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Civil War In Joseph Ellis The Founding Brothers

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The novel, The Founding Brothers, is a piece of historical literature written by Joseph Ellis that follows the lives of the founding fathers of the United States of America. The story begins as the nation was just entering its beginning days of freedom as the Constitution was being tweaked to perfection, despite differences of opinion the authors of the document faced. The story then proceeds to tell the tale of Burr’s defeat of Hamilton as a result of their famous duel, and Ellis stresses the importance of knowledge of the context of the quarrel. The author then analyzes the truth regarding the dinner discussion of important issues between Jefferson and Madison, and how the account could very easily have been tainted by Jefferson’s bias. Shortly afterwards, the issue of slave trade and the manner in which the issue was handled is analyzed. Subsequently, George Washington’s farewell address is praised and the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson is …show more content…

The fact that the issue was postponed can be deemed very useful for it indicates that rather than facing the problem directly, the leaders of the nation chose to put it off. Ellis’s decision to reference the ultimate price the nation had to pay through the Civil War greatly validates his thesis for it proves that if the founding fathers had been more proactive regarding the subject, a more peaceful result may have become. Finally, Ellis supplies the reader with information regarding Benjamin Franklin, the sole founding father to clearly take a side in the debate. This was an intelligent decision by the author for it proves that he shows all the facts, not solely the ones that support his side of the

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Founding Brothers In the "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis he tries to tell us a story about our founding fathers and their great generation. He tells us about some of our founding fathers and what they had to do to set the frame work for our government today. He also talks about some of the issues they face and how they will later dissolve into issues to follow later. These leaders are considered to be our revolutionary leaders. They argued that succession from the British empire is enviable.

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Despite the thirteen colonies defeating Great Britain and gaining independence, new problems erupted regarding how their new nation should be governed. Founding Brothers, written by Joseph Ellis, highlights the challenges the founding fathers faced when attempting to establish a functioning government. Although there were many differing ideas, the widely known men discovered a middle ground allowing them to combat the challenges both at home and abroad, which resulted in the United States of America. Compromises were reached when solving a conflict, but before that stage, the founding brothers had many differing ideas preventing them to move forward. For example, the Compromise of 1790 was discussed with Madison and Hamilton over dinner hosted

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In Samuel Adams: A Life, author Ira Stoll begins Adams’s biography with a prelude explaining the purpose of his book: to describe Samuel Adams, tell why history has largely forgotten him, and serve as a reminder for why we should remember him. On the whole, Stoll is true to his promise; he writes of Adams’s life, pulling accounts from Adams’s contemporaries as well as using excerpts of Adams’s personal correspondence and his numerous newspaper publications. Stoll’s research is evident in that he includes the opinions and research of other historians and Samuel Adams biographers. Stoll’s biography follows Samuel Adams from childhood to death, and thus essentially tells of the origins and formation of the United States. The biography is compelling,

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Based upon superficial analysis of the Civil War, one would get the impression that the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the Emancipation Proclamation further incited the tensions between the North and South that contributed to the formation of the Southern Confederate States of America. The first point that stood out to me, contradicts the popular belief that the Civil War was caused by radical opposing views of slavery. A.K. McClure’s address highlights the ideology of both, the North and South, was rooted in rational principles. In addition, he discusses the opposing political views between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

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Out of the six chapters, I prefer to write about Chapter One: The Duel and Chapter Two: The Dinner. This book was very intriguing and helped to understand the post-revolutionary America and the lives of the founding brothers and what they went through. Chapter One: The Duel was a well-known duel in American history. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. July 11, 1804 is the exact date when the duel happened.

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Edward Mitchell 10/22/2016 English 10 Essay Unit 1 Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson played a large role in motivating the fight toward freedom in the weeks leading up to the Revolutionary War and immediately following it. Each believed in the fundamental right to be free from rule. Patrick Henry appealed to the people’s fear of war. Thomas Jefferson was able to convince people that together, they could form a new nation. The writings of each man reveals a very chaotic time in America’s history and the leadership, determination, and boldness of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson ensured that when change came, the people were ready for it.

