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American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic (Vintage) | |||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: Vintage Catalog: Book Release date: 2008-10-14 Media: Paperback Number of pages: 304 Ean: 9780307276452 Book Isbn: 0307276457  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthor:
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Acclaimed historian Joseph J. Ellis brings his unparalleled talents to this riveting account of the early years of the Republic. The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of both triumphs and tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our burgeoning nation. Ellis casts an incisive eye on the gradual pace of the American Revolution and the contributions of such luminaries as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, and brilliantly analyzes the failures of the founders to adequately solve the problems of slavery and the treatment of Native Americans. With accessible prose and stunning eloquence, Ellis delineates in American Creation an era of flawed greatness, at a time when understanding our origins is more important than ever. |
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 Written on April 26, 2008 Summary: A Great Teaching Tool No matter what your opinion of Ellis may be, he is one of the best popular history writers out there. His contribution within his introduction to the discussion of how the Founding Fathers should be seen in American history is a must read for not only teachers/students of history, but most importantly the media talking heads. He pin points the faults and greatness of these men with an even hand, and futhermore, explores issues that are rarely if ever discussed when the question of Native-American and African-American treatment is discussed in terms of these men. His chapter dedicated to Washington at Valley Forge gives more insight not only to the Revolutionary War, but most importantly to the insights of Washington himself. The chapter devoted to Native-Americans and the Treaty of New York was enlightening to say the least. One can not help but read it and ask themselves "What If?" Many of the stories within the book have been told many times, but it is the context in which Ellis places them that makes this book a very useful tool especially for teachers who have struggled (like I have myself) with trying to find the middle ground between the greatness and the failures of these men. Written on April 10, 2008 Summary: The Founding Brothers had flaws, so our Republic is not perfect... But, the guys were bright enough to make the Constitution ambiguous enough to allow for future modification and interpretation on the issues they could not resolve. Two of the big ones were slavery and what to do about the Native Americans. Neither of those issues are yet resolved to full satisfaction, but maybe some day. After all, the women of the USA did eventually get the right to vote which was not available to women when the good old boys of the Founders did their thing at the onset of the American Creation... Written on March 31, 2008 Summary: Outstanding On the heals of Founding Brothers by Mr. Ellis I was very much interested in American Creation. An excellent book with an admirable balance of historical fact, interpertation where appropriate and "I can't say" again, where appropriate. Significant part of the book read like a novel. Beautifully written and admirably researched. Dennis Landry Fairfax Va. Written on March 29, 2008 Summary: Most people don't understand history............ ....but Joe Ellis can go a long way toward correcting that. I was lucky; I was raised by parents who respected history, by a Dad who learned about the Civil War first hand, from his grandfather. Much of history is written WAY beyond the "normal" reader...check my reviews...some of those books get five stars, but with caveats. Joe Ellis writes history [all of it about the Revolutionary period], that is short enough not to be a burden, long enough not to be silly, deep enough that a history professor can learn from it, and understandable to any intelligent person. As in "Founding Brothers", Joe has not tried to be comprehensive...he has given us a series of "snapshots" of our early years, broken up into topical chapters. Joe even gets humor into the preface: during his book tour for "Founding Brothers", folks would ask him why the earlier generation got to choose between Adams and Jefferson, and our choices were Bush and Algore. He would courteously tell them that they had obviously not studied the campaign of 1800. AMEN...it was a disgrace. The various topics looked at were: [1] "The Year"...1775...when the need for, and possibility of, independence, became apparent to a "critical mass" of influential people. Ellis makes the excellent point that America was never a one man show. Yes, Washington was central, but Adams, Jefferson, and Madison were almost equally central, and there was quite a supporting cast. Other countries...France, Russia, Cuba...have had revolutions dominated by one man, then gone to hell. We have survived, partialy because our nation was never wholly personified in one person. [2] "The Winter"...at Valley Forge. We almost lost everything right there. Washington held it together by force of will, despite the Conway Cabal, despite disloyal local farmers, despite everything. But, with a big assist from Baron von Steuben. [3] "The Argument"...over ratification of the Constitution. OK...we won...what do we do now? By 1887, it was apparent that the Articles of Confederation weren't working. A Constitutional Convention, chaired by Washington, was held in Philadelphia [in secret]. Madison, and others produced a federal compact, then sent it to the states. There, the REAL story was written; the Virginia debates, with Madison and Marshall on one side, and Patrick Henry [with help] on the other are the stuff of legend. Ratification won [barely], but Henry and George Mason were able to force a Bill of Rights into the picture. {Later, Henry became a big federalizer, and Madison went the other way, but that's another tale}. [4] "The Treaty"...with the Creek Indians in 1790. The Indians went to New York, with much pomp, negotiated with Washington, Henry Knox, and Jefferson, and signed the "Treaty of New York". The Indians got the shaft. What else is new? Well, Joe is good enough to make the point that they brought much of it on themselves, and in the process introduces us to the book's closest approach to comic relief, Creek Chief Alexander McGillivray. [OK, Citizen Genet has comic aspects, too]. The Chief was a drunken, double-dealing, genius. Both sides violated the treaty before the ink was dry, and McGillivray got rich.... [5] "The Conspiracy"...by Jefferson and Madison that gave us our modern two-party system. The two founders took a trip to New England in 1791, and politics has never been the same. Till then, "parties" were seen as dishonorable. BUT, except for a minor spot of trouble between 1861 and 1865, we've managed to settle our differences peacefully. This MAY represent Jefferson's greatest gift to us. [6] "The Purchase"....of Louisiana...Thomas Jefferson took office pledging to shrink the government, and save money. Instead, he gave us an "Empire of Liberty". The purchase [probably] violated the Constitution, but Jefferson played his cards to perfection, and grabbed a once-in-a-millenium opportunity. Of course, there was the minor problem of slavery, and the non-Republican administration of the new territory, but, hey...... Once again, Joe Ellis has given us an absolutely fabulous book. Buy it; more important, study it. We have a great country, and far too few understand how it got that way. Written on March 27, 2008 Summary: Very solid This book was written in the same format as the amazing "Founding Brothers," and while it is another excellent effort from Ellis, it's not quite at that same level. Not that many books are. Ellis takes some stories/events that led to the creation of the republic and describes them well, pointing out positives and negatives of each. It's more analytical than "Founding Brothers." After the first two chapters, this book really picks up and offers an awful lot of good information in a quick-reading style that Ellis is known for. He pins a significant amount of blame on Jefferson for not stopping the spread of slavery after the Louisiana Purchase, and while I see his point, I don't completely agree. The one thing I wish this book had was an additional chapter on the War of 1812. He stops the book after the Purchase and indicates that it was the final major event en route to the American creation. I believe that until the War of 1812 was resolved, the republic was not really secure, and since it was a founder who oversaw that war, it would have been the ideal place to conclude the book. Regardless, I enjoyed it very much. |
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| Our price | $10.17 | $10.17 | $10.85 | $23.10 | $10.95 | $12.21 |
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| Collectible price | - | $15.00 | $15.95 | $35.00 | - | - |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2008-10-14 | 2002-02-05 | 2008-09-09 | 2007-10-29 | 2008-06-10 | 2008-09-02 |
| Media | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Hardcover | Paperback | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 304 | 304 | 480 | 928 | 352 | 720 |
| Ean | 9780307276452 | 9780375705243 | 9781400096794 | 9780195078947 | 9780743293174 | 9780060083144 |
| Book Isbn | 0307276457 | 0375705244 | 1400096790 | 0195078942 | 0743293177 | 006008314X |
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