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- Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different

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Review
Even when the greatness of the founding fathers isn't being debunked, it is a quality that feels very far away from us indeed: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Co. seem as distant as marble faces carved high into a mountainside. We may marvel at the fact that fate placed such a talented cohort of political leaders in that one place, the east coast of North America, in colonies between Virginia and Massachusetts, and during that one fateful period, but that doesn't really help us explain it or teach us the proper lessons to draw from it. What did make the founders different? Now, the incomparable Gordon Wood has written a book that shows us, among many other things, just how much character did matter.

Revolutionary Characters offers a series of brilliantly illuminating studies of the men who came to be known as the founding fathers. Each life is considered in the round, but the thread that binds the work together and gives it the cumulative power of a revelation is this idea of character as a lived reality for these men. For these were men, Gordon Wood shows, who took the matter of character very, very seriously. They were the first generation in history that was self-consciously self-made, men who understood the arc of lives, as of nations, as being one of moral progress. They saw themselves as comprising the world's first true meritocracy, a natural aristocracy as opposed to the decadent Old World aristocracy of inherited wealth and station.

Gordon Wood's wondrous accomplishment here is to bring these men and their times down to earth and within our reach, showing us just who they were and what drove them. In so doing, he shows us that although a lot has changed in two hundred years, to an amazing degree the virtues these founders defined for themselves are the virtues we aspire to still.
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Customer Reviews
Summary: Excellent Descriptions
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Comment: Wood provides detailed descriptions about each founding father. The comparisons he makes help the reader understand the political mentality during the 1700's and how and why each founding father did what he did.

If you want to learn more about each of the founding fathers and their activities before, during and after the revolution, this book is exactly what you need. It provides a holistic view of how colonial politics was addressed during the 1700s and the expectations of the newly founded U.S.
Summary: The Philosophies of the Founding Fathers
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Comment: This is a fairly short, but informative book on the ideas and values held by the different founding fathers. This book is highly recommended for readers interested in both intellectual history and the American Revolution.

The chapter on George Washington emphasizes how Washington went to great lengths to ensure that the American presidency would not have the powers of a monarch. This extreme caution played a key role in Washington's stepping down after two term limits, his warning against a standing army and his personal distress over whether he allowed himself to receive too much adulation or too many gifts as President. In this respect, George Washington is a remarkable man. The history of the United States would surely be substantially different, in terms of precedents set by Washington, had he not been so reluctant to wield executive power.

The chapter on Thomas Jefferson is also very good. Thomas Jefferson is obviously an incredibly accomplished intellectual and statesman. In addition to penning the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson also fought to abolish the laws of primogeniture (which automatically passed all estate property to the eldest son of every family) as well as helped establish the separation of church and state with the famous Virginia Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. However, Wood's work suggests that Jefferson sometimes got too lost in ideals while failing to note how those ideas played out in practice. This shortcoming cannot be better illustrated than Jefferson's infamous "Adam and Eve" letter where he wrote the following to comment on the violence of the French Revolution:

"My own affections have been deeply wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause, but rather than it should have failed, I would have seen half the earth desolated. Were there but an Adam and an Eve left in every country, and left free, it would be better than as it now is."

The chapter on Alexander Hamilton will be unsettling to those who value free market capitalism. This chapter details how Hamilton was instrumental in establishing a national bank despite the opposition from John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. In addition, Wood also details how Hamilton repudiated the benefits of unregulated markets and how he pushed to ban private banking. This chapter also details how Hamilton advocated an "American empire" over a "Democracy" and wanted a standing army contrary to the admonition against one in Washington's farewell address.

Although I will not detail them here, many of the other chapters in this book are also very good. The chapter on James Madison explores the alleged change in James Madison's values when he went from a co-author of the Federalist Papers to a staunch Democratic-Republican and concludes that there were no substantial changes in Madison's political philosophy. The chapter on Benjamin Franklin explores Wood's thesis that Benjamin Franklin was a longtime British loyalist who, up until his seventies, clung to the overly optimistic belief that the British crown was still generally good for the American colonies. The chapter on John Adams does delve into some of his impressive intellectual achievements, including his 'Defense of the Constitution of the United States'. However, my perception is this chapter understates the importance of John Adams in many of the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence, say compared to C. Bradley Thompson's 'John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty'. Overall, this is a great read for anyone seeking to understand the important moral and political ideas that the different Founders held.

Summary: Righteous
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Comment: This is arguably the finest work that I have ever read on the Founding Fathers of our country. Wood strips down the layers and then conveys what made these remarkable men who they were. It is such a compelling work that I have just completed it and I am preparing to start over again. I recommend this to anyone to wants a clear picture of our Founders painted for them. This isnt paint by numbers. Its a masterpiece.
Summary: Mind-opening
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Comment: The book itself is insightful and well-written, as well as well-organized. Wood goes through several of the Revolutionary Characters and gives an in-depth view into each man's personality and what exactly made each one tick. He expertly depicts each man's limitations and motivations.
Summary: More Analysis Than Narrative
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Comment: As with another of Gordon Woods' works, 'The Radicalism of The American Revolution' I'm sorry to say that, in both instances, I've been somewhat disappointed by the analytical style with which Wood approaches his subject matter. Unfortunately, for me, this is somewhat akin to reading a didactic analysis of a great story rather than the great story itself and I found myself struggling with boredom and counting the pages to the end of each chapter so that I could get on to my next book in my current obsession with the American Revolution. While I do not question Prof. Wood's academic capabilities, I do think that he tends more toward historical analysis than historical narrative. This analytical style leads inevitably to conclusions and statements that sometimes appear somewhat subjective. One example is the inclusion of Aaron Burr in this collection of character analyses. On one hand, Wood acknowledges that Burr is not generally considered a 'founder' of the United States yet repeatedly refers to 'the other founders' when comparing Burr with Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, etc. as if Burr were among them. His subsequent analysis of Burr's character as completely lacking the qualities of the true founders begs the question of why Burr is even making an appearance in this book in the first place. Another criticism I have is Wood's tendency to make passing references to individuals not generally well known to most readers, (such as the 18th century English literary figure, Samuel Johnson, to whom Wood refers three times as 'Dr. Johnson' and once as 'Samuel Johnson') without explaining who they are. This is a common flaw one finds in works by some academics who seem at times forgetful that they are writing for a readership that is somewhat broader than the professorial cliques within which they move. It is a rare scholar indeed who possesses both academic ability as well as a talent for engaging the reader. Prof. Wood appears decidedly better on the first point than the second.

Also recommended: Washington's Crossing, Paul Revere's Ride'David Hackett Fischer' Alexander Hamilton 'Ron Chernow' America, The Last Best Hope 'William J. Bennett'
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