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Many northerners, Benjamin Franklin among them, began to question the legitimacy of the revolutionary ideal of liberty, if the same rights weren’t awarded to everyone. After landing the presidential seat of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, Franklin started to protest the racist claims of his Southern counterparts (they argued that slaves were incapable of integrating into society). He also proposed legislation that called for the eventual emancipation of all slaves. After Franklin’s death in 1790, the political conversation about slavery halted. Ellis claims the discourse went “silent”.

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Two specific contributors to the issue of slavery, were Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Ultimately, Slavery was something that the south and some border states supported but if taken away, would lead to a downfall of the social structure of those states. Benjamin Franklin, now associated as the “Revolution's wisest brother,” agreed on signing a separate petition demanding to end of slavery. The House of Representatives did not have the authority to undermine Benjamin Franklin. The issue was essentially not brought back up until Franklin questioned it, and until the issue was pressed by the civil war.

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After the American Revolution, slavery grew into a coherent, national system. The new nation accepted and supported its presence. The Constitution explained how the federal government was to be set up and operate, but the protection of health, safety, and morals were left up to the individual states to decide. Each state was to draft its own constitution, in which it could decide whether it wanted to allow slavery within its its borders. Various abolitionists prepared editorials in hopes of bringing the issue of slavery to the forefront of public discourse.

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“The Collaborators” describes how former collaborators, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, formed new collaborations as they found themselves on opposite sides of the political division that emerged at the end of the Washington presidency. The fact that Jefferson and Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the of the Declaration of Independence makes their relationship so much more intriguing and it is hard to think of one without thinking of the other. Ellis writes of them, “They were the odd couple of the American Revolution”… “who lived together through some of the most formative events of the revolutionary era”(163). They were different in ideology, appearance and manner.

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Washington’s Farewell Analysis Vanessa Bates Liberty University Online (GOVT 200-S02) Instructor: Sarah Barber November 22, 2015 The President George Washington’s Farewell Address is a letter written behalf of the president at that time George Washington for the American people. The Farewell Address is one of the most important writings in American history but was written by Alexander Hamilton.

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The civil war is associated with southern succession, slavery, and the Republican Party, all factors which this dispute entailed. The initiation for such conflict though, lies in the territorial expansion that Americans believed was destined for the United States at the time. Territorial expansion pinned Americans against one another when debating whether the new states should be slaves states or not, questioned the power the Federal government had in comparison to states’ rights, and put at risk the unity of the U.S.A as a nation. With a vast majority of land acquired through agreements such as the Louisiana Purchase it was difficult to decide whether slavery should spread further west, not do so, or be equally distributed. How this was going to take place led to a long and costly conflict known as the American Civil War.

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On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, declared the independence of the American colonies from the clutches of their British oppressors. Following the revolutionary war, the American Colonies gained their independence and began to function’s its own independent nation. It was not always easy, as revealed through the various battles fought during the civil war, but strong leadership throughout these difficult times held the new nation together and ultimately made it stronger. Sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address somberly reflects on the negatives effects of the civil war while proposing a solution for America’s issues of inequality. Lincoln supports his claim on reunification of the United States by employing antithesis, parallelism, and repetition with the intentions of honoring the lives of those lost in the battle at Gettysburg in order to construct the perfect union.

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Not only did politics play a crucial role in the citizenship of women, but it also played a major role in the eventual emancipation of African-American slaves. In the article “A Man but Not a Brother: Abraham Lincoln and Racial Equality”, author George Fredrickson examined the various statements and influences of United States President Abraham Lincoln, to understand his political beliefs on the issues of race and slavery. When viewed all together, these elements suggest that Lincoln was not a typical Negrophobe or a firm fighter for racial equality. To put him in either category would misrepresent his views on race. One of Lincoln’s biggest influences in regards to race and slavery was Henry Clay.

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Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson to argue against slavery. Banneker was an educated man, he was an astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, author, and farmer, yet, Jefferson had not known this information. Banneker makes his argument through the use of allusion, diction, and repetition, which causes Banneker to seem reliable and have intelligence. To remind Jefferson of his own subjugation, Banneker alludes to the British Crown. “..British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of Servitude.”

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