Founding Brothers Discussion Questions And Answers

Short answer questions

1. Discuss the significance of the duel as it related to the young, fledging nation.
- The duel was very significant because it showed Aaron burr as a murderer. The death of Hamilton also led the Federalist to go against the republicans which will later create more problems to the infant nation. But even if Hamilton died his ideas were alive. His ideas about check and balances were embraced. Burr in the other hand flew the state but the “joint statement” that was later created showed Burr as innocent.

2. Account for the “sharp differences” dividing the leadership of the revolutionary generation.
- The “sharp differences” dividing the leadership of the revolution generation was the problem between federalism and republicanism.

The federalist and the republicans both have very different views and they went against everything each other said. Another reason was also the difference between North and the South. The North and the South both had different viewings and they collided with each other’s view.

3. Contrast the arguments of the North and the South on the issue of slavery.
- The South and the North had very different views on slavery. The South brought in history, religion, legality, social good and even humanitarianism, to support their arguments. They said that if slavery was ended so suddenly then the economy of the south would suffer. They also said that if the slaves were freed than there would be a problem of unemployment, and problem of settlement. They also argued that the slavery existed throughout the history in many other countries, and it would go against the state of mankind if they get rid of it. But on the other side, the North argued that freeing the slaves would make the American Revolution more successful. They said that having slaves would go against the purpose of the American Revolution that “All men are created equal”. The abolitionists from the North also said that slavery is unjust and unfair. But at the end the agenda of slavery was closed and put off until 1808.

4. Explain what Washington had in mind when he composed the Farewell Address?
- When he composed the farewell Address he had in mind many different advices for the infant country. First he wanted the country to stay united because if the country as united then nothing could tear them apart. Next, he wanted the country to stay away from foreign affairs because United States couldn’t sustain another war. He also had in mind that the country would go through his advice.

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5. Ellis indicates that “the truly effective centers of power were located in two political partnerships based on personal trust.” Explain and discuss this statement.
- The most effective partnership based on personal trust of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was very effective. They were very effective because they are from different states and they have different views which make their work collaborative. They works include the views of both the north and the south. When their relation was destroyed then conflicts was raised between the federalist and the republicans which put the national unity in danger

6. Adams and Jefferson had a conflicting vision of the American Revolution. Explain the essentials of this difference. Discuss an analogy in today’s world.
- Jefferson view was more romanticized and it focused on the positive aspects of the revolution whereas Adams view was more messy and negative. Adams said that the winning of the war was totally luck. The essential of this difference was that people supported Jefferson version which supported American as more powerful and successful. People regarded Adams version as incorrect. In today’s world people believe in Jefferson’s version whereas Adams version. But Adams version is also used by historians due to the complexity and intelligence he used.

Quotations from the book

Quotes Significance
"What distinguishes the American Revolution from most, if not all, subsequent revolutions worth of the name is that in the battle for supremacy, for the "true meaning" of the Revolution, neither side completely triumphed. Here I do not just mean that the American Revolution did not "devour its children" and lead to blood-soaked scenes at the guillotine or the firing squad wall, though that is true enough. Instead, I mean that the revolutionary generation found a way to contain the explosive energies of the debate in the form of an ongoing argument or dialogue that was eventually institutionalized and rendered safe by the creation of political parties" (Ellis 24).
This passage is one of the most memorable passages in the whole book because it sums up the essential argument of the book, regarding how the American Revolution differed from other revolutions. It says how the Revolution was in a form of argument and debate instead of war and violence. This quote is also significant because it shows that neither side in the Revolution completely won or succeeds.
“Tell them from ME, at MY request, for God’s sake, to cease these conversations and threatening about a separation of the Union. It must hang together as long as it can be made to” (Ellis 72). This text was from Hamilton right after this declination and the republican’s success. After the decline of the Federalist party the delegates from New England was considering succession, but Hamilton stopped them from doing so. This changed my perspective about Hamilton. It showed me that even thought he was in serious decline; he still cared for the unity of the nation.
“Madison agreed to permit the core provision of Hamilton’s fiscal program to pass; and in return Hamilton agreed to use his influence to assure that the permanent residence of the national capital would be on the Potomac River”(Ellis 79). During the Revolution, leaders were making compromises with each other due to different views. This compromise is significant because it allowed the fiscal program to pass and it also led the capital to be near the Potomac river. This text has a big impact because due to this compromise Washington D.C was brought into the choice for the capital.
“If slavery’s cancerous growth was to be arrested and the dangerous malignancy removed, it demanded immediate surgery” (Ellis 150). In this quote Ellis has a demanding tone and he shows slavery as a disease that if not removed it can cause danger. This quote is very significant because it portrays how slavery is growing and how it could potentially harm the infant nation.
“A relieved George Washington wrote home to a Virginia friend that “the slave business had at last been put to rest and will scarce awake” (Ellis 195). This text is a fact and it has a really big impact on the American Revolution. It shows how George Washington, who is such a great leader, denies the cause of slavery. Washington, instead of solving the problem, puts it aside which shows that he wasn’t considering the biggest threat to the union seriously.

