Tag Archives: Concord. Constitutional Conventions

02.17.26
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THE GREAT CONTRADICTION/JOSEPH ELLIS

The sub title of Joseph J. Ellis‘ latest book is most descriptive of this work of non-fiction: THE TRAGIC SIDE of the AMERICAN FOUNDING.

During this current period when America Celebrates the 250th Anniversary of independence historian Ellis uncovers the deeply flawed creation on the US Constitution and the inability of the founding fathers to deal with the new nations greatest issues, slavery and the displacement of its Native Americans.

Ellis spares no detail in the conflicts and flaws among the founding fathers. He writes: This, then, is a story about failure. Next to the failure to end slavery, or at least put it on the road to extinction, the inability to reach a just accommodation with the Native Americans was the greatest failure of the revolutionary generation.

This is the story of how and why the founders failed in these two critical areas and how these unresolved critical matters have negatively resonated throughout the nation’s history. Fans of Thomas Jefferson will not be pleased Ellis’ through examination of his duplicity and hypocrisy in both the areas of slavery and Native American dispossession.

Ellis’s ending paragraph is emphatic. As for Jefferson, he will forever be remembered for his iconic eloquence in the Declaration of Independence, but his failure to live up to his own words ended in tragedy for him. his black and white families, and decades of decline for the Commonwealth he so loved.

You will meet many other historic figures in THE GREAT CONTRADICTION : George Washington, of course. Henry Knox and his role in support of Native Americans, Alexander McGillivray the consequential Creek Indian Chief and of course Madison and Monroe.

Enlightening

is an understatement!

04.12.25
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LEXINGTON AND CONCORD…250TH READING PREPARATION!

American independence and our nations history are of premium interest across all media. I would like to share with you three recommendations for enlightened reading of the events leading to the War of Independence and proceedings of the First and Second Congresses which lead to the Declaration of Independence of July 4th, 1776.

Nathaniel Philbrick’s Bunker Hill is a critical and remarkably readable history of events in the Massachusetts Bay Colony leading up to the ” Shot Heard Round The World” at Lexington and Concord on April 19th 1775. Though titled Bunker Hill the narrative goes far beyond that historic event putting the relationship between the Colonists and the British Parliament that lead to the war’s beginning in detailed perspective. The reader comes to an understanding of the City of Boston under Seige and how the colonist mindset there kindled a revolutionary spirit that ultimately encompassed all of the thirteen original Colonies.

A second remarkable read during this historic anniversary period is Our Lives, Our Fortunes & Our Sacred Honor, The Forging of American Independence 1774-1776, by Richard B. Beeman. While there is some historical overlap with Philbrick’s Bunker Hill, the additional perspective upon the familiar fixtures of the revolutionary movement is very worthwhile. Different takes on Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Paine, John Dickinson, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are found in each book. Beeman’s focus however is not on the military events of the day but more upon the First and Second Congresses in Philadelphia in 1775 and 1776 and the struggles between the patriots and the loyalists. Remember, these two conventions met while the early battles of the revolution were being fought with extremely mixed results. Beeman focuses upon the struggles for consensus that finally led to the wording of the declaration on July 2, 1776, and announced two days later on July 4th.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? Certainly not Jefferson as the sole author. Beeman is emphatic: The final product-Congress’s Declaration of Independence, not Jefferson’s-was in fact superior-more concise, more constrained, and, perhaps, even more elegant than the original.

Another very worthwhile read on events leading up to the Revolution is Rick Atkinson’s The British are Coming. ( see gordonsgoodreads). Atkinson has a new volume of this trilogy The Fate of the Day which will be released i later this month.

Enjoy this deep dive into American Revolutionary History.