Ask Darlene Davis

With the sound of America the Beautiful’s melody coursing through your memory, we’re going to turn the pages of history back to the late 1700’s.  Joseph J. Ellis helps capture scenes from the lives of our forefathers in his brilliant book, Founding Brothers The Revolutionary Generation.  I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read more than once, and Founding Brothers is on that list.

Review with me a few snippets of history, through the eyes of Mr. Ellis, which make this timeframe come alive.  These events also altered the course of our Nation’s history:

The Silence. No direct mention of slavery was permitted into the Constitution.  Congress gradually moved slavery off of its political agenda.  Slavery would become a defining problem for the next 70 years.  Ben Franklin spirited anti-slavery causes.  In fact, this was the final project of his life.

The Farewell. George Washington assumed the presidency in 1789.  As the popular toast of the day put it, “He was the man who united all hearts.”  He was the “finest horseman in Virginia,” a brilliant general and a revered President.  When he chose to step down, the political wrangling that transpired was nasty, cutthroat, and paralleled many of our modern day political scenes.

The Dinner. The night is set for one of the most meaningful dinners in American history.  It is June, 1790.  Thomas Jefferson brings James Madison and Alexander Hamilton together for dinner wherein a deal is brokered.  Hamilton agreed to use his influence to assure that the nation’s capital would be on the Potomac River in exchange for Madison’s agreement to many provisions of Hamilton’s fiscal program.  Thanks to Jefferson, a political logjam is broken.

The Collaborators. As our first Vice President, John Adams was muzzled in the Senate.  He spoke out too loudly, so they silenced him.  While he had assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence, it seems that history has given him a back seat to Jefferson.  With the advantages of hindsight, Jefferson’s “strategic assessment of 1796 appears more and more prescient:  Whoever followed Washington was probably doomed to failure.”  Adams had the additional woe of not choosing his vice president.  Before the passage of the 12th Amendment, electors voted for two candidates, rather than one ticket.

Adams left office a bitter man, with Hamilton’s diatribe ringing in his ears.  He also left town before Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration, which only added fuel to the fire of their broken friendship.

The Duel. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were two opposites.  Hamilton was an illegitimate son who “became a dying man to the cause of Federalism.”  Aaron Burr was a Princeton-educated aristocrat and long time political rival of Hamilton.  (Okay, you say, we already studied this in history.)

Ellis brings the lives of these two giants to life.  You can readily identify with Hamilton and the scoundrel Burr in the events leading up to the duel, and picture the day at the Heights of Weehawken, New Jersey where the duel took place on July 11, 1804.  The stage is set and two shots are fired.  As you read, you can almost smell the gun powder from that fatal shot.

The Friendship. Jefferson was the first President to campaign for political office, much to Adams dismay.  They did not speak again for 12 years.  158 impassioned letters would flow from Adams’ quill pen to Jefferson.  He would respond with half that many in return.

On the 50th anniversary of Independence Day, the remaining three signers of the Declaration of Independence were Adams, Jefferson and Charles Carroll of Maryland.  With quivering hand, Jefferson “summed up the energy for one final spasm of eloquence.”

“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government—  All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man.  The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God.  These are grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollection of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”  (emphasis added)

Thanks for sharing this brief glimpse of our national history with me.   To do proper justice to Founding Brothers, you’ll just have to read it!  It is one of those books where the ending comes too soon.  The characters come to life through his writing.

I’d love to hear which book graces the top of your history must reads.  What does the 4th of July mean to you?

To Our Celebration of Freedom,

Dar