Founding Brothers by Joseph J Ellis - Essay Example

It is said Burr aimed his gun and dealt the killing blow three seconds after the first shot. When spectators came to Hamilton’s aid, they reached for his gun but he warned them not to touch it; it was still loaded. The next day, Hamilton died. Aaron Burr was driven to western America where he tried to side with the British to become a governor in their colonies Ellis takes us further back in time with his next episode, The Dinner.

Dinner takes place in 1790. The three main figures in this episode are Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. The meeting was supposed to prevent the legislative body from becoming hindered. The three debated different plans for the recovery of the national debt. As they debated they made a few deals along the way, including an attempt to make the location of the permanent US capital in Potomac in exchange for Hamilton’s fiscal policy for the southern colonies. The Silence takes place on February 11, 1970.

Two Quaker delegations petitioned for the abolition of the African slave trade. This episode reveals the hypocrisy of a government that wanted freedom from England but would not provide freedom to slaves. The southern states made threats to succeed power if the abolition of slavery was in open discussion. Though some good points were brought up to make slavery illegal there was no action taken upon the topic due to threats from the south. Congress stated that the fledgling country relied on slaves for economic stability.

The Farewell is about George Washington’s retirement from office. He had written a letter stating he will not take a third term of presidency and his vision of future America. Washington stressed the need for national unity and a “national university”. The episode includes many thoughts about George Washington's early Americans had. Many Americans had negative perceptions of him. One of those people is Thomas Jefferson. Washington believed in neutrality between wars in Europe while Jefferson sought to assist the French in defeating its adversary, England.