Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic

This is a great addition to the history books covering the founding of our nation. Ellis covers the facts and corrects the fictions have become lore, and does so in a manner that is interesting and revealing. The Founding Fathers were neither geniuses who walked on water with the foresight of gods; nor were they evil white men hell-bent on establishing a utopia for themselves only. Yes, they were remarkable men with great talent, but they were men nonetheless, with weaknesses and inconsistencies. Ellis bears this out as he describes the various key events at the birth of the country: Valley Forge (not exactly what you thought it was); the Constitutional Convention and others. With skillful writing, Ellis brings to life all the important characters, and the character flaws, of the revolution: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, et al, and shows us how they made the best of an uncertain situation, and, in an almost ad hoc manner, put in place the foundation that has brought this country to where it is today, via an almost predictable path along a rough yet flexible route, where slavery, Indian decimation and the marginalization of women, would ride parallel besides a republican state, the establishment of separate branches of government, and the introduction of a two party system.

It is fascinating to read about the thought processes of these men, particularly James Madison, and how they struggled both privately and publically to achieve their goals, while maintaining consistency between each epochal event which with they were confronted. This book is a must read for any student of the revolution and its founding fathers.

Countless historians have written about the accidental or noninevitable nature of the American Revolution. The story bears repeating for Americans have enough trouble remembering what happened in their own lifetimes let alone 225 years ago. In the capable hands of Joseph Ellis the miracle of the founding is once again brought to life. As he did in Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, Ellis takes another look at the achievements and the failures of the founding of the republic.

Ellis admits that his version of the founding is not very au courant with academic history departments. Here the founders have been reduced to dead white males who were "racists, classists, and sexists, a kind of rogues gallery of greats." Nor does he subscribe to the other extreme view, that the founders were demigods who created the republic through some masterstroke of divine inspiration.

The reality was that the founders were exceptional, but not without their flaws. Rather than one continuous narrative, Ellis has written seven essays dealing with certain pivotal events between the formative years of 1775 and 1803.

In the tradition of the "great man" school of history, Ellis chronicles certain key moments in American history as they were being acted out by famous individuals. Very different from, say, Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.), a victim's history of America. We have Washington and the Continental army at Valley Forge; John Adams during the writing of the Declaration of Independence; James Madison and Patrick Henry at the Constitutional Convention, etc. The triumphs are well-known even to a forgetful country.

The tragedies that Ellis speaks of (to which Zinn devoted his entire book) were the failure to abolish slavery and to come up with a "truly just Indian policy."

The issue of slavery was never resolved because the Southerners at the Constitutional Convention threatened not to ratify unless slave-holding rights remained intact. Looking the other way was the only way the founders could get the new charter ratified. The issue festered for many years until it was abolished by the belated and bloody Civil War.

Ellis also has an excellent chapter on the negotiations between War Secretary Henry Knox and the charismatic Indian leader Alexander McGillvray. They were unable to consumate a peace treaty because their respective constituencies rejected the terms of the agreement.

Both tragedies were the product of the newly created and imperfect democracy. Southerners did not want to end slavery and Westerners did not want to allow the Indians any land. It was the tragedy of a democracy in which not every person had the right to vote.

If 1775 to 1803 was the time of American Creation, the years 1786 to 1788 were the most consequential. The debate between James Madison and Patrick Henry during the Virginia Ratifying Convention on federal and state's rights left open the question of which would have supremacy. The question is still open and the debate is still going on. The tension between state and federal government remains one of the most distinctive virtues of American government. Madison argued that government should not have the answers, but provide a forum for the debate. Now that's revolutionary.

The real triumph of Professor Ellis's new work is the close examination of key moments from the Nation's founding period in such a neat, succinct book.

While much of the material has been repackaged from other works, especially the prologue about the evolving process of the American Revolution, (see Gordon Wood's Revolutionary Characters, Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval among many others) other segments are more nuanced. The section about Valley Forge and its profound effect in shaping Washington's vision for a strong federal government and his support of an improbable Constitution is insightful. Additionally, the author provides compelling explanations for Madison's shift from staunch Federalist to resolute Republican. Another highlight is the section on the Louisiana Purchase in which Ellis reconciles Jefferson's grossly unconstitutional act of executive authority and his seemingly incompatible notions about a weak federal government.

