Founding Brothers Dichotomy

The modern American public often views the Founding Fathers of the United States as level-headed, well-intentioned, diplomatic, successful statesmen. Upon further investigation and analysis, a clear discordance in the men’s visions of the American Spirit shows its face. Some founders strived for a strong centralized federal government while others desired a union of essentially independent states. This dichotomy reveals the schism of understanding amongst the “Founding Brothers” as illuminated in the historical analysis by Joseph Ellis. Thomas Jefferson’s and Alexander Hamilton’s views and opinions endured most saliently in disagreement. Jefferson, along with the Republican Party viewed the “American revolution as a liberation movement … a break from not just from English domination but also from the historic corruptions of European monarchy and aristocracy” (Ellis 13-14). This philosophy is known as the “Jeffersonian interpretation” (Ellis 14). Whereas Hamilton, a man of the Federalist belief, subscribed more to the belief that “the core revolutionary principle … is individual liberty” (Ellis 14) and
Jefferson—from Virginia, one of the most slavery-supporting states—owned many slaves and did not believe in the “incorporation” of African Americans into an equal society (Ellis). Even Hamilton, a “staunch antislavery advocate,” did not appreciate the time spent addressing and debating the inhumanity of slavery, for he felt it “stymied his highest priority, which was approval of his financial plan” (Ellis 113). Though both men believed in different levels of equality, neither of them supported the action, resulting in the Silence elucidated in Founding Brothers. Their view of the revolutionary spirit was split on this time spent in