that the friendships, political alliances and rivalries helped shape the lives of our Founding Fathers and form the foundation of our new nation.
The Duel aka “The Interview”, Aaron Burr challenges Alexander Hamilton to a duel to defend his honor. The details and history surrounding the duel and the long standing political rivalry between Hamilton and Burr are fascinating. Participating in a duel was illegal in New York and gentleman participating in this activity and their accomplices had to be able to deny any actual knowledge of the event. The Duel was referred to as “The Interview” and adhered to
The author wrote the book from a more social point of view, focusing on the relationships between the founding fathers and how these relationships affected the forming of our nation. Ellis is sympathetic for how Burr and Adams are often victims of the political maneuvering and gamesmanship done by Hamilton and Jefferson. Ellis used letters from letters between Jefferson and Adams, historic books, letters between the founding fathers, newspaper articles, and historical documents to base his argument; his sources are not one sided and show multiple