Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants

by H.W. Brands

From New York Times bestselling historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how, in nineteenth-century America, a new set of political giants battled to complete the unfinished work of the Founding Fathers and decide the future of our democracy

In the early 1800s, three young men strode onto the national stage, elected to Congress at a moment when the Founding Fathers were beginning to retire to their farms. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, a champion orator known for his eloquence, spoke for the North and its business class. Henry Clay of Kentucky, as dashing as he was ambitious, embodied the hopes of the rising West. South Carolina's John Calhoun, with piercing eyes and an even more piercing intellect, defended the South and slavery.
Together these heirs of Washington, Jefferson and Adams took the country to war, battled one another for the presidency and set themselves the task of finishing the work the Founders had left undone. Their rise was marked by dramatic duels, fierce debates, scandal and political betrayal. Yet each in his own way sought to remedy the two glaring flaws in the Constitution: its refusal to specify where authority ultimately rested, with the states or the nation, and its unwillingness to address the essential incompatibility of republicanism and slavery.
They wrestled with these issues for four decades, arguing bitterly and hammering out political compromises that held the Union together, but only just. Then, in 1850, when California moved to join the Union as a free state, "the immortal trio" had one last chance to save the country from the real risk of civil war. But, by that point, they had never been further apart.
Thrillingly and authoritatively, H. W. Brands narrates an epic American rivalry and the little-known drama of the dangerous early years of our democracy.

Genres: History, American History, Biography, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, American

432 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 2018

About the author

H.W. Brands is an acclaimed American historian and author of over thirty books on U.S. history, including Pulitzer Prize finalists The First American and Traitor to His Class. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD. Originally trained in mathematics, Brands turned to history as a way to pursue his passion for writing. His biographical works on figures like Franklin, Jackson, Grant, and both Roosevelts have earned critical and popular praise for their readability and depth. Raised in Oregon and educated at Stanford, Reed College, and Portland State, he began his teaching career in high schools before entering academia. He later taught at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before returning to UT Austin. Brands challenges conventional reverence for the Founding Fathers, advocating for a more progressive and evolving view of American democracy. In addition to academic works, his commentary has featured in major documentaries. His books, published internationally and translated into multiple languages, examine U.S. political, economic, and cultural development with compelling narrative force. Beyond academia, he is a public intellectual contributing to national conversations on history and governance.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!”
- Senator Daniel Webster, 1830

“I implore, as the best blessing which Heaven can bestow upon me upon earth, that if the direful and sad event of the dissolution of the Union shall happen, I may not survive to behold the sad and heart-rending spectacle.”
- Senator Henry Clay, 1850

“I have…done my duty in expressing my opinions…on this solemn occasion. In doing so, I have been governed by the motives which have governed me in all the stages of the agitation of the slavery question since its commencement. I have exerted myself, during the whole period, to arrest it, with the intention of saving the Union, if it could be done; and if it could not, to save the section where it has pleased Providence to cast my lost, and which I sincerely believe has justice and the Constitution on its side.”
- Senator John C. Calhoun, 1850

In their times, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun were titans. They towered over American politics from the early days of the Republic to the last decade before the Civil War. Today, they are mostly forgotten. Partially this is due to the fact that none of the three achieved their ultimate goal of the White House. But it is also a function of their decisive failure. Despite their efforts, despite their attempts to help the nation navigate through a war with its own soul, all came to naught when the cannon fired on Sumter.

Webster, known as the Great Orator, was a famed lawyer and Supreme Court advocate, a member of the House of Representatives, a Senator, and a Secretary of State. Along with being an opportunistic politician, he gave voice to the United States as a single nation, rather than a collection of loosely-aligned states.

Clay, the architect of the “American System,” known as the Great Compromiser, was also a member of the House of Representatives, a Senator, and a Secretary of State. Over the years, he crafted a number of deals meant to keep the several states together, even as they threatened to fracture over the question of slavery.

Calhoun, known as the Great Asshole (just kidding), served in many roles, including as member of the House of Representatives, Senator, Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and Vice President. He began as a strong nationalist, but slid into a bitter sectionalism, warning of secession and disunion. He also happened to be a proud white supremacist, who scoffed at the Founders’ early discomfort with liberty’s coexistence with slavery, and propounded the notion that the enslavement of black human beings was a “positive good.”

These three men, known as the Great Triumvirate (“great” being the favored adjective of the times), are the subjects of H.W. Brands’ somewhat-superficial though undeniably entertaining Heirs of the Founders.

