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Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic
Knopf
November 2007
On Sale: October 30, 2007
304 pages
ISBN: 030726369X
EAN: 9780307263698
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
From the prizewinning author of the best-selling Founding
Brothers and American Sphinx, a masterly and highly ironic
examination of the founding years of our country. The last
quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most
politically creative era in American history, when a
dedicated and determined group of men undertook a bold
experiment in political ideals. It was a time of triumphs;
yet, as Joseph J. Ellis makes clear, it was also a time of
tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our
burgeoning nation. From the first shots fired at Lexington to the signing of
the Declaration of Independence to the negotiations for the
Louisiana Purchase, Ellis guides us through the decisive
issues of the nation’s founding, and illuminates the
emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and
political foibles of our now iconic leaders—Washington,
Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Adams. He casts an
incisive eye on the founders’ achievements, arguing that the
American Revolution was, paradoxically, an evolution—and
that part of what made it so extraordinary was the gradual
pace at which it occurred. He shows us why the fact that it
was brought about by a group, rather than by a single
individual, distinguished it from the bloodier revolutions
of other countries, and ultimately played a key role in
determining its success. He explains how the idea of a
strong federal government, championed by Washington, was
eventually embraced by the American people, the majority of
whom had to be won over, as they feared an absolute power
reminiscent of the British Empire. And he details the
emergence of the two-party system—then a political
novelty—which today stands as the founders’ most enduring
legacy. But Ellis is equally incisive about their failures, and he
makes clear how their inability to abolish slavery and to
reach a just settlement with the Native Americans has played
an equally important role in shaping our national character.
He demonstrates how these misjudgments, now so abundantly
evident, were not necessarily inevitable. We learn of the
negotiations between Henry Knox and Alexander McGillivray,
the most talented Indian statesman of his time, which began
in good faith and ended in disaster. And we come to
understand how a political solution to slavery required the
kind of robust federal power that the Jeffersonians viewed
as a betrayal of their most deeply held principles. With eloquence and insight, Ellis strips the mythic veneer
of the revolutionary generation to reveal men both human and
inspired, possessed of both brilliance and blindness.
American Creation is a book that delineates an era of flawed
greatness, at a time when understanding our origins is more
important than ever.
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