What do you think?
Rate this book
Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe
From acclaimed historian John Ferling, the story of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe's championing of the most radical ideas of the American and French Revolutions.
Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe were in the vanguard of revolutionary ideas in the 18th century. As founding fathers, they risked their lives for American independence, but they also wanted more. Each wished for profound changes in the political and social fabric of pre-1776 America, and hoped that the American Revolution would spark republican and egalitarian revolutions throughout Europe, sweeping away the old aristocratic order. Ultimately, each rejoiced at the opportunity to be a part of the French Revolution, a cause that became increasingly untenable as idealism gave way to the bloody Terror.
Apostles of the Revolution, spans a crucial time in Western Civilization. The era ranged from the American insurgency against Great Britain to the Declaration of Independence, from desperate engagements on American battlefields to the threat posed to the young democracy by the Federalist's Tory leanings. With the French Revolution devolving into anarchy in the background, the story culminates with the tumultuous election of 1800, the outcome of which, Jefferson claimed, saved the American Revolution and assured that its most radical ideals would carry into the future.
Written as a sweeping narrative of a pivotal era, Apostles of the Revolution captures the turbulent spirit of the times and reminds us that the liberty we take for granted is ours only because we, both champions and common citizens, have fought for it.
Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe were in the vanguard of revolutionary ideas in the 18th century. As founding fathers, they risked their lives for American independence, but they also wanted more. Each wished for profound changes in the political and social fabric of pre-1776 America, and hoped that the American Revolution would spark republican and egalitarian revolutions throughout Europe, sweeping away the old aristocratic order. Ultimately, each rejoiced at the opportunity to be a part of the French Revolution, a cause that became increasingly untenable as idealism gave way to the bloody Terror.
Apostles of the Revolution, spans a crucial time in Western Civilization. The era ranged from the American insurgency against Great Britain to the Declaration of Independence, from desperate engagements on American battlefields to the threat posed to the young democracy by the Federalist's Tory leanings. With the French Revolution devolving into anarchy in the background, the story culminates with the tumultuous election of 1800, the outcome of which, Jefferson claimed, saved the American Revolution and assured that its most radical ideals would carry into the future.
Written as a sweeping narrative of a pivotal era, Apostles of the Revolution captures the turbulent spirit of the times and reminds us that the liberty we take for granted is ours only because we, both champions and common citizens, have fought for it.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2018
29 people are currently reading
881 people want to read
About the author
John Ferling
22 books205 followersJohn E. Ferling is a professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he is the author of several books, including "A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic", "Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence", and his most recent work, "The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon". He has appeared in television documentaries on PBS, the History Channel, C-SPAN Book TV, and the Learning Channel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 15, 2020
There are books about Washington and Jefferson, Jefferson and Madison, Madison and Monroe, Adams and Jefferson, Jefferson and Hamilton, Hamilton and Washington, etc. etc. etc. - so why not a book about Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Thomas Paine?
Or, one might ask, WHY a book about Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Thomas Paine?
John Ferling tries to explain his rationale for focusing on this particular trio, in the book's preface. More than anyone else in their era, the three "were real revolutionaries who longed for a genuine revolution that would lead to profound alterations in America's fabric." They all understood that the American Revolution was just the beginning of the process. And they all hoped their republican ideas would catch on throughout Europe, beginning with France.
Yet while they all knew one another, and corresponded, and occasionally crossed paths, their lives were not exactly intertwined. So Ferling pitches this as "comparative history," telling these men's parallel life stories without worrying too much about the fact that their lives only infrequently intersected. So this book is essentially a history of the Revolutionary era, with a particular focus on the dashed hopes that the French Revolution would be a successful sequel to the American Revolution, as told through the individual lenses of Jefferson, Monroe and Paine.
As a history of the era, it works. As an exercise in comparative history, I found it somewhat less successful. The parts of the book that focus on Jefferson, while good, don't really add anything new to our knowledge and understanding of him. Monroe, while a committed republican, was also transparently ambitious and not much of a deep thinker, so he doesn't really contribute too much to our understanding of the era and, perhaps as a consequence, is the least prominent figure in the book.
Paine is really the backbone of the book, which Ferling seems to acknowledge by referring to the era about which he writes as the "Age of Paine." Paine's two most important works, "Common Sense," which advocated for American independence, and "Rights of Man," which defended the French Revolution, represent the through line of Ferling's entire story.