In fact, a more accurate subtitle for this book might be Ironies of the Early American Republic. The triumph and tragedy theme seems forced and reminiscent of an unsuccessful bid for victory in the high school History Fair. Ellis focuses on Indian policy and slavery as the tragic acts of the Founders. While the Louisiana Purchase clearly established American economic dominance, but perpetuated slavery and Indian persecution, it is less useful to analyze the other events discussed in the book in terms of triumph and tragedy. In fact, Ellis's analogy about executive authority might well be applied to his adherence to the book's theme "it could expand or contract like an accordion, making the music required in different historical contexts." Although I do not usually appreciate the accordion, this book was enjoyable.

A subtle, balanced discussion of the founding of the American republic. Ellis explores several episodes in the early years of the country's history as emblematic in defining national character, particularly the survival of Washington's army at Valley Forge, creation of a two-party system for political elections, the debates between Hamilton and Madison in the Federalist Papers, and the issues the continuation of slavery and oppressive treatment of American Indians. These latter were the two greatest failures of the early government, and in the case of slavery would only be resolved half a century later with civil war.

Ellis sees founding fathers in their full complexity -- not as mythical figures but as flesh and blood, contradictory, and open to revision of their positions. On the down side, to say his prose style is plodding would be charitable, and it is the middling quality of the writing that will prevent this book from becoming a classic.

America was certainly the "child" of many patriots. It's a wonder that we are where we are today. We can certainly thank the British and all the many mistakes they made in the colonization of America. Lack of timely communications, lack of satellites and photo reconnisance, 3,000 miles of ocean, and a minimum of 60 days for a letter and answer all worked in the favor of the colonies to survive the dark days that led up to our revolution. But most importantly, I have a new respect for Samuel Adams. If anyone is truly the Father Of The Revolution, the first real American, etc., it was Samuel Adams. When you view what he did in context to when he did it and under what odds he labored, he is truly, in my opinion, one of the main reasons why we are America today. And he brews a fine draft while I am thinking about it.

In "American Creation" Mr. Ellis again presents several stories of the Revolutionary generation in much the same way as in "Founding Brothers." The results however, in this book, are disheartening. Mr. Ellis structures his narrative around events from the late 1770's to the first decade of the 19th century. In all of these events, whether it be Valley Forge or the Native-American question, a small variable could have changed the outcome forever. Mr. Ellis is quick to point out that, for the most part, the Founding Fathers, got it right. With a few exceptions, all the of the leaders of the Revolutionary generation were political pragmatists who understood how power worked and why. They did not have any of the 21st century sensibilities that we Americans take for granted, so very few of them had a problem with slavery or the mistreatment of Native Americans. Overall, Mr. Ellis' book is a decent sequel to "Founding Brothers" but in the structure and tone of the book resembles "Brothers" very little.

At this late date (almost sixty previous and voluminous reviews) why bother? Well I can suggest that as we look at an important inauguration, Ellis provides us with the perspective of Valley Forge, the Declaration, the Constitution and the Louisiana Purchase. He shows the founders as men who had an investment of self and belief that led to political duplicity and infighting that today would land them on the Daily Show or Sat. Night Live at a rate which would have exceeded this recent campaign. This is not sparkling prose, but with a little thought the enormity of those decisions and their consequences comes home to a discerning reader. This is a pass along to a good friend book.

A clear explanation of the complex connections between The War of Independence, the Constitutional Convention, slavery, racism, The National Bank, development of party politics, the Louisiana Purchase, the real interests and motivations of the various founding fathers -- and how the Infant Republic's "evolutionary revolution" responded to all these challenges coming at it from all directions. Many mistakes were made but it survived and thrived

Joseph J. Ellis is one of the best historians and authors of about the revolutionary period. Ellis uses his knowledge and his opinions to take a closer look at several events of the revolutionary period.

Ellis disects several events of the revolution. Background knowledge is necessary to get the most out of this book. The analysis is outstanding and Ellis gives great insights. This is a very good book to read to get a deeper understanding of the reasoning of the American Creation.

When I purchased "American Creation" I made a mistake and ordered two books on much the same subject. This book I read first. This is an important book for non-Americans especially those who live in former British colonies. The author is careful to point out that the British were determined not to make the mistakes they made in administering their American colonies a subject he alludes to on a number of occasions. Because I live in Australia there are many other political similarities between the United States and Australia and this book gives a valuable insight into political thinking of 18th century which is relevant to my country. While I expect that many of the events described in the book are very familiar to Americans the issues they faced in the 18th century deserve to be better known outside America. I would recommend this book to people like me who live in former British colonies.

