The American Creation Essay

When I first read a history book such as The American Creation, I ask myself: why did the author write this? What was his purpose or goal? In the first few pages of the book, the Joseph J. Ellis tells us just why he composed this book.

Before authoring The American Creation, Ellis had written another book named Founding Brothers. While he was on a promotional tour for this book around election time, one question popped up in every single one of the stops he made: “How…did the founders invent such weird contraption [like the Electoral College]?” The other question that the author asked himself was: “Why must we [American voters] choose between Al Gore and George W. Bush, whereas American voters two hundred years ago could choose between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson?” Ellis then explains his answer to his second question. He utters that the American statesmen present at the creation of the United States had the advantage that they were the firsts. In other words, no other people had been through the same political process. However, the elections of 1800 were quite dirty. Ellis contradicts his answer by saying that, because of the indecent election of 1800, the founding era was not a “pristine political paradise,” as previously thought.

The fundamental question, which Ellis answered by writing this book, was: “How did the American founding happen?” Furthermore, the writer states that The American Creation is a story about a tragedy as well as triumph. He concludes by saying that he believes the historical talent present in the founding era is unlikely to be ever surpassed.

During the first chapter, Ellis presents and explains a variety of topics. He includes details from the prelude to the American Revolution, the French-In...

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...lted in a stalemate, or deadlock. This is why this Battle became known as the Boston Siege. The Siege resulted in a colonial victory: the British agreed to evacuate Boston.

I found the Battle of Boston enthralling. It is a great example of the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain. Peculiarly, a detail I did not have knowledge of was that the Second Continental Congress elected G. Washington as leader of the Army, but he himself did not have much experience in that field. Furthermore, the author states that Washington “purchased several books on military organization and tactics…in the hope of giving himself a crash course on commanding and army.” Although Washington had all the characteristics of a leader, I think Congress took a great risk by choosing him as the Commander in Chief of the military.

Works Cited

The American Creation