Paine was an itinerant and quirky guy who, when he wasn't writing important and influential works advocating revolutionary causes, was busy overstaying his welcome wherever he found himself, making enemies, drinking too much from time to time, and going off on odd tangents such as designing bridges. Just when it seems he's gone off the rails for good, he rebounds, sits down to write something else relevant, and becomes important to the overall story again.
Until roughly halfway through the book, I wondered if we really needed this level of biographical detail about Paine, who had his moments but seemed as self-destructive as he was politically brilliant, and I looked forward to the narrative returning to Jefferson and Monroe. After a time, though, I found the Jefferson and Monroe portions of the narrative to be much less enthralling and couldn't wait to get back to finding out what Paine was going to do next.
So I wonder if this wouldn't have been a better book if Ferling had just written a full biography of Thomas Paine. What Ferling, in his prologue, goes to great lengths to portray as a comparative history/triple biography, eventually turns into Paine's story, with Jefferson and Monroe mere supporting characters. The very last chapter is all about the lasting legacy of the Age of Paine, as is the very last sentence of the book, which ominously suggests we may be due for "another Age of Paine."
Writing a joint biography of people who lived through the same era but did so mostly independently of each other, was an interesting experiment. And concluding that the only way to solve the ills of modern America is with a second revolution along the lines of the first, is a provocative notion, to say the least. But, in the end, the odd mix of main characters in this book remains an odd mix. I am a John Ferling fan and will continue to read anything that he writes - but, regrettably, this one just didn't really do it for me.
Or, one might ask, WHY a book about Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Thomas Paine?
John Ferling tries to explain his rationale for focusing on this particular trio, in the book's preface. More than anyone else in their era, the three "were real revolutionaries who longed for a genuine revolution that would lead to profound alterations in America's fabric." They all understood that the American Revolution was just the beginning of the process. And they all hoped their republican ideas would catch on throughout Europe, beginning with France.
Yet while they all knew one another, and corresponded, and occasionally crossed paths, their lives were not exactly intertwined. So Ferling pitches this as "comparative history," telling these men's parallel life stories without worrying too much about the fact that their lives only infrequently intersected. So this book is essentially a history of the Revolutionary era, with a particular focus on the dashed hopes that the French Revolution would be a successful sequel to the American Revolution, as told through the individual lenses of Jefferson, Monroe and Paine.
As a history of the era, it works. As an exercise in comparative history, I found it somewhat less successful. The parts of the book that focus on Jefferson, while good, don't really add anything new to our knowledge and understanding of him. Monroe, while a committed republican, was also transparently ambitious and not much of a deep thinker, so he doesn't really contribute too much to our understanding of the era and, perhaps as a consequence, is the least prominent figure in the book.
Paine is really the backbone of the book, which Ferling seems to acknowledge by referring to the era about which he writes as the "Age of Paine." Paine's two most important works, "Common Sense," which advocated for American independence, and "Rights of Man," which defended the French Revolution, represent the through line of Ferling's entire story.
Paine was an itinerant and quirky guy who, when he wasn't writing important and influential works advocating revolutionary causes, was busy overstaying his welcome wherever he found himself, making enemies, drinking too much from time to time, and going off on odd tangents such as designing bridges. Just when it seems he's gone off the rails for good, he rebounds, sits down to write something else relevant, and becomes important to the overall story again.
Until roughly halfway through the book, I wondered if we really needed this level of biographical detail about Paine, who had his moments but seemed as self-destructive as he was politically brilliant, and I looked forward to the narrative returning to Jefferson and Monroe. After a time, though, I found the Jefferson and Monroe portions of the narrative to be much less enthralling and couldn't wait to get back to finding out what Paine was going to do next.
So I wonder if this wouldn't have been a better book if Ferling had just written a full biography of Thomas Paine. What Ferling, in his prologue, goes to great lengths to portray as a comparative history/triple biography, eventually turns into Paine's story, with Jefferson and Monroe mere supporting characters. The very last chapter is all about the lasting legacy of the Age of Paine, as is the very last sentence of the book, which ominously suggests we may be due for "another Age of Paine."
Writing a joint biography of people who lived through the same era but did so mostly independently of each other, was an interesting experiment. And concluding that the only way to solve the ills of modern America is with a second revolution along the lines of the first, is a provocative notion, to say the least. But, in the end, the odd mix of main characters in this book remains an odd mix. I am a John Ferling fan and will continue to read anything that he writes - but, regrettably, this one just didn't really do it for me.
