How To Write A Chapter Summary Of Founding Brothers

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

By: Joseph J. Ellis

Chapter Title:

Chapter One: “The Duel”

Thesis of Chapter: For the United States to fulfill their dream in eventually becoming developed enough to maintain established laws and institutions that survive corrupt and incompetent officers, they will need courageous and ambitious leaders, this is the reason Burr and Hamilton attended the interview or “The Duel”, they wished to be among those leaders.

Chapter Summary:

In July of 1804, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr met near Weehawken, New Jersey for what is described as the most significant duel in American history. It was a duel of integrity and both personal and political reputation. Although that day on the plains of

“Burr was the second-ranking official in the federal government”(13%). Hamilton, following George Washington, was the most powerful person in the Federalist party. Hamilton’s proponents would have also stated that he was the “intellectual wellspring for all the political energy that Washington merely symbolized”(13%). Ellis states, “Their fatal encounter represented a momentary breakdown in the dominant pattern of nonviolent conflict within the American revolutionary

Consequently, in addition to the “established etiquette of the code duello”(8%), veteran duelists had created a complex unidentifiable vocabulary, that they would call the ‘language of deniability’, so that all duelists afterwards could arrogate ignorance if they were ever brought to court. This is interesting to me because it shows how important dueling was in their society. They are willing to create a code or secret vocabulary as a precaution to the risk of being sent to court or accused of dueling. Another interesting thing I learned is that the reason behind most duels is men defending their reputation or keeping their pride. “Burr challenged Hamilton, and Hamilton concluded that he could not refuse the challenge without staining his honor”(11%). Lastly, I learned that the only two eyewitnesses of the duel “Pendleton and Van Ness published a ‘Joint Statement’. Its chief purpose was to claim that both principals had conducted themselves in accord with the code duello, so that even though the practice of dueling was illegal, Burr and Hamilton had behaved according to the higher law of honor appropriate for proper gentlemen”(9%). This is interestingly ironic to me because even though the duel was illegal and could be fatal, they needed an official