Brands is one of my favorite historians. I have loved his big, brick-sized presidential biographies, especially his take on Franklin D. Roosevelt. While I have been less-enamored of his efforts at more panoramic histories, Brands has consistently displayed clear writing, concise judgments, and a certain ease with the historical record. He tends to make his points with subtlety, often presenting the evidence without much in the way of commentary.

The trouble with Heirs of the Founders is of the best kind. It is not a question of quality, but of quantity. In short, this is too short. Each member of the Great Triumvirate could support his own lengthy biography. Add to this all the colorful supporting characters – Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, etc. – and the stage starts to get crowded. Then you have the huge swath of time that Brands attempts to cover, from the War of 1812 to the Compromise of 1850. Quite a few things happened in those years, including the Missouri Compromise, the Nullification Crisis, the fight over the Bank of the United States, and the Mexican-American War. Again, many of these particular incidents can – and have – been the focus of weighty tomes. Nevertheless, Brands attempts to swallow this massive chunk of history, and then digest it into just 370 pages of text. The result is a book that just scratches the surface.

If I ran the world, or at least Doubleday, I probably would have encouraged Brands to either tighten his focus or expand his page limits. Of course, I do not run the world, or Doubleday; frankly, I do not even get to run my own household. So, I am left to deal with Heirs of the Founders as it is, not how I wished it to be.

To that end, Heirs of the Founders works best when Brands’ narrative coalesces around a single event. For instance, I really liked his handling of the Nullification Crisis, which on one level is an arcane dispute over tariffs, but on another level served as a prelude to South Carolina’s national (and very public!) divorce in December 1860.

Though I am familiar with the territory that Brands covers, I enjoyed how he filtered things through the experiences – and words – of Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. To a large extent, he relies on these three men to tell their own tales, excerpting lengthy passages of their speeches and correspondence. Overall, this is a good thing, as Webster and Clay were two of the most accomplished communicators in American political history. Still, I would have appreciated Brands interjecting himself a bit more, just to get his opinion on things. I also wish he had taken more care in developing a timeline of events. Webster, Clay, and Calhoun all switched jobs a lot, and it was sometimes hard to keep track of each man’s current role at any given time.

Heirs of the Founders reads very quickly. Even though it tackles some of the thorniest questions imaginable – namely, slavery – Brands maintains a brisk pace by hitting the high points and moving on. For example, readers afraid of drowning in the bog of Nicholas Biddle and the death-struggle over the Bank of the United States can rest assured that Brands presents a high-level view. Of course, those of you looking for a deeper dive into this and other issues will have to look elsewhere. This is a popular history, through and through, even if it’s a bit more esoteric than most.

Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun emerged from a long shadow created by some of the loftiest personages in American history, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. They were, in my humble opinion, not the equal of the original Founders, especially not Washington or Jefferson. At the same time, though, they had to face a task just as difficult, namely, to fix the insoluble problems that the Founders kicked down the road.

Their attempts to hold the Union together failed mightily, as we all know, all the bartering and dickering and duct-tape-and-chewing-gum compromises collapsing into a calamitous civil war. Thus, it is hard to define their legacy, and Brands does not even try. For me, I incline towards excising Calhoun from this three-man posse, as his obsession with protecting white prerogatives was not only noxious but self-defeating for the south he claimed to love. Webster and Clay deserve at least an attaboy, even if they failed to recognize that the issue of human bondage could not be negotiated forever.

If we are being mystical, however, we might go so far as to say that Webster and Clay worked to hold the Union together just long enough for “the rough man from Illinois” to step out upon history’s stage.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this book and I probably should wait until tomorrow to write a review but I won't. My thoughts may not be fully formed and ordered but I do not wish to wait to praise the merits of this book. I am ashamed to admit that while I profess to be a history nerd and in particular a devotee of our early history I have completely neglected that area that is the subject of this book. The book's scope is roughly from just before the War of 1812 until the early 1850's and just before the Civil War. It is primarily a political biography of Daniel Webster, John Calhoun, and Henry Clay during the most contentious period in American political history. Could a book be more timely? Actually, after reading this book I am amazed that the media hasn't made more mention and noted fully the parallels regarding the issues, the arguments, the geographic divisions, the leadership and the personalities involved in this history. The similarities between what occurred over 150 year ago and what is happening today are astounding and our ignorance of that history has resulted in the inevitable repetition of that history.