April 10, 2018
I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this book.
In Apostles of Revolution, John Ferling presents a wide ranging Atlantic (albeit white Atlantic) narrative of the revolutionary "Age of Paine" extending from the 1770s to the 1800s. Neither exhaustive nor compelling, this book was an underwhelming piece of scholarship that does not do the period justice. Ferling chooses to frame his book through "the apostles of Revolution," Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe, an artificial construction on the author's part since, as he acknowledges in his preface, these three never associated themselves as a distinct trio, they were never together at the same time, and they did not always see eye-to-eye. While there is no issue with authors introducing their own constructions for the sake of the narrative (Joseph Ellis does this in The Quartet), like Ellis' book the use of this construction falsely highlights agreements and ideological congruence in place of the disagreements they held about government, slavery, etc.
Ferling's book is also a clearly partisan undertaking, but not in the traditional Democrat or Republican sense, but instead a clearly Democratic-Republican Jeffersonian way. His desire to elevate people like Jefferson and Monroe above figures highly regarded in today's political ad pop-cultural zeitgeist like Hamilton leads Ferling to deploy, and overlook, facts and events to make Jefferson into a champion of progressive ideals (he claims several times that Jefferson, Monroe, and Paine called for welfare-state-like institutions to help the poor). This contorts the politics of the eighteenth century, bending and misshaping the dynamics of the early republic to match modern American conceptions of liberalism and conservatism. Throughout the book he argues that Jefferson, Monroe, and Paine worried about misuse of executive and presidential power, seeing this power as dangerous for the safety and security of common people. The book nicely skips over the presidencies of Jefferson and Monroe, ignoring the uses and expansions of presidential power pushed by Jefferson and Monroe (Monroe literally has a hemispheric power policy named after him). All ignored.
The issue is that the author often ignores the analysis of the sources utilized to uncover the differences between rhetoric and reality. Liberty drove the rhetoric, but it did not always drive the actual political maneuverings and actions of these figures. Jefferson and Monroe spoke for the liberties and safeties of common yeoman, acting in a caring way for the poor....as long as they were white. The book does an incredible job of sidestepping the racially hierarchical understandings of Jefferson and Monroe, turning to the abolitionist Paine when the topic was useful for portraying this assortment of politicians as "Apostles of Liberty." Slavery is very rarely mentioned, and never fully analyzed. The word may have been used around twenty times in a 401 page book, and the longest it is "discussed" or "analyzed" was a paragraph. In a book subtitled "the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe," it is noteworthy that the struggle over how to assume the old world institution of slavery into the empire of liberty is ignored.
Overall, this book covers well-trodden ground without supplying an engaging argument, analysis, or presentation. Paine can easily be seen as an Apostle of Liberty, but Jefferson and Monroe fall far short. The fact that this comparison is not explored underscores the failings of this book to rigorously question its subject matter.
In Apostles of Revolution, John Ferling presents a wide ranging Atlantic (albeit white Atlantic) narrative of the revolutionary "Age of Paine" extending from the 1770s to the 1800s. Neither exhaustive nor compelling, this book was an underwhelming piece of scholarship that does not do the period justice. Ferling chooses to frame his book through "the apostles of Revolution," Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe, an artificial construction on the author's part since, as he acknowledges in his preface, these three never associated themselves as a distinct trio, they were never together at the same time, and they did not always see eye-to-eye. While there is no issue with authors introducing their own constructions for the sake of the narrative (Joseph Ellis does this in The Quartet), like Ellis' book the use of this construction falsely highlights agreements and ideological congruence in place of the disagreements they held about government, slavery, etc.
Ferling's book is also a clearly partisan undertaking, but not in the traditional Democrat or Republican sense, but instead a clearly Democratic-Republican Jeffersonian way. His desire to elevate people like Jefferson and Monroe above figures highly regarded in today's political ad pop-cultural zeitgeist like Hamilton leads Ferling to deploy, and overlook, facts and events to make Jefferson into a champion of progressive ideals (he claims several times that Jefferson, Monroe, and Paine called for welfare-state-like institutions to help the poor). This contorts the politics of the eighteenth century, bending and misshaping the dynamics of the early republic to match modern American conceptions of liberalism and conservatism. Throughout the book he argues that Jefferson, Monroe, and Paine worried about misuse of executive and presidential power, seeing this power as dangerous for the safety and security of common people. The book nicely skips over the presidencies of Jefferson and Monroe, ignoring the uses and expansions of presidential power pushed by Jefferson and Monroe (Monroe literally has a hemispheric power policy named after him). All ignored.
