...Duel: The chapter, The Duel recounts the day of July 11, 1804, in which two shots were fired, leaving one man dead, and the other’s political career ruined. The duel took place between Alexander Hamilton and William Burr. Hamilton was a prominent member of the Revolutionary War, and federalist. At the time, William Burr the Vice President. Ellis uses the central themes of passion and reputation in order to reveal the entire story. Both men contained a great passion for politics, and due to that desire, they would go to great lengths to prove that they were right, despite whether their idea for resolution involved risks of death. While Hamilton and Burr were both passionate about the state of the country, they did not share the same point of view regarding its future. Hamilton believed in unity, while Burr planned to use his power to withdraw from the Union. At the same time, Hamilton and Burr had lost some of the influence they held over the people, causing their reputations to wane. The duel was believed to bring back the reputation that these politicians once had. However, during the duel, Hamilton purposefully missed the mark, and aimed away from William Burr. Burr, however, persisted and shot Hamilton fatally. Due to his fading reputation, it was believed that William Burr murdered Hamilton and Burr was never again successful at getting the people on his...
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... Hamilton made tight-knit relationships with many people along his journey, however, some people had more of an impact than others. Historical figures, Maria Reynolds and Aaron Burr, played roles in persuading the decisions of what he chose to publish as influential writings that led to his nonexistent presidency, or for backing Thomas Jefferson for president; both of which really affected...
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...founding fathers of America. Ellis has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Yale University. He has written several biographies about the founders of America, including Adams, Jefferson and Washington. His book about Jefferson titled, "American Sphinx: The...
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...punishment that these fathers would face is execution due to treason. Despite this, these men had managed to work together to create a nation that is one of the superpowers in todays world. Joseph also reminds us that these people all had different within creating this nation. We are reminded to know that these fathers are human and failure was a price for them to pay. In chapter 1, a duel occurred between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Burr won the duel, while Hamilton dies. When Burr and Hamilton dueled, they were considered to be political rivals with vicious feelings towards each other. Ellis believes that these two had the duel to boost public...
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...Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and an American Founding Father. Before all that, however, he was a student at the College of William and Mary where he studied law, where he defended slaves seeking freedom. This was controversial, as Jefferson was known to own several plantations which were worked by hundreds of slaves. It is even believed that he had a relationship with one named Sally Hemings, and he may have even fathered a child with her (Halliday, XI-XII). Jefferson’s life was marked by greatness, however, as he helped bring to light the troubles and possible downfalls that could have shaped America for the worst. Through his presidency, Jefferson changed the United States for the...
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...Constitution and shaped the basis for the United States government. Going into the War and then coming out, the Founding Fathers were more united than ever. However, the seven had a relationship more comparable to brothers, and, like any siblings, they did not always get along. When written, the main idea of Founding Brothers had a strong purpose and a specific audience to reach, but, despite having its flaws, this book is, and will remain, a current topic for a wider audience. Joseph Ellis began his historical education by pursuing his Bachelors from the College of William & Mary, and then going on to get his Masters and Doctorate at Yale University. He first taught at a military academy at West Point, but he currently teaches at Mount Holyoke College. Having a wife and three sons, he now contributes to many national publications on a regular basis, including, but not limited to: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. As an American historian, Ellis has received nationwide appraisal; in fact, he won the Pulitzer Prize for...
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...Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis focuses on the conflicting interpretations of the American Revolution in the eyes of our Founding Fathers. Ellis scrutinizes how relationships between Founding Fathers were changed by the unsettled time period. He splits the book into seven sections in which each part uses perception and foresight to understand them. He introduces our forefathers as men who have the best in mind for our country. Ellis begins revealing the story one of the most famous duels in American history. The duel between Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr, vice president of Thomas Jefferson, began on July 11th, 1804. Hamilton distinguished himself in the Revolutionary War by becoming the Senior Officer...
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...1) France agreed to return all the ships they had captured; 2) The U.S. agreed to give compensation to those who had lost or damaged ships; 3) The France-American alliance was ended (but the two countries were still on good terms); and 4) Commercial relations were reestablished. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Jefferson/Burr tie: In the Election of 1800, Jefferson and Burr were both running for the presidency. Republican officials organized a plan to ensure that Jefferson would win, and told their electors how to vote. However, there ended up being a tie of the exact same number of electoral votes for Jefferson and Burr. Therefore, the House of Representatives, which was almost entirely federalist at the time, had to decide who would win the presidency. Jefferson won, and Burr became the vice president. Capital moves to D.C.: The nation wanted a new capitol, and the location of the capitol moved around a few times. Finally, it was decided that a chunk of land on the bank of the Potomac River would be reserved for the construction of the capitol city. Pierre L’Enfant, who was French, designed a capitol building on a hill with avenues and streets extending from it. Washington, D.C. was supposed to be a new, popular city, but in reality, the climate was hot and stuffy and...