At 370 pages of text divided among numerous, and frequently very short, chapters Prof. Brands has given us a book that is a relatively quick read but also very entertaining and enlightening. While my reading of biographies of other figures from this period I am a bit familiar with the highlights of the careers of three subjects of the author's history. However, this book really does give a full color portrayal with all the depth, shade, and shadow for each of these iconic figures. Brands' treatment of each of these men fully illuminates their character and motivations. I was particularly impressed with the portrayal of Calhoun and ended the book with an understanding of the Southern attitude for slavery and how complicated an issue abolition was for them socially and economically. I was also taken by the pain and torment Clay went through to save the Union. How ironic that the state of Kentucky could give us such a guardian of the Union and our Constitution and then today give us a man that seems the antithesis of Clay in every way. Sad.

The period covered by this history was incredibly turbulent and violent. It was a time when an argument on the floor of Congress could result in offense and an affair of honor. Our leading citizens attempting to kill each other over differences of opinion and politics. The fate of Alexander Hamilton was not an isolated incident. So the stakes in the game played by these three men were very high both for the country and for them personally. Unfortunately, their efforts failed with the result being our Civil War and the deaths of a half million men. To our great shame we seem not to have learned much if anything from our history but reading this book might help that. While we are experiencing our period of political unrest and discord we can take heart in that things have been worse, much worse and we survived. This is a book about the past that is written for our time.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been well noted that we Americans know little of our history. As Civics, Government, United States History and Political Science are delivering courses of study today, we can assume that the knowledge vacuum in these areas will only grow.
Heirs of the Founders by H.W. Brands is an attempt to fill in a substantial void in our understanding of how we advanced from our revolutionary beginning to the dangerous precipice edge of discussion in the Civil War. Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun were prominent politicians and orators, one Northerner, two Southerners, who vied to guide America on the path each deemed vital to the new countries survival. By writing of their interactions, strengths, and weaknesses, we learn of what attempts were made to insure national survival. In the end there were no compromises able to permanently diffuse the oncoming split in the country.
The book is both biography and history survey. Events from 1810 to 1865 are noted and the reactions of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun to these events are explained. I do believe that a better appreciation of this interaction would be achieved if the reader has some knowledge of US History of the period.
H.W. Brands has done his job. He has written a well researched book about a critical time period in US History and the men who lived it.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #Netgalley #HeirsOfTheFounders

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great idea for a book. H.W. Brands covers the political lives of 3 giants of the post-Founding generation. For about a 40 year period from 1810 to 1850, these three non-Presidents had an enormous influence on the direction of the country. You have:

The Southerner, John C. Calhoun (1782 – 1850). Defender of slavery and other southern interests.

The Westerner, Henry Clay (1777 – 1852). Skilled politician who brokered 3 key compromises to delay the Civil War.

The Northerner – Daniel Webster (1782 – 1852). Legendary orator who could move people to tears. Comes from the Federalist tradition of favoring a strong federal government.

The War of 1812 was one of the first issues where their careers would intertwine. Calhoun and Clay supported the War, with Webster against. Later in their careers, Clay and Webster would be more aligned against Calhoun’s hard-line stances in defense of Southern interests.

Calhoun is the most tragic figure of the three. He’s now remembered as the most prominent slavery defender of his era. He didn’t just defend slavery but resisted compromise. But even beyond the slavery issue, he never had the imagination to put his political talents to being anything other than a defender of regional, sectarian interests.

Henry Clay is now looked down upon for his compromises with slavery, and that is a fair cop. But you have to admit he had some skills. In 1820, he led passage of the Missouri Compromise, ending a crisis. In 1833, he brokered a compromise between Calhoun’s group of “nullifiers” who were refusing to agree to the Union’s tariff laws, and Andrew Jackson, who was threatening to send soldiers against South Carolina. And in 1850 he led passage of another compromise over slavery, the Compromise of 1850. Each of these compromises took incredible political skills. In a parallel world, where the country’s fault lines are something more morally ambiguous than slavery, you can picture Henry Clay going down in history as one of the country’s great statesmen, revered and admired for many generations.

While Clay will deserve his reputation as a compromiser with Slavery, he did realize a couple important things. First, how special the Union was and its amazing potential for further growth. And second, how a peaceful secession was not going to happen, despite the way Calhoun would talk cavalierly about the South just going their separate way. He knew it would be a bloodier war than most could even imagine, made more traumatic by countrymen fighting each other.

As for Daniel Webster, I loved the stories about what an amazing orator he was. He could move people to great emotion, but he could also do something even more remarkable: change people’s minds. There are stories of people flat changing their minds after hearing Daniel Webster speak, something that seems almost mythical hearing it today.