The issue is that the author often ignores the analysis of the sources utilized to uncover the differences between rhetoric and reality. Liberty drove the rhetoric, but it did not always drive the actual political maneuverings and actions of these figures. Jefferson and Monroe spoke for the liberties and safeties of common yeoman, acting in a caring way for the poor....as long as they were white. The book does an incredible job of sidestepping the racially hierarchical understandings of Jefferson and Monroe, turning to the abolitionist Paine when the topic was useful for portraying this assortment of politicians as "Apostles of Liberty." Slavery is very rarely mentioned, and never fully analyzed. The word may have been used around twenty times in a 401 page book, and the longest it is "discussed" or "analyzed" was a paragraph. In a book subtitled "the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe," it is noteworthy that the struggle over how to assume the old world institution of slavery into the empire of liberty is ignored.
Overall, this book covers well-trodden ground without supplying an engaging argument, analysis, or presentation. Paine can easily be seen as an Apostle of Liberty, but Jefferson and Monroe fall far short. The fact that this comparison is not explored underscores the failings of this book to rigorously question its subject matter.
October 1, 2022
John Ferling is an accomplished historian of the American Revolution. In Apostles of Revolution he profiles three key actors: Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. He succeeds admirably in his chronicle of Paine, a brilliant essayist and visionary whose peregrinations take him from America to Britain and revolutionary France where he is imprisoned and narrowly escapes the guillotine. Paine is quarrelsome and makes friend and foe uncomfortable. He dies discarded by his adopted country and abandoned by surviving revolutionary contemporaries. Ferling’s portrayals of Jefferson and Monroe are anemic and distant, leaving us to wish for more.
July 16, 2018
An interesting lens through which to view the American and French Revolutions. However, there were some inaccurate historical details, such as when Ferling referred to Louis XVIII as "the nephew of Louis XVI."
February 24, 2019
Ferling's "Whirlwind" is the best single volume I've ever read on Revolution-era America, and that's why I wanted to read this book. But it's disappointing. It's OK. It isn't bad. It's 3.5 stars if I could give half-stars. But it was .... just kinda there.
He focuses on the three men in the title to explore how they tried to advance revolution in the late 18th century. Thomas Paine is an obvious pick, especially given the book's international focus. Jefferson is also a sensible pick, given his ambassadorship to France when the Revolution there began, as well as his more obvious contributions to America. Monroe is more of an odd choice. I wasn't clear why Ferling picked him as the third wheel here, and when I was done he still didn't seem that necessary. He fought in the Revolution, was briefly ambassador to France, and was a Jefferson protege, but he's clearly the Lepidus of this Triumvirate. I assumed we'd get the Monroe Doctrine in this book. After all, Monroe was president during the Latin American wars for independence. That's what I thought before beginning the book, but I was wrong. The narrative essentially ends with Jefferson becoming president. So the bulk of Monroe's achievements are either not mentioned or barely touched on in the final chapter.
Basically, you get a triple biography of these men up until the early 1800s. The book is strongest on Paine. It helps that his entire productive career comes in the years Ferling covers. Also, Paine helps make the book a lot more international. (When Paine is released from prison in France, the book largely stops caring about revolution in Europe. Or anything other than America's first party system.
Nitpick: There is an interesting final page in which Ferling tries to imagine what they'd say about America now. He makes a decent case that they'd be horrified by all the entrenched interests, the power of great wealth, and the size of the government. But I couldn't help by notice: he's treating ideology as a purified thing -- he doesn't touch on race at all. If there's one thing that American history shows it's that people are willing to put their supposed principles aside when it comes to matters of race, and while Ferling almost entirely ignores the existence or race & slavery in this book, America's current race relations would be quite a shock to former slaveowners like Monroe or Jefferson.
It's not a bad book, but it's not great either.
He focuses on the three men in the title to explore how they tried to advance revolution in the late 18th century. Thomas Paine is an obvious pick, especially given the book's international focus. Jefferson is also a sensible pick, given his ambassadorship to France when the Revolution there began, as well as his more obvious contributions to America. Monroe is more of an odd choice. I wasn't clear why Ferling picked him as the third wheel here, and when I was done he still didn't seem that necessary. He fought in the Revolution, was briefly ambassador to France, and was a Jefferson protege, but he's clearly the Lepidus of this Triumvirate. I assumed we'd get the Monroe Doctrine in this book. After all, Monroe was president during the Latin American wars for independence. That's what I thought before beginning the book, but I was wrong. The narrative essentially ends with Jefferson becoming president. So the bulk of Monroe's achievements are either not mentioned or barely touched on in the final chapter.
