Joseph Ellis's Founding Brothers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Joseph Ellis's Founding Brothers - Essay Example The Eminent Victorians which was a similar account of narration amongst English notables. Furthermore, the book is a result of a rigorous analysis of the events which followed the 1787 constitutional convention of the United States to reflect how history was made during the time when the circumstances were rather contingent. The central idea of the book is to demonstrate the conflicting interpretations of the concept of American Revolution by the rival parties; whereby explaining that the State of America was a product of collective decision making between diverse personalities who believed in contrasting ideology yet they succeeded to overcome their differences due to various reasons. Thus, Ellis has focused on the thoughts and dialogues of John Adams, Abigail, Aaron, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and George Washington where the book has been sectioned according to the themes being portrayed. The thesis of the book i.e. contrasting ideologies at war during the time converging eventually has been depicted convincingly in the book. Ellis begins with carefully conceptualizing the revolutionary domains as interpreted by each individual. He explains that though it seemed as if end of the British colonialism was inevitable yet due to the stark contrast in ideas, there was a high chance that American Revolution may turn out to be a failed experiment. He also argues that the contrast in ideologies is still prevalent in the American discourse. He argued that Thomas Jefferson wanted to interpret the revolution as a rebellion aimed at reducing the impact of centralized state, however, Hamilton aimed at characterizing the revolution as a product of livery thus favoring federation. John Adams as well as George Washington was favoring the stance of Hamilton. To conclude how the issue was resolved, Ellis mentions various episodes. For instance, ‘The Duel’ highlights the