I loved this book about this time in American History where we were past the Founding generation, but still trying to find our way.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been well noted that we Americans know little of our history. As Civics, Government, United States History and Political Science are delivering courses of study today, we can assume that the knowledge vacuum in these areas will only grow.
Heirs of the Founders by H.W. Brands is an attempt to fill in a substantial void in our understanding of how we advanced from our revolutionary beginning to the dangerous precipice edge of discussion in the Civil War. Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun were prominent politicians and orators, one Northerner, two Southerners, who vied to guide America on the path each deemed vital to the new countries survival. By writing of their interactions, strengths, and weaknesses, we learn of what attempts were made to insure national survival. In the end there were no compromises able to permanently diffuse the oncoming split in the country.
The book is both biography and history survey. Events from 1810 to 1865 are noted and the reactions of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun to these events are explained. I do believe that a better appreciation of this interaction would be achieved if the reader has some knowledge of US History of the period.
H.W. Brands has done his job. He has written a well researched book about a critical time period in US History and the men who lived it.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #Netgalley #HeirsOfTheFounders

[Colleen Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characterization of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun as the three giants of mid-19th Century America is one that is frequently used and this is not the first book I have read that accepted the idea. While it is an easy argument to make for Clay and Webster, I have always rejected that Calhoun was a giant- at least not in the sense that I think of it. My perception of the characterization, and I have read other historians classify them as the three greatest senators in our history, is quite different. While it is an easy argument to make that Clay and Webster deserve that description, it is difficult to accept Calhoun as such. Webster and especially Clay, used their exceptional abilities to hold America together during and exceptionally divisive time, Calhoun, although certainly their equal in intelligence, did more to break the Union and give justification to secessionists than any other one person during that time. For that reason, I believe that he is not in the same class as the other two and should be viewed as someone who gave ammunition to those who would destroy the Union- maybe that cannot be called treason but it is not far from it. I am still waiting to read a study of the time that challenges the assumption. Unfortunately, Brands has not done that.

In other respects the book is exceptional. It does a good job of connecting the three to one another and to the country they served and does a better job of it than many other historians. I would recommend the book because it adds to the history of the era and does it in a concise and interesting way.

[Sherwood Smith]

The genius of American democracy was its ability to muddle through crises—to accept answers as tentative . . .the genius of Henry Clay was a knack for finding compromise.

This eminently readable biographical history covers the years 1810-65, a period most Americans are entirely ignorant of. By centering the history on three leading figures, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster, Brand brings this dynamic, troubled era to life through the lives and careers of the three men, illustrating others they allied with and jousted agaisnt.

Brand takes us through the evolution of the young republic through difficult waters of Federalists versus Republicans, the establishment of a national bank, and war with Britain (and the burning of Washington), the first treason trial (Aaron Burr, who had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel), the highly contested election of Andrew Jackson (many were afraid of a military man as President), and looming above it all, the question of slavery as the nation began its westward expansion, accelerated by the Gold Rush.

He makes clear how steam power further divided the north from the south, the latter being uninterested in labor saving machinery as slave labor was a fixed cost rather than a variable one. The visual divider for travelers was the Ohio River, the north side busy, the south with few towns and miles of wilderness broken by enormous estates.

Calhoun was bound to slavery and the south; Clay, in compromising, lost any chance of presidency, though he was influential his entire long career; Webster was famed for his oratorical powers without being very adept at tactical thinking.

It’s fascinating to read excerpts from Webster’s speeches, elegant and intelligent, given during a time when Congress debated ideas, referring to close readings of the Constitution.

The personal costs of jockeying for power in the evolving state get plenty of attention, making this a human story as well as a political history. Not overlooked are the wives of these men, whose social influence was vital to the Washington scene, directly impacting politics. There is also an intriguing section illustrating Washington and Congress from the critical eyes of Harriet Martineau.

Brand brings us up to the final break, as the horrors of slavery—contrasted with the ideas of those who defended it—are brought to the forefront.

Altogether a colorful, well-researched and grounded look at American history during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Copy provided by NetGalley

[CoachJim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genius of Henry Clay was a knack for compromise, for finding formulas neither side loved but both sides could live with. He had conjured one such formula in the Missouri crisis of 1820, and another in the South Carolina crisis of 1833. The genius of American democracy was its ability to muddle through crises—to accept answers as tentative and let principle nod to experience. Henry Clay had been criticized for pliant principles, but he pleaded the higher aim of preserving the Union, the guarantor of American democracy. Democracy was a work in progress, never perfect but never finished. Given time, democracy would find a way forward. (Page 2)

Clay was the elder, in years and seniority, yet Calhoun had gifts of intellect and guile Clay couldn’t match. It was the guile that surprised most people, including Clay, who puzzled at Calhoun’s ability to advance himself—and get past Clay—without appearing to try.

