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.
#125760 in Books 2011-07-01 2011-07-01Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x .50 x 9.20l; .95 #File Name: 0199765065368 pages
Review
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful. Accurate; Comprehensive; masterful Overview of the 1960s!By Barron LaycockIt is often said that history is written by the victors; meaning; I suppose; that the particular interpretation recorded for posterity reflects the ideology and perspective of those dominating forces successful in the particular struggle a particular historical treatment covers. Of course; such a self-serving interpretation may in fact vary wildly from anything like an accurate accounting of the actual unfolding of events and issues. Nowhere in contemporary society is such an inaccurate; disingenuous; and self-serving revisionist tendency likely as in the coverage and reflection on the events and issues of the sixties counterculture. Many recent tomes purport the times in such a solipsistic and self-serving fashion as to turn the truth on its very head. Yet all that is corrected in this wonderful overview of the momentous events and social; economic; and political issues as characterized the sixties. In "America Divided"; a fascinating work comparing the deep and dangerous divisions within American society to those of the Civil War a hundred years before; authors Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin accurately describe and explain the complex forces that seemed to strain the social fabric to the point of near-revolution and widespread violence in the streets.The authors carefully avoid the twin mistakes of either overly romanticizing the perspectives; ideas; and issues of the youthful counter culturists to epic proportions on the one hand; or of summarily dismissing them as silly and superficial on the other hand; as is often the case with neo-conservative revisionists who would have us believe the manifest troubles of contemporary America stem primarily from the permissiveness of the counterculture rather than admit it is much more likely the result of massive and constant dislocations associated with scientific and technological change that is threatening the core values and mores of American culture. This book faithfully retraces and integrates the various strands running through the sixties into a seamless historical narrative that renders one of the most sophisticated; articulate; and accurate interpretations of a decade that left those of us who lived through it breathless and yet strangely unable to describe it to anyone who had not shared the experience.After reading the book; one remembers that those times were indeed characterized by great complexity; diversity; and incredible intellectual ferment and debate. Other recent accounts that blame the counterculture for the contemporary cultural malaise overlook the amazing diversity and intense ongoing dialogue that often degenerated into violent confrontation; whether it be over free speech; civil rights; Vietnam; or the perfidy of the power elite comprised of multinational corporations and big government. This book is a compelling; immensely readable; and quite entertaining work; and one that brilliantly achieves its objective by accurately describing; explaining; and integrating the intricate patchwork of events; issues; and perspectives that made the sixties decade so vital and so unique on recent American history. As with the Civil War; we are unlikely to see its like again. Those of us who remember it as a time of pitch and moment regret it; though clearly other more constipated and conservative voices hardly agree. Read this one before the nattering nabobs of negativity at the helm of the media succeed in explaining it all away.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy T. HoneycuttGood book with accurate information3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. IMPORTANT DOCUMENTBy RJM402I believe that this book is an important historical document of the events; people; and trends of the late 1950s and 1960s. I am using this book as my main text for a course on the cultural changes that occurred in America from 1955 through 1972. In comparison to Todd Gitlin's "The Sixties;" this book is far and away the preferred source. The authors present a balanced; scientific; and yet aesthetic account of that paradigmatic time in our history.Not only is the text readable; but the authors provide a great deal of information in such a concise; incisive manner; that we cannot classify it as a 'history text;' but rather more like a gripping journal of that time era.If your interest is the Sixties - read this book - you won't be disappointed.