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...Ellis recreates the scene of one of the most famous duels in American history in this chapter. He tells us that truth behind the fight between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Ellis found that the common version of the duel story has been told many times, and that although historically accurate, is too brief. The legendary battle between two prominent political figures could only be understood if we consider the personalities of the assailants and the argument that had brought them the duel in the first place. To understand it’s true significance, Ellis not only recounts the events of the fight, but relays information about the events leading up to the battle and who Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton really were. On July 11, 1804, a famous duel took place on the plains of Weehawken, NJ, which was later refuted by Ellis, who said that the fight actually took place on a narrow ledge twenty feet above water level, at the base of a cliff near Weehawken. Ellis captures the reader by...
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...Preface: The Generation In the preface, Joseph Ellis takes his time in explaining the importance of the American Revolution. He starts off by stating that during the 1780’s everyone thought that it was only natural that America verge away from British rule. They all figured that it would be a gradual change; not a full blown revolution. Throughout the chapter, Ellis puts great emphasis on the many things that could have gone wrong during the revolution. He points all these negative events and set backs that he felt could easily have brought the developing America down to show just how great of an accomplishment the revolution was. The Founding Fathers were not completely oblivious to the severity of breaking away from Great Britain. Tom Pain states that, “it is only common sense that an island can not rule a continent (pg.3).” Many assumed that it was only natural that the thirteen colonies govern themselves. They figured that it would be a peaceful break such as the gaining of independence for Ghana or Canada. It was not until later on that the colonies realized that Britain would not easily hand over the land. What I find interesting is that only the Founding Fathers seemed to realize the great events taking place during their time. John Adams even instructed his wife to file and keep all of his records. It is as if he knew that hundreds of years from then, we the future Americans would look back at his notes and recognize his greatness. This makes me wonder why they...
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...With each new founder that is introduced, Ellis uses specific details to give the reader an idea of that founder’s life: their backstory, accomplishments, relationships, appearance, political viewpoints, etc. Readers are given enough information to feel as if they can look into history through the lenses of that founder and understand history from their perspective. Ellis forces the reader to recognize that the founders of our country were not heroes, gods, or saints, as textbooks sometimes make them out to be; they were real people, who were extremely intelligent but were also flawed. Franklin, for example, spent a good deal of his time in Paris flirting with younger women. Even Washington was actually poorly read. As Adams realized, “…all the heroic portraits of the great men were romanticized distortions” (Ellis, 2000, p.217).Although the amount of characterization provided for all the characters...
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...Brothers to each other and Fathers to the nation, James Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison led the United States to independence over a series of revolutionary events. Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers successfully brings to life the issues and personalities of this period in time and is able to characterize these figures beyond their distinguished names, but as characters in a dramatic and remarkable history. Ellis succinctly analyzes six major events in the late 18th century: the Burr-Hamilton duel, the Compromise of 1790, the issue of slavery, Washington’s Farewell Address, the Adams Administration, and the friendship between Adams and Madison. He is able to vividly...
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...entertained audiences in droves. This has peaked interest in the play’s main protagonist alexander hamilton founding the father and the former secretary of the treasury. But is Hamilton historically accurate? A good, amount of the story and lyrics come from real life events all looked over by Ron Chernow the historical advisor on Alexander Hamilton. In Hamilton, there is one main rivalry the one between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton they are complete polar opposites of each other. Hamilton the former secretary of the treasury of the united states is a poor immigrant from the west indies who is bold, poetic, brave and wants to make...
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...Louisiana Purchase 1803 Bridget Cochran 01/28/2012American InterContinental University |...
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...separate yet united form of government, demonstrated by central government giving individual states abilities to regulate and make laws (Kierner, 2003). Meaning, individual states had independent power while still under a central government. An important document of its time, the Articles of Confederation unified the states and eased tensions over the possibility of absolute rule (Kierner, 2003). Additionally, it created a bond with the states and discouraged each state from seceding from the colonies (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, NARA, 2013). However, there were issues written in the Articles of Confederation that needed improvement or were severely weak, mostly because it was more of a friendship agreement between the states instead of a refined unification of the country. Demonstrated here in Article III of the Articles of Confederation, The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their...
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