But it was the intellect that brought Calhoun down. Or maybe it was the ambition, disguised as intellect. Calhoun’s political strength was his base in South Carolina, yet his strength was also his weakness. (Page 3)

But Daniel Webster had a way with words that seemed almost supernatural. Indeed, some said he must have struck a bargain with the devil to acquire such a gift. He perfected the art of persuasion in the courtroom and became the most sought after, and generously compensated, advocate of his era. The stern justices of the Supreme Court were no match for Webster; at the conclusion of his argument for Dartmouth College in a landmark case, even John Marshall—John Marshall—wept. When Webster spoke in Congress, Washington stopped what it was doing and hurried to hear him. (Pages 4-5)

And thus are we introduced to the main characters of this Shakespearean drama with its rivalries and speeches..

Late last year and early this year I put together a list of books on early American history. A period I hadn’t visited in a long, long time. This is the sixth book. Each book has touched on the slavery issue with increasing intensity. This book brings the subject front and center.

I started this reading because I was disgusted with our current political mess, and it has only gotten worse. I was hoping to get an understanding of any sources in our history which might account of it. This book continues describing Andrew Jackson, someone I thought was an American hero,

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip

Battle of New Orleans
by Johnny Horton

but who was probably responsible for the birth of our partisan politics and corruption.

There were two parts of this book I found the most enjoyable. This involved two debates. The first debate was over the tariff law which the state of South Carolina meant to nullify. Here Robert Hayne of South Carolina, reading the words of John Calhoun, who as Vice President was not allowed to debate on the Senate floor, argued the States Rights position to avoid Federal statutes if they chose. Answering him was Danial Webster. Each speaker is assigned a chapter. This issue was just a proxy for the slavery debate coming later. Even Jackson recognized this:

Yet Jackson worried that nullification would rise again, in a more virulent form on a more divisive topic, “The tariff was only the pretext, and disunion and a southern confederacy the real object, “Jackson said. “The next pretext will be the negro, or slavery, question.” (Page 217)

The second debate began with Henry Clay again trying to position himself as the Whig presidential candidate presenting a compromise on the slavery issue. He was answered again by John Calhoun, who suffering the final stages of his lung condition, once again had to have someone else, James Mason of Virginia, deliver his speech. He threatened secession by the southern states unless their slavery institution was accommodated. Again it was Webster’s turn to answer Calhoun. Again each speaker is assigned a chapter. The author quotes extensively from the speeches of these statesmen, which I was fine with in that it gave me a chance to “hear” the actual words.

These debates offers a nice contrast to the childish duels indulged in by Jackson, Hamilton, Burr, and even Clay. Granted duels were usually the result of some personal insult, either real or perceived, and these debates were over a political issue. However, I mention these two debates because it was enjoyable reading about an issue being fought with intellectual oratory instead of physically. Finally we see adults settling an issue without resorting to schoolyard antics. Also my favorite period of history is the Twentieth Century. There I can hear the speeches of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and John Kennedy. The speeches in this book compared favorably to those. Contrast this with the inarticulate expressions of Mitch McConnell, Jim Jordan, and Donald Trump.

The title of this book, Heirs of the Founders, is appropriate in that the founders had punted on the issue of slavery leaving it for a later generation to deal with the “sins of their fathers”. The next generation of Calhoun, Clay and Webster brought the issue to the forefront but failed to resolve it. Now 150 plus years after the Civil War, with the social unrest from the George Floyd murder and a debate over whether “Black Lives Matter” the last sentence of this book speaks volumes.

The struggle originated with the founders. It continued with their heirs. It is with us still. (The last sentence of the book on Page 370)

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed a number of historian H. W. Brands’ books. This book is about the “Great Triumvirate” as they were known. The great orators from Massachusetts, Daniel Webster (1782-1852), John Calhoun (1782-1850) of South Carolina and Henry Clay (1777-1852) of Kentucky. These three great men were principal legislators in the post Jacksonian debate over slavery and States Rights. They were the key players of the Missouri Compromise of 1850. None of the men lived to see the Civil War.

The book was well written and meticulously researched. The book is easy to read and understand for a lay person. Each of these men played key roles and served in various positions in the government during their years of service. What I enjoyed the most was listening to the debates between the three men over various issues over their years in office. These three men were the greatest debaters of their era. If you are interested in United States history, you must read this book.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fourteen hours and fifty-five minutes. Eric Martin does an excellent job narrating the book. Martin is a well-known audiobook narrator and voice-over artist. He has won many Earphone Awards and was a 2015 Audie Award Finalist.

[Daniel Ligon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but not groundbreaking. I'm fascinated by this period of American history and have read quite a few books about this segment of history and dealing with these men. While Brands' Heirs of the Founders is one of the most readable, it's less cohesive and detailed than it could be.