The GOOD -- A nice, fairly entertaining, analysis of 5 key events in early US history from 1775 to 1803 with insights you probably didn't get about them in school.

The BAD -- Ellis writes with metaphors galore, which can sometimes get annoying.

The UGLY -- Does Ellis really think he "knows" what people were thinking 200+ years ago?

Perhaps it's presumptuous for an Australian to become sceptical about the way the given narrative describes the principal characters and events in North America from 1775 to 1803, but after a visit to the historic cities and sites last year I came home wanting to peek behind the facade to learn why they chose each a particular course of action, why there was so little publicly displayed dissent between them , how they managed to maintain the moral high ground while ignoring the contradictions of slavery and the place of the pre European inhabitants. Mr. Ellis has explained all those queries to my satisfaction in beautiful, lucid prose without hyperbole or evasion.

This book impressed me a little less that "Founding Brothers," but it's still very worthwhile. Through a series of essays, Ellis attempts to look at the founding fathers neither as perfect gods nor racist villains, but something in between--talented men who did many great things, but came up short in other ways, particularly in their failure to end slavery and to do justice to Native Americans. The result is a multi-faceted view of the nation's founding, both its achievements and its failures. A good read for anyone tired of caricatured and overly-simple portrayals of the founders.

Once again Joseph Ellis has proven that he is the master of writing about the early US republic. His knowledge, insights and clear expression make it a joy for us "non-historians" who love history, especially the history of our country. I await the next installment from him with eagerness. I devoured American Creation in record time. Thanks, Professor Ellis for all you books.

This is an interesting book. While Ellis quotes many letters and documents, a discerning reader will find it hard to tell what is opinion and what is fact as he slips from one to the other without notice. The lines are not well drawn. Still, it's a good read if you don't tend to allow the author to form your views for you.

This is an interesting book. While Ellis quotes many letters and documents, a discerning reader will find it hard to tell what is opinion and what is fact as he slips from one to the other without notice. The lines are not well drawn. Still, it's a good read if you don't tend to allow the author to form your views for you.

Ellis book is simply outstanding. He beautifully conveys a feeling of events without overburdening the reader with a lot of historical data. Where facts are necessary in the narrative, they are there. An exceptional accomplishment!

I read McCullough's 1776 after this book, and the letdown was considerable.

Joseph J. Ellis's "American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic" is a watered down series of essays crossing the period in time from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Each chapter covers a major event in that 38 year period & is cited with what was right about the positions taken by our founding fathers & what was wrong. The book itself really doesn't present any relevant new information to anyone familiar with this period in history although Ellis does remind us of things going forward in history had things turned out a little differently. A big disappointment for a book that I had far higher hopes going into.

The hypocrisy of the founding fathers is revealed in their dealings with slavery and the American Indians. I found the debates between federalist and non-federalist uninteresting. I wish Ellis focused more on the principles that lead to the creation om America.

I downloaded the sample to my $500 Kindle DX. It is excellent. I've read dozens of Colonial and Revolutionary America books. This one appears to really flow. BUT, the store, you cannot offer me a hardcover edition for $9.15 and still try to charge me $9.99 for the Kindle version. Either start smacking your publishing companies around (you do sell a ton of their books, right?) or if this is your own bright idea, you are short-sighted and dull.

An interesting read with some new information, most of which can be found in any number of other Revolutionary History books, without all the opinion. Ellis' book is a comprehensive analysis of the founding of the USA from a modern-day Progressive viewpoint. Whether it's boldly (and without any supporting evidence) claiming that many of the key Founders were either atheist or agnostic, or stating as a matter of fact that multiculturalism is the ideal form of society, Ellis pulls no punches in forcing his viewpoint on the reader.

I would not have read this book had I known that its goals were to try to illustrate that dumb luck was one of the most important factors in the miraculous founding of the USA, and that the very creation of America was on balance some sort of "neutral" event in history.

Joseph J. Ellis' American Creation is loaded with his own opinions with some facts sprinkled in for good measure. I don't know where the author was born and raised but the cover flap says he is living in Massachusetts so I assume he is from the New England area. Maybe that would account for his prejudice against Southern Founders like Jefferson and Madison.
You can purchase this book at a local Walmart store and that should tell you somehing right there!