History of the Early American Republic discussion

Currently, I am reading about one of the most prolific scoundrels in American history, Gen. James Wilkinson. I enthusiastically recommend to members of the History of the Early American Republic this book --- An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson, by Andro Linklater.

I am currently reading
David Hackett Fischer
and I highly recommend it to the group. A Pulitzer Prize winner about the battles of Trenton and Princeton, the book is an easy read and very informative.

I just finished:

Joseph J. Ellis

It paints Jefferson as a human being with flaws. I gave it three stars. If you are a huge TJ fan, this might not be the book for you, because he focuses on his character and it is not all roses.

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, by Gordon Wood, is probably one of the best survey histories of our group's focus period.

I'm reading Gentleman Revolutionary : Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution and have been enjoying it thus far. It's the first book I've read on Gouverneur Morris and feel that it's a good introduction to such an interesting character. Douglas, I just heard about the book on James Wilkinson a week or so ago on NPR. It sounds really interesting, so I can't wait to pick it up!

Jerry, thanks very much for the recommendation. Gouvernor Morris was one of our nations's most colorful Founders. His invaluable contributions to shaping and drafting our Constitution do not receive adequate attention these days. I will most assuredly read the book you recommended. Meanwhile, you'll be fascinated by the Wilkinson story. To employ modern parlance, you will find that he was a malignant scumbag. His betrayal of this country, spanning four Presidents and several decades, is stunning.

Douglas, I just got finished reading the Gouverneur Morris book. It essentially ends on the same note that you mentioned. I'd like to read more about him -- I already have a list started, but after reading about him, I've added Morris to the list of the Revolutionary generation personalities I'd love to have a drink with. :-) I'm interested to learn more about Wilkinson. He was mentioned in a couple of other books I just read -- Burr: A Novel and The Presidency of George Washington. Pretty much, he's been portrayed as a scumbag in those mentions/representations, so I'd be interested to see how he ends up.

Jerry wrote: "Douglas, I just got finished reading the Gouverneur Morris book. It essentially ends on the same note that you mentioned. I'd like to read more about him -- I already have a list started, but after..."

Jerry, I recommend that you also read Jefferson's Vendetta which chronicles President Jefferson's efforts to prosecute Aaron Burr for his failed attempt creating an empire of his own in the Southwest. Wilkinson had met with Burr and members of his cabal during the planning stages of The Burr Conspiracy; but consistent with his inveterate tendency towards betrayal and self-preservation, Wilkinson testified against Burr at the ensuing treason trial. Of course, the officials prosecuting Burr had no idea of Gen. Wilkinson's service as a spy for the Spanish government and his prior furtive support of Burr's plan. The scene at the trial as Wilkinson strode to the witness stand to condemn his former co-conspirator, while wearing the uniform of this country and ignoring the icy glare of Burr, must have been one of the more dramatic in American history.

Jerry wrote: "Douglas, I just got finished reading the Gouverneur Morris book. It essentially ends on the same note that you mentioned. I'd like to read more about him -- I already have a list started, but after..."

I read Burr many years ago, and remember greatly enjoying it, and also being surprised by Gore Vidal's less than flattering take on the founding fathers. I read the book when it first came out (1973) before I'd started college or done any teaching, so I think it's probably a good time now that I'm over 30 years older and see what my current take is, all the while remembering that it is historical fiction, and not a true biography.
I read the Gentleman Revolutionary : Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution when it first came out and thought that author Richard Brookhiser did a good job and that the book was interesting. Brookhiser comes from a journalistic background and has a decidedly conservative political bent (I think he wrote an article for The National Review in his teens! which I found pretty impressive) but I think he is up front about his views while striving for historical accuracy. His other books on the early period of our country's history might be worthwhile for the group to check out - Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, American, and America's First Dynasty : The Adamses, 1735--1918 are some of his books.

I just started reading Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 by Gordon S. Wood. It's quite a tome, at 778 pages including the index, but I like Wood's writing style. We'll see how it goes. One of his premises from right off the bat seems to be that the changes in the country from 1789 to 1815 went in very different directions than some of the Founding Fathers anticipated...

Mick wrote: "I am currently reading
David Hackett Fischer
and I highly recommend it to the group. A Pulitzer Pri..."

Mick,
I think I'm going to have to break down and get this one and some of Fischer's other books. I just read a note by Nick Bunker at the end of his new book on the Pilgrims Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History that highly recommends his Champlain's Dream as covering a lot more of early Americana than one would think from just the title.

Historian Henry Adams wrote an exhaustive history in nine volumes about American history from 1800 to 1816. Adams was the greatgrandson of John Adams and the grandson of John Quincy Adams, but a brilliant historian and intellectual in his own right. His books about this critical period in American history warrant renewed study.

Several of Henry Adams's histories are now part of our Group's bookshelf.

The one that started it all! Thomas Paine