Clay, Calhoun, and Webster have great stories, and Brands is a wonderful storyteller. He chooses to approach their lives from a topical, usually chronological perspective. This is effective at covering the political drama of the period, but less successful when it comes to getting to know the main characters. At times, it feels like this book was just about this time period of American history, rather than focusing on the three stars. The book is sparse with details about the upbringing, families, and personal lives of the titular characters. Also, in its focus on politics, Clay, Calhoun, and Webster slip into the background at times. I feel like Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams were given about as much press as the others. Another flaw is that Brands tends to wander down rabbit trails a bit. He spends a whole chapter dealing with the (admittedly fascinating) story of Solomon Northrup, just to illustrate the mood of the times.

If you are looking for a very readable book about the political history of America circa 1810-1850, by all means, check this out. However, if you mainly want to learn more about Clay, Calhoun, and Webster, you might be better served looking elsewhere, perhaps to The Great Triumvirate (drier, but more biographical) by Merrill Peterson. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.

[Scott Hitchcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really comprehensive and well written. The time period between 1812 and the Civil War are one of the forgotten ages of American history.

Definitely a different take on these characters than studying them in school. Clay comes off the the quintessential politician always trying to maneuver for advantage. Calhoun the original sessionist and by extension although not covered in the book a racist. Webster, from my town, an amazing orator but also an opportunist.

With all of their great compromises cutting the ties of slavery much earlier may or may not have saved everybody a lot of pain. We'll never know but the bitterness of fighting over it for 40 plus years of compromises didn't help.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the neglected history of the US from the War of 1812 to about 1850, focusing on the most politically influential men of the era: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun. It covers a lot of territory, so it is by necessity somewhat superficial. Nevertheless, Brands makes room to quote long passages from the speeches of these great orators. I often marveled at their impressive eloquence and rhetoric. But I was even more struck by the fact that they delivered these speeches in Congress with the understanding that their hearers might actually be persuaded by the force of their arguments. Remarkable, really. If only…

[Rosalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hm...learned alot but fell short of a 5 star. The transition between chapters were sometimes clunky, or not much narrative by Brands, just alot of summarizing through primary sources/speeches, and some chapters were devoted to kind of fluff or gossip of the time, when that pg real estate could've been devoted to more meaty topics. Of course it's easier to list what I didn't like over what I did, which was still plenty! Chronicling 40 years of U.S. history in a 300 some pg book, really tough, Brands extracted from the past what he wanted to tell, focusing on the perpetual tug o war between federal and states rights thru economic policies, call to war and expansion powers, and literally debating on the subjugation of man????? and we're still doing it today?????? wtf.

All I know is what I see today and what I read in this book, which is those who espouse a "states rights" approach when it comes to laws on SUBJUGATING PEOPLE AND ENCROACHING ON THEIR RIGHTS don't want to stop just within their state's border, but want it to spread, if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile, which is why the many congressionally passed Compromises did not work!! You CANNOT compromise when it comes to the issue of slavery, or modern day dehumanization of women, gays, minorities, immigrants. I wish more people to read this book, so we do not repeat history.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heirs of the Founders explores four decades of American political history from the War of 1812 to the early 1850s, by focusing on the three “giants of the Senate” during that period.

Henry Clay of Kentucky was the pragmatic Westerner who promoted compromise as the key to keeping the Union together. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts was the brilliant advocate for Northern business interests. And John C. Calhoun of South Carolina was the fiery Southerner whose primary interest lay in protecting the rights of Southern slaveholders, even if it meant the dissolution of the Union.

All three men had Presidential ambitions, but none succeeded in attaining that office. Their careers in Washington spanned the administrations of ten Presidents, from James Madison to Millard Fillmore. And although the Presidents certainly put their respective stamps on the country — some more so than others — Clay, Webster, and Calhoun also played huge roles in shaping American policy.

It was a tumultuous time, with profoundly significant issues confronting the government, including the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, tariff policy, the Bank of the United States, the annexation of Texas, and California statehood. Overarching everything else, of course, was the slavery question and its implications for the survival of the Union. Even Clay, the pragmatist, who succeeded in forging several compromises between the free states and the slave states, recognized that compromise would only be effective for a limited period of time, and that the day would come when the issue would have to be definitively resolved.

Many readers and students of American history don't have much knowledge of the time period covered by this book, let alone these three men who played such a large role in it. Heirs of the Founders provides a vivid portrait of the three Senate titans and the America in which they lived and worked. As such, it's a valuable addition to any American history reading list.

