Thesis of "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis?

Question

Cannot figure out what the thesis, not the subject, of this book is!

Answer 1

"Not a foregone conclusion" is a key PART of it, but it's important to note how Ellis uses this key factor --the UNCERTAINTY of the success of this UNPRECEDENTED experiment in government ...as well as the sudden and IMPROVISIONAL nature of this co-operation among this group of very different men -- to understand the steps they took, both the brilliant and the stumbling, and those we criticize (e.g., on the issue of slavery).

Ellis spells this all out in the opening chapter, esp. pp. 4-6.


Compare the following musings on this point, esp. on the issue of slavery (though that is only ONE of the issues Ellis treats), from a blog:

"Ellis’s thesis in Founding Brothers is that the success of the United States was not always as much of a foregone conclusion as it is today. Connected to that thesis was the Brothers' belief that in order for the U.S. to be seen as legitimate by other, potentially threatening nations, all of the states would have to remain together.

"The Brothers believed that any dissent among the states would be a weakness, and thus all they fought for during the revolution would have been for naught. As a result, the issue of slavery was ignored and avoided by the Government and advocated by the southern states for years, in spite of the fact that it became increasingly clear that it was a fundamentally unfair and destructive institution that went against all of the beliefs on which the new government was based. The Brothers knew this was the case"
http://www.pageswithin.com/booklist/book/38

Answer 2

Joseph Ellis Founding Brothers

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Thesis of "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis?
Cannot figure out what the thesis, not the subject, of this book is!

Answer 4

The thesis is that the success of the United States was not always as much of a forgone conclusion as it is today.
The subject relates that they had little faith in the government they help to create but were bound together, for better or for worse, to the system they established which was born out of necessity.

Answer 5

Hope this helps!