Basically, you get a triple biography of these men up until the early 1800s. The book is strongest on Paine. It helps that his entire productive career comes in the years Ferling covers. Also, Paine helps make the book a lot more international. (When Paine is released from prison in France, the book largely stops caring about revolution in Europe. Or anything other than America's first party system.
Nitpick: There is an interesting final page in which Ferling tries to imagine what they'd say about America now. He makes a decent case that they'd be horrified by all the entrenched interests, the power of great wealth, and the size of the government. But I couldn't help by notice: he's treating ideology as a purified thing -- he doesn't touch on race at all. If there's one thing that American history shows it's that people are willing to put their supposed principles aside when it comes to matters of race, and while Ferling almost entirely ignores the existence or race & slavery in this book, America's current race relations would be quite a shock to former slaveowners like Monroe or Jefferson.
It's not a bad book, but it's not great either.
August 8, 2018
A book that does indeed cover a gap in American political history. This is in essence a triple biography without the pain. Thomas Paine and James Monroe are the answers to trivia questions or brief mentions in history books as, respectively, the author of Common Sense and the 5th President of the United States. But combined with Jefferson, they all reacted in very specific ways to both the American Revolution and the French Revolution. In fact, the French Revolution had a very distinct impact on the rise of political parties in America. The best parts of this book are those chapters on the FR and Paine's near execution. If you wanted to see how Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the impact of Anti-Federalism emerged in the 1790s, this is the book for you.
March 27, 2019
This is an well researched book that reveals the depth of how the lives of Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe crossed paths. This is another great offering on the Colonial/Revolutionary era by one of our foremost U.S. historians. Dr. John Ferling is one of America's foremost historians of the colonial and American revolutionary period of our history. He has written several works on the new American republic and chronicled the lives of such founders as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
September 4, 2018
An excellent, highly digestible, "triple biography" of Paine, Monroe, and Jefferson. Ferling is a highly intellectual writer, whose clear prose rarely if ever gets bogged down in details and minutiae, and this book is quite enjoyable for that reason. There is quite enough engaging material here to outweigh the bias (perhaps even "bitterness?) that the author clearly has against Hamilton and the Federalists.
August 23, 2020
Ferling's a little to captive with today's politics and it mars his story a bit. Ferling's Afterword speculated the three apostles of Revolution would find today's America mirrored that they had thought despicable in England; sadly overlooking America of recent past saved the world from Dictators more brutal the three heroes here could imagine.
Read
December 16, 2021Great Book. Did not know anything about Thomas Paine before reading the book. Knew much about him after reading the book. Ties Pres. Jefferson, Pres Monroe and Thomas Paine together well. Learned how Pres. Madison worked into the group also.
July 16, 2018
Another remarkable book for author John Ferling. A great book with enough storytelling to make it interesting and enough history so that I learn something. Loved the book.
September 16, 2018
John Ferling depicts Tom Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Monroe as they challenged the entrenched privilege of the wealthy and powerful.
October 11, 2018
A lot like his bio of Jefferson, but good. Didn't realize how much most of founding fathers hated Paine
May 15, 2018
I enjoyed this different perspective on the American and French Revolutions.
The author is a little prone to speculation, but is plenty clear when doing so. The choice of Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe is a bit odd to me but it is interesting to trace their lives side-by-side, though perhaps a bit forced at times due to the gift of hindsight.
I received an advanced reading copy in a Goodreads Giveaway and appreciate the opportunity to have read it and offered my thoughts.
The author is a little prone to speculation, but is plenty clear when doing so. The choice of Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe is a bit odd to me but it is interesting to trace their lives side-by-side, though perhaps a bit forced at times due to the gift of hindsight.
I received an advanced reading copy in a Goodreads Giveaway and appreciate the opportunity to have read it and offered my thoughts.
Want to read
June 20, 2018John Ferling weaves the stories of Jefferson, Paine and Monroe beautifully through the Revolutionary War. However, the war is the main character and has never held my interest as does the Civil War, so this is being put on my "Chose Not to Finish" shelf - but I'm sure someone else will really enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews