FOUNDING BROTHERS by JOSEPH ELLIS (2000)

Joseph Ellis brings to life the turbulent years following the birth of our nation by concentrating on six episodes involving the founders: Hamilton and Burr's deadly duel, Washington's farewell address following his second term of office, the shifting political partnerships during the John Adams administration and the enduring partnership between Adams and his wife Abigail, the debate about where to place a permanent capital, Ben Franklin's attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery, and the years' long correspondence between Adams and Jefferson after their retirements.

While telling us what happened, Ellis also reveals aspects of the characters of the participants involved. Washington and Adams come across in the most flattering light, while Jefferson and Burr (of course) do not appear so admirable. Benjamin Franklin is recognized for his courageous condemnation of slavery, but the rest of his career in government is revealed as not as important as I had previously thought. Nobody, except Washington, liked Hamilton. He is pictured as honest and principled, but extremely tactless and outspoken when he should have kept his mouth shut. Burr was a womanizer who appeared to have few principles. Jefferson was apparently two-faced and seemed capable of believing his own lies. For example, he paid a newspaperman to publish lies about Adams and vehemently denied it when confronted by Adams. When the reporter later released letters that Jefferson had sent proving that he did pay to have his rival slandered, Jefferson acted completely surprised. Still, Adams eventually forgave him.

New things I learned: the placement of the capital in Washington, D.C. was a political deal to make Virginians happy; Congress did not even want to discuss the issue of slavery, knowing that it would be divisive and fearing the loss of coherence of the Union; from the very beginning, states were threatening to succeed when their wishes were not granted; the conflict between the North and South was not just about slavery but also concerned the difference between an emphasis on agriculture and an emphasis on manufacturing; the current mistrust of immigrants and the desire of the government to shut up its critics is nothing new--the Alien and Sedition Acts during Adams' term dealt with the same issues; Adams and Jefferson both died within 5 hours of each other on July 4 on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (not important, but fascinating).

Most others may already have known all that. I have been remiss most of my life by not being more aware of the actual details of the history of my country. I am resolved to do better from now on