The book is very well written, and it's an enjoyable as well as educational read. I question the author's decision to devote several chapters to the story of Solomon Northrup, the free black New Yorker who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery. (Northrup recounted his ordeal in his memoir Twelve Years a Slave.) Although Northrup's story personalizes the abstract issue of slavery which consumed the country, it seemed to me to be a largely unnecessary diversion. Its inclusion, however, doesn't undercut the overall strength of the book, which I highly recommend.

[Brent Burch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering look into a period of US history where the fate of the republic seemed to hang by a thread, as new lands were added to the young nation. The bargains and compromises that Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun argued for and against set the tone for the prelude to the civil war that was to come. Very interesting read.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book I've read this year about the main protagonists. The book focuses on the life and times of three political giants: Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster and the impact they had on the country. The author does a great job of keeping the reader interested with lively writing and crisp dialogue. If you are into group biographies, this book is definitely for you.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a brilliant examination of the complex challenges faced by the generation following America's founding. The ongoing debate over states' rights has been with the nation since the beginning but hit its peak in the first half of the 19th century. Tariffs, new state constitutions, debt, and, of course, slavery were all hotly debated issues with the statesmen of the day disagreeing on whether the federal or state governments had final say. It is easy today to simplify the civil war which erupted from these arguments as a war over slavery, and it was, but it was also so much more complicated than that. I will look for more books from this author and highly recommend this one.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers the transfer of idealogical thought, leadership and political manuvering that took place betweeen the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The book focuses on the three main players throughout this time - Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster. The author provides background on each along with the struggles they encountered while in Congress were they worked together at times and against each other at other times. The book is very well researched and reads more like a novel than dry history. This is one the things that I enjoy about the books by Brands that I have read.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a definitive book on the issues and politics of slavery in the United States covering the time period of the War of 1812 through the Civil War.

I received a free Kindle copy of Heirs of the Founders by byH. W. Brands courtesy of Net Galley  and  Doubleday Books, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as the description interested me and I am an avid reader of american history. I have read several books by the author.

[Tom Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the time, I find that my reviews are largely in step with the consensus. This case is an exception. Many people rate this book very highly; I am not one of them. I do not fault the historical accuracy of the book. It was impeccably researched as far as I can tell. I fault the writing. For entire chapters it loses its way in dreary rounds of sameness, for lack of a better word. Brands does a good job of telling us what Webster, Clay, and Calhoun did, and of setting us down in the political context of the era but he largely fails at telling us who Webster, Clay, and Calhoun were. Nor does he develop the context much beyond the political one.

If the book does have a bright spot, or at least a fairly bright spot it is in its discussion of the effects of slavery. There it fairly well holds its own. But other than that, it is, at best, a missed opportunity.

[Andrew Balog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a great job at covering the period between The Revolution and The Civil War that often gets forgotten. History isn't just a list of events, it's the stories of the people that lived and shaped the events of their time. Clay, Calhoun, and Webster were the giants of their time, and this is a great attempt at telling their stories.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - another solid book by H.W. Brands. This book was more of a survey of political U.S. History from the War of 1812 through the Compromise of 1850 - and through the eyes of Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster (with John Quincy Adams in a supporting role). I feel like I knew most of this history, but there were a number of anecdotes that I found interesting and new. There were many parts that I wish had gone into more depth, but sadly the book kept it general and to the point. Brands is a great historian and I always enjoy his books.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Calhoun was a literal neckbeard.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian H.W. Brands has previously told the history of America through overlapping biographies of prominent Americans, usually presidents. In “Heirs of the Founders” he appears to have adapted that method by focusing on three characters, Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster. This trio representing respectively the West, the South and the New England, sparred in the Senate, unsuccessfully sought the Presidency, served as Secretary of State and molded their era of roughly 1810 through 1850. It was an era when the giants of the Revolution were passing from the active political stage and younger men were assuming their roles.

These were the men who shaped the nation’s policies in war and peace during crucial times when the course and survival of the United States were in the balance. Among the issues were the War of 1812, which Clay and Calhoun supported and Webster opposed, whether tariffs should be for protection or revenue, the related nullification crisis in South Carolina, the destruction of the Second Bank of the United States and the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War.

Behind them all were the issues of slavery and union or division. They would influence the admission of states and decisions to go to war. The attempt to maintain balance between free and slave states in the Senate lead to the Missouri Compromise, in which Missouri was admitted as a slave state balanced by the free state of Maine. The Mexican War was supported by those who sought more land for slave states and opposed by those seeking to halt slavery’s spread. When territory was annexed the struggle turned to whether Texas and California would enter as free or slave states. The last contribution of Clay, Calhoun and Webster would be the Compromise of 1850 that deferred Civil War another decade until they were no longer available to maintain the peace.

