Who Were the Founding Fathers?: Two Hundred Years of Reinventing American History

The history of our revolution will be one continued lye from one end to the other. The essence of the whole will be that Dr. Franklin's electrical rod, smote the Earth and out sprung General Washington. --John Adams to Benjamin Rush, April 4, 1790

From the beginning of the American Revolution to the very latest talk show and court case, Americans have argued over the Founding Fathers. Not only have we questioned the motives, meaning, and purpose of their actions, we have fought over who they actually were: only signers of the Declaration? soldiers on the front? women in the homes? slaves in the fields?

Who were the Founding Fathers?

America was founded relatively recently, and by people whose lives we can trace. Deciding what we think of the Founders also means determining what we stand for as a country. As labor unions and company lawyers, Confederates and Abolitionists, American Nazis and American Communists, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X have sought to speak for America, they too have defined and redefined the Founders.

In this lively, photo-filled look at the one question that has always been at the center of American life, author Steven Jaffe shows that the debate over the Founders is not so much about their time as it is the neverending search for the soul of our nation.

Steven H. Jaffe received his Ph.D. in American history from Harvard University, where he taught for eight years. Now senior historian at the South Street Seaport Museum, he lives with his wife and son in Brooklyn, New York.

Grade 6 Up. In this unique and provocative historical treatment, Jaffe examines various ways of looking at Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, etc., and shows how opinions of these individuals shape the way we Americans see ourselves as a nation. This walk through U.S. history considers numerous questions and principles at every stop, showing students how, in every era, leaders have reinterpreted what the founders did and who they were in order to suit their own purposes and advance their own agendas. As an introduction to how history really functions, this book works very well. Some background knowledge of chronological events is helpful but nonessential. The text clips along at a lively pace, accompanied by interesting, seldom-seen archival cartoons and reproductions that illustrate the points. A fine way to encourage critical thinking and get young people to examine the societal values that we all take so much for granted.?Connie Parker, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7^-12. What a great read! Jaffe takes on 200 years of revisionists in his meticulously researched, carefully written examination of our founding fathers. In a fact-rich, readable text, he explores how groups as diverse as suffragettes, the Ku Klux Klan, McCarthyites, and yippies have interpreted the founding fathers' words and actions. As he traces how these groups, the government, and historians have deified and debunked our early leaders (often deliberately manipulating the public while doing so), readers will come to see history as vital and undergoing constant revision. Make social studies teachers aware of this book, and suggest it to students who enjoy reading nonfiction. With an impressive bibliography (presented in concert with notes) that both students and teachers will find valuable, the book will also be an excellent resource for material on the Revolution, the Constitution, and issues associated with civil rights, immigration, citizenship, and slavery. Black-and-white illustrations add flavor. Chris Sherman