Here is a vividly written and compact overview of the brilliant, flawed, and quarrelsome group of lawyers, politicians, merchants, military men, and clergy known as the "Founding Fathers"--who got as close to the ideal of the Platonic "philosopher-kings" as American or world history has ever seen. In The Founding Fathers Reconsidered, R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and the other founders not as shining demigods but as imperfect human beings--people much like us--who nevertheless achieved political greatness. They emerge here as men who sought to transcend their intellectual world even as they were bound by its limits, men who strove to lead the new nation even as they had to defer to the great body of the people and learn with them the possibilities and limitations of politics. Bernstein deftly traces the dynamic forces that molded these men and their contemporaries as British colonists in North America and as intellectual citizens of the Atlantic civilization's Age of Enlightenment. He analyzes the American Revolution, the framing and adoption of state and federal constitutions, and the key concepts and problems--among them independence, federalism, equality, slavery, and the separation of church and state--that both shaped and circumscribed the founders' achievements as the United States sought its place in the world.

Quicklets: Your Reading Sidekick! ABOUT THE BOOK The founding fathers can mean something different to everyone: for many of us, theyre a subject best left in our eleventh grade high school history class. For others, the founding fathers are demigods of democracy. Still others view the founders as idolized symbols of an idealistic government that exists only in WWII Nationalist Propaganda or Captain America blockbusters. R.B. Bernsteins book, The Founding Fathers Reconsidered, asks us to open our minds to a completely different (and somewhat scandalous) option: that the founding fathers were human. The book looks in detail at the hidden objectives, underlying goals, and twisting power plays that made up the American Revolution, the War of 1812 (often referred to as the Second War for Independence), and the creation of the government of the newborn nation. His research reveals the strengths of such near-mythological figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin to name a few. More importantly, he reveals the often glossed-over weaknesses that time (and overly-glorified school textbooks) have erased from the character study of the founders. MEET THE AUTHOR Laura Rensing is a writer and performer who occasionally has difficulty distinguishing fact from her pet fire-breathing dragon. A graduate of UC Irvine with dual degrees in Drama and Comparative Literature, Lauras experience onstage and on paper has given her a unique world view that allows her to move from present day politics to medieval literature at the drop of a pen. Dont let her frivolous tone fool you: her analysis of Public Sphere Theory in social media during the 2008 Presidential Election as well as her experience in local start-ups reveal that her critical thinking can be as daring as Lady Gagas latest Grammy appearance. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Its easy to imagine the American Revolution as one big Boston Tea Party, in which all the colonists were eager participants. However, the reality is that the revolution was unpopular on both sides of the pond, and one-third of the colonists did not fight for the patriots. In fact, there were more American colonists fighting with the British than against them. Even the most courageous of the founders were more interested in preserving good relations between the colonies in England. According to historical record, many of the early so-called patriots had anything but a revolution in mind at the start of the ruckus. In fact, Colonial protest started out as simple complaints to Parliament not a direct attack on the monarchy (though England felt it to be so). Most of the colonialists thought fondly of England and enjoyed the status of their connection to the Great Empire including the founders. Benjamin Franklin used his status as a distinguished inventor and scientist (having just successfully performed his experiment with lightning) to establish himself in British politics, and lived in London for seven years, while John Adams wore... Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE R. B. Bernstein's The Founding Fathers Reconsidered + About the Book + About the Author + Meet the Founders + Overall Summary + ...and much more

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Seward and Stanton comes the definitive biography of John Jay: “Wonderful” (Walter Isaacson, New York Times–bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci). John Jay is central to the early history of the American Republic. Drawing on substantial new material, renowned biographer Walter Stahr has written a full and highly readable portrait of both the public and private man—one of the most prominent figures of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. “The greatest founders—such as Washington and Jefferson—have kept even the greatest of the second tier of the nation’s founding generation in the shadows. But now John Jay, arguably the most important of this second group, has found an admiring, skilled student in Stahr . . . Since the last biography of Jay appeared 60 years ago, a mountain of new knowledge about the early nation has piled up, and Stahr uses it all with confidence and critical detachment. Jay had a remarkable career. He was president of the Continental Congress, secretary of foreign affairs, a negotiator of the treaty that won the United States its independence in 1783, one of three authors of The Federalist Papers, first chief justice of the Supreme Court and governor of his native New York . . . [Stahr] places Jay once again in the company of America’s greatest statesmen, where he unquestionably belongs.” —Publishers Weekly “Even-handed . . . Riveting on the matter of negotiating tactics, as practiced by Adams, Jay and Franklin.” —The Economist “Stahr has not only given us a meticulous study of the life of John Jay, but one very much in the spirit of the man . . . Thorough, fair, consistently intelligent, and presented with the most scrupulous accuracy. Let us hope that this book helps to retrieve Jay from the relative obscurity to which he has been unfairly consigned.” —Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton

A major new biography of the fourth U.S. president, from New York Times–bestselling author Lynne Cheney James Madison was a true genius of the early republic, the leader who did more than any other to create the nation we know today. This majestic new biography tells his story. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution. His visionary political philosophy—eloquently presented in the Federalist Papers—was a crucial factor behind the Constitution’s ratification, and his political savvy was of major importance in getting the new government underway. As secretary of state under Thomas Jefferson, he managed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the United States. As president, Madison led the country in its first war under the Constitution, the War of 1812. Without precedent to guide him, he would demonstrate that a republic could defend its honor and independence while remaining true to its young constitution.

The Founding Fathers is a concise, accessible overview of the brilliant, flawed, and quarrelsome group of lawyers, politicians, merchants, military men, and clergy known as "the Founding Fathers"--who got as close to the ideal of the Platonic "philosopher-kings" as American or world history has ever seen. R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and the other founders not as shining demigods but as imperfect human beings--people much like us--who nevertheless achieved political greatness. They emerge here as men who sought to transcend their intellectual world even as they were bound by its limits, men who strove to lead the new nation even as they had to defer to the great body of the people and learn with them the possibilities and limitations of politics. Bernstein deftly traces the dynamic forces that molded these men and their contemporaries as British colonists in North America and as intellectual citizens of the Atlantic civilization's Age of Enlightenment. He analyzes the American Revolution, the framing and adoption of state and federal constitutions, and the key concepts and problems that both shaped and circumscribed the founders' achievements as the United States sought its place in the world. Finally, he charts the shifting reputations of the founders and examines the specific ways that interpreters of the Constitution have used the Founding Fathers. A masterly blend of old and new scholarship, brimming with apt description and insightful analysis, this book offers a digestible account of how the Founding Fathers were formed, what they did, and how generations of Americans have viewed them. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

God and the Founders explains the church-state political philosophies of James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.