Author H. W. Brands has again told American history through biography. Though mainly focusing on the three giants of the Senate, several make their appearances. John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson play major supporting parts while others, such as Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore and Thomas Hart Benton make their appearances and exits. I have read a lot of U. S. history but I still learned much from this work. Brands has a knack of delving below the surface without becoming tedious. After this read I have a much better understanding of the interaction between Clay, Calhoun and Webster and the importance of seemingly minor presidents like Tyler, Taylor and Fillmore. “Heirs of the Founders” is a valuable resource for anyone wanting an understanding of the path America followed between the retirement of Thomas Jefferson and 1850.

[Mary Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Brands gives us a fascinating history of sometimes neglected periods in American history, namely the War of 1812 and the period leading to the Civil War. Neither Henry Clay, John Calhoun or Daniel Webster ever became president; yet they may be more important historical figures than Martin Van Buren and James Polk who WERE presidents during this time. Clay, Calhoun and Webster were all on the scene in Congress for 40 years until their deaths. Clay, in the South, and Webster, in the North, fought to keep the Union. And Calhoun from South Carolina would have started the Civil War 25 years before it actually did start, even as his natural ally, Andrew Jackson, fought to save the Union on his own terms.

Clay was the Great Compromiser and in 1850 Webster abandoned some of his northern principals to support Clay's compromise that would save the Union for another 10 years.

None of the these three men lived to see the Civil War. One wonders if another Clay compromise could have put it off any longer or perhaps prevented the secession. Doubtful, but he with Calhoun and Webster all died in 1851.

Brands tells his tale in a series of chronological stories, many set in Congress, often using the words of the characters themselves. That alone makes this book fabulous and well-written. Secondary characters who appear almost as often as the main characters are John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

Brands could have gone into more depth, but he does not seem to care about making a biography of anyone, and he captures the times between 1812 and 1850 very nicely.

I didn't quite see the rivalry between Clay and Webster even though they came from different parts of the country. But perhaps that is enough to justify the book's subtitle.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.W. Brands turns his wonderful narrative prose towards detailing the lives of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster and how these three men shaped the generation that followed the founders. All of them too young to fight in the revolution but having grown up in its shadow would highlight congressional prominence and power while making several runs of the presidency that panned out for none of them. These three men are towers of American political history that did not reach the presidency but achieved remarkable feats in its pursuit. This book follows the expansion of the American system, the demise of the federalists, the rise of the Jacksonian democrats and the transition from the era of good feelings to the manifest destiny that expanded the country. Ultimately though the book also takes a close look at the compromises crafted by Henry Clay to stave off Civil War and the arguments written by Calhoun that would eventually provide the pretext for leaving the union. Brands puts in verbatim some of the excellent speeches and arguments of Daniel Webster that are still classic reads today. Overall if you have any interest in this time period this is not a book to miss.

[Piker7977 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brands is clever historian. He writes accessible books that are often biographies, but transcend that genre and tell a larger story of the era that his subjects lived. The reader intends on reading about a figure or two and ends up learning American history as well. This sort of nonfiction is greatly appreciated and helps meet the need for authentic histories that are, most unfortunately, competing against partisan slop and sensationalism.

Heirs of the Founders provides biographical sketches of Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster that form a larger history of 1815-1850. It works very well. Much is left out of the book, but it well worth reading if only to see how these three shaped their era. The main events are covered along with the nuances associated with the times.

[Joseph J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

While much has been written about these 19th. century leaders, I appreciate Brands' bringing the story of a slave-Solomon Northop of "twelve years" fame-into the narrative. This adds literal flesh and sweat to the Capitol Hill struggle to come to terms with the scourge of slavery. Brands as a writer continues to improve, especially from "A Traitor to His Class" on. I love the passage that Webster's argument before the SCOTUS made John Marshall-Marshall!!-weep. This narrative is rich.

[Gerry Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian H.R.Brands has written an exceptional book on 19th c America. Heirs of the Founders tracks the extraordinary careers of Henry Clay, John C Calhoun and Daniel Webster from the War of 1812 through the Jacksonian era to the Compromise of 1850. All three died in 1852. Clay and Webster saved the Union while Calhoun planted the seeds for secession. Their eloquence reaches down through today while the politics of their time resonate like our own. Must read history

[victor harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there were pockets of worthwhile information, it was mostly one long series of quotations strung together. Quite tedious.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book called ‘Heirs of the Founders’, it does not have nearly enough John Quincy Adams; actual heir to an actual founding father.