Quotes Significance
“Washington was the core of gravity that prevented the American Revolution from flying off into random orbits, the stable center around which the revolutionary energies formed”
(Ellis 200). This quote shows Washington as the most important person during the Revolution. This sentence by Ellis is biased completely towards Washington. It is biased because Washington wasn’t the only important person during the Revolution. He contributed a lot towards the unity of the nation but other Founding Brothers also contributed to the unity.
“They are, from this period, to be considered as Actors on a most conspicuous Theatre, which seems to be peculiarly designed by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity” (Ellis 220). This quote by George Washington is very significant because it shows that the nation possessed great potentials. He thought that the expansion to the West will bring America greatness and prosperity. This quote also portrays American’s freedom and liberty. The quote is very compelling because it shows America as a successful country with greatness and felicity.
“More than any great leader in American history before or since, he was accustomed to getting his way, and equally accustomed to have history prove him right” (Ellis 267). This sentence shows the point of view of the author towards George Washington. Ellis believed that Washington was a great leader who was always accustomed to getting his way and making history prove him right. This quote can be used to show how Washington utilizes his powers and steps down from a post before the power corrupts him.
“Men who have been intimate all their lives cross the street to avoid meeting, and turn their heads another way, lest they should be obliged to touch hats”(Ellis 309) The purpose of this sentence was to show the way leaders behave during the Revolution. It is very significant because it shows how the nation could be torn apart due of the relationships between the men. This sentence also shows how the different party system of America made the people think differently.
“This was Adams’s apparently impulsive decision, announced on February 18, 1799, to send another peace delegation to France” (Ellis 319). This sentence is biased towards Adams. Its purpose is to show that Adams made a good decision without the consultations with any member of the government. It shows the positive side of the decision and signals that Adams can make right decision on his own rather than with the help of his wife, Abigail.

Book Review
The thesis of Joseph J.

Ellis’s Founding Brother is that the success of the United States was not always a foregone conclusion as it is today. No one present in the beginning of the Revolution knew how it would turn out at the end. The Founding Brothers had to work hard in order to bring success to United States. The evidence that supported this thesis is that the leaders during that time doubted the success of the infant nation and they believed that the nation might fall apart. The next evidence is that the Founding Brothers had a strong belief that they can be a seen as a legitimate country to other threating country if they stay together as a united nation. The final evidence is that the country didn’t want to deal with anything that could possibly bring on the thoughts of disunion. For example, slavery was avoided due to this danger towards the unity. Ellis is a very biased historian because he has a special affiliation for George Washington and John Adams. The POV of the author is very significant because when the author of the book is biased towards some particular character, then the author would only show the positive side of the character in order to show him greater than the others. This would lead the people to understand the biased version of the story. This book is written from the political perspective because it talks about political effects caused by the revolution. It also has some social perspective. For example, the friendship and the collaboration of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was a social thing which affected the politics. Overall, this was a very good and interesting book which improved my understanding of U.S History. It helped me learn the timeline and the details of the significant events during the American Revolution. Some question that I had were about slavery. Slavery’s agenda was closed because of the danger it possessed but I wanted to know about when the agenda was reopened and how the agenda of slavery progressed to the

conclusion? In order to answer this question I could read a book specific to slavery and its ending. In general, I enjoyed reading this book and it increased my knowledge about history.