Washington: A Life
Ron Chernow
Penguin Press
10/5/2010
Audiobook
904
Despite the reverence his name inspires Washington remains a waxwork to many readers, worthy but dull, a laconic man of remarkable self-control. But in this groundbreaking work Chernow revises forever the uninspiring stereotype. He portrays Washington as a strapping, celebrated horseman, elegant dancer and tireless hunter, who guarded his emotional life with intriguing ferocity. Not only did Washington gather around himself the foremost figures of the age, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, he orchestrated their actions to help realise his vision for the new federal government, define the separation of powers, and establish the office of the presidency.
This book covered much of the same ground as earlier Washington biographies have done, but I feel like it dove deeper into the inner thoughts of Washington, as much as they can be known. If one thing can be said about Washington, it’s that he was well aware of the place he would hold in history and was obsessive about cultivating the right appearance for posterity. The picture of Washington portrayed here is not all positive. There is much vanity and pettiness in his writings, but if any of us were as scrutinized as Washington, I’m sure the same could be said of all of us at times.
I really enjoyed this book, even when I had to return it before I’d finished and then resume reading it several months later!
John Quincy Adams
Harlow Giles Unger
Da Capo Press
9/4/2012
Audiobook
304 pages
He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of The Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president.
Half way through this book I felt like I had read it before. I’m big into US Presidential biographies, so it’s possible I was confusing it with another John Quincy book. I kept reading though because the subject matter was just too interesting. A man who was a political partner of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Was friends with Kings, Tszars, and diplomats throughout Europe. A man who spent over 50 years serving the US government in 8 different high level positions and kept a detailed diary for even longer.
No one person was exposed to so many leaders among the American founding fathers from an extremely early age. His own father among them. Meeting Ben Franklin at age 12 and Thomas Jefferson soon thereafter. Appointed the US Minister to the Netherlands at age 24 by George Washington, he served in four different Europe countries as US Minister or Envoy between 1794 and 1817. In between he was a US Senator for five years and then served as Secretary of State for 8 years under President Monroe. He dined with John Hancock, locked horns and partnered up with Henry Clay, and was a professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard.
This would be a lifetime of service for many, but after this he became the 6th US President, a position he seemed to have been, and in many ways was, groomed for by his parents John and Abigail Adams. Having a somewhat unapproachable intellect and failing to promote his ideas to the American public he collided with a headstrong Andrew Jackson who harassed his supporters and belittled his programs to make his single term largely uneventful.
Unlike many presidential biographies that end shortly after the presidential term is over. John Quincy’s story was not done. After 2 years in retirement, he won election to the US House of Representatives from Massachusetts. In this position he may have found his most effective role. He was a fiery opponent of slavery throughout his career in the House and fought and succeeded to remove the “gag rule” that had ended debate of the slavery issue in Congress. A powerful speaker who was matched by few, he collapsed from a stroke on the house floor and died two days later inside the Speaker of the House’s office.
This book drew heavily from John Quincy’s own diary and from the many letters sent among his family members. It provides a deep look into his thoughts and feelings throughout his life. Especially touching were the bits of poetry he wrote as he lost so many children and loved ones at early ages. Overall a great book and great man. 100% recommend.
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
John Ferling
Bloomsbury Press
June 2009
438
Even compared to his fellow founders, George Washington stands tall. Our first president has long been considered a stoic hero, holding himself above the rough-and-tumble politics of his day. Now John Ferling peers behind that image, carefully burnished by Washington himself, to show us a leader who was not only not above politics, but a canny infighter—a master of persuasion, manipulation, and deniability.
Ferling argues that not only was Washington one of America’s most adroit politicians—the proof of his genius is that he is no longer thought of as a politician at all.
John Adams
David McCullough
Simon & Schuster
5/22/2001
Audiobook
751
In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot -- "the colossus of independence," as Thomas Jefferson called him -- who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second President of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Jon Meacham
Random House
January 2008
483
Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy.
I knew very little about Andrew Jackson going into this book, and it moved him up in my list of great American Presidents a great deal and explains why he was important enough to be on the $20 bill. He was truly a president that changed how the presidency was perceived only 40 some years after it’s inception. He established the executive branch as a strong authority and one to be contended with by Congress. He had a lot of tragedy in his life, and could be a very cold and demanding person at times, but he did seem to have the average American at heart in what he did. I felt very sorry for his adopted nephew Andrew Donaldson and his family, and their story really highlighted the fact that Washington politics have been silly and petty for the entire life of our nation.
