Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation , and: The Making of the American Republic, 1763–1815 (review)

Abstract

Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation. By Ray Raphael. (New York: The New Press, 2009. Pp. 608. Cloth, $35.00.)The Making of the American Republic, 1763-1815. By Paul A. Gilje. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Pp. 352. Paper, $53.80.)Reviewed by Ryan PetersenRay Raphael's Founders and Paul Gilje's The Making of the American Republic both cover roughly the same period of early American history. Raphael begins in 1754 with Washington's ill-fated mission to the Ohio country and essentially ends with the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. As indicated in the title, Gilje's narrative starts approximately a decade later, after the end of the French and Indian War (though he draws on earlier events), and continues through to the conclusion of the War of 1812. Despite the similarity in scope, these are two very different books, with decidedly different approaches, different emphases, and very different target audiences.As with two of his previous books, Raphael once again approaches a familiar subject from a slightly different angle than that usually presented in historical narratives targeted at general audiences.1 Rather than focusing solely on well-known political and military figures, Founders presents Revolutionary America as viewed through the experiences of seven individuals and underscores five themes. Providing something of a representative sample, his cast of characters includes George Washington, Joseph Plumb Martin, Mercy Otis Warren, Robert Morris, Timothy Bigelow, Henry Laurens, and Thomas Young. Throughout the book (and consistent with his earlier work), Raphael focuses on the themes of popular sovereignty, inclusion and exclusion, exchanges of power, constraining authority, and expansion.Though Raphael ostensibly begins in 1754, and the title of his book (at least to this political scientist) seems to convey an emphasis on the events surrounding the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates, he is clearly most interested in the events leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. Sixteen of twenty chapters focus on the period between 1765 and 1783. Events before 1765 are covered in a single chapter, as are both the immediate aftermath of the Revolutionary War and the Constitutional Convention, with one chapter dedicated to each. The final chapter, Lives and Legacies, completes the stories of the seven individuals Raphael follows throughout the book and reflects on their place in the retelling of the Revolutionary story.Continuing in the theme of A People's History and The First American Revolution, Raphael clearly sees class struggle as a key element of the Revolution, and he likes to call attention to both the role of common people and the leveling effect of the within the Revolution on American society. Whether describing the formation of the American Political Society in Worcester, Massachusetts (and its subsequent takeover of the town government), the drafting of the radical Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, or the difficulties faced by pro-Revolution elites as they were forced to come to grips with the democratizing effects of the Revolution, Raphael seems most at home when exploring and emphasizing these themes.Raphael is a fine writer and does an outstanding job of interweaving his themes with the lives of the individuals he follows (as well those immediately surrounding them) into a coherent narrative. Though his book is obviously targeted at a mass audience, Raphael has written a serious history based on extensive research and a reliance on primarysource documents. As popular history, Raphael's book certainly succeeds. His relatively unique approach is such that nonspecialists will learn a great deal about Revolutionary America. Particularly noteworthy is his bringing to light the centrality of Robert Morris to the Revolutionary cause. Even for specialists, Founders warrants attention. While few will encounter any new material on George Washington or Joseph Plumb Martin, many will learn a considerable amount about Henry Laurens, Robert Morris, and Mercy Otis Warren. …