James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights
Richard Labunski
Oxford University Press
May 2006
336
Today we hold the Constitution in such high regard that we can hardly imagine how hotly contested was its adoption. In fact, many of the thirteen states saw fierce debate over the document, and ratification was by no means certain. Virginia, the largest and most influential state, approved the Constitution by the barest of margins, and only after an epic political battle between James Madison and Patrick Henry. Now Richard Labunski offers a dramatic account of a time when the entire American experiment hung in the balance, only to be saved by the most unlikely of heroes--the diminutive and exceedingly shy Madison. Here is a vividly written account of not one but several major political struggles which changed the course of American history. Labunski takes us inside the sweltering converted theater in Richmond, where for three grueling weeks, the soft-spoken Madison and the charismatic Patrick Henry fought over whether Virginia should ratify the Constitution. The stakes were enormous. If Virginia voted no, George Washington could not become president, New York might follow suit and reject the Constitution, and the young nation would be thrust into political chaos.
This review is based on the audio version of the book. To be totally honest, I only made it through the first 3 disks. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this book was not well written. The point was abundantly clear that there was much confusion after the initial constitutional convention about whether the Constitution should be ratified. The book goes on to talk about this for at least 3 hours. And brings up the same points over and over again. I had to check to see if I had messed up and was listening to the same disk again. Yes Madison was instrumental in creating the Constitution, he was even very important in getting it passed in Virginia, but it did get by, let’s move on.
There were some interesting points in the first 3 disks. I hadn’t realized how large and powerful Virginia was in the early United States, geographically it extended into present day Ohio, not to mention the number of prominent politicians that called Virginia home. Another tidbit was that the main point of contention with the Constitution was that it lacked the points that eventually became the Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists where afraid that without those rights the federal government would impinge personal liberties. Madison and others made the somewhat logical argument that since all personal liberties could not possibly be enumerated, some would be left off the list, and thereby possibly be considered unprotected.
Basically, after hearing the same arguments over and over in the first 3 disks, I jumped ahead to a random spot in the 7th disk. The arguments that I heard there were almost identical to that in the 3rd. No thank you. I stopped listening. I have other things I’d rather do that waste my time on a bad book.
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Joseph J. Ellis
Ballantine Books
January 2000
290
In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of those truths we hold to be self-evident were actually fiercely contested in the early days of the republic.
Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation, including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation's capital was determined--in exchange for support of Hamilton's financial plan; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear. Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature of early American politics--and notes that the members of the revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were establishing precedents on which future generations would rely.
Founding brothers is a book containing several stories of the early statesmen of the United States. It is written by a history professor from Mount Holyoke College who specializes in this area. It was very well written, although the writer’s intent of each story being totally separate did not quite happen. I would definitely read this book from start to finish. I listened to it on audio tape, and that helped to get through a couple of slow parts.
The first story covered is the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr where the promising Hamilton was killed. This takes place chronologically near the end of the book, but is at the beginning to introduce you to many of the characters, and especially the demeanor of the time, and the emphasis placed on honor and conduct. Not to suggest that all of the founding fathers were beyond reproach, Burr least of all.
The next several chapters focus on George Washington and the importance that he played as the central figure in the early government. Contrary to my own beliefs that Washington was just in the right place at the right time as the leader of the military, the author shows that Washington may have been the only man who could hold the nation together through the initial trials, and especially through the debate over slavery which was a central argument over the first several decades, and culminated in the civil war 80 years later. Washington is shown to skillfully and diplomatically navigate through the tricky waters of early American politics. All through his two terms and even in his final act of resigning after two terms for the good of the country, and not completely for his own.
After Washington, the rest of the book focuses on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and the their intense rivalry and friendship throughout the rest of their lives. Adams followed Washington as president after a nasty campaign, for the standards of the time. Prior to that campaign, Jefferson and Adams had been very close friends if not always agreeing on policy. Through the rest of the book, Adams and Jefferson attempt to repair their friendship. Much of this repair work is done in the form of letters written back and forth between Adams & Jefferson. Both men indicted that these letters were written not just to each other, but written for posterity.
The fact that we have these letters today is something that can not be overestimated. It’s to be wondered if a record of these kinds of correspondence will ever be kept again in the age of modern electronic communication.
Washington: A Life
