John Adams is one of the favorite characters on the “Founding Brothers”. "His refreshing and often irreverent candor provides the clearest window into the deeper ambitions and clashing vanities that propelled them all." Ellis shows how all other political leaders deserted Adams when he became president and Abigail became his one-woman staff. Ellis masterfully steers us through the Adams presidency and Abigail and John's reconciliation with Jefferson, which led to their 14-year exchange of letters, now considered the most important correspondence between prominent American statesmen.

ution. Then there were a serious of act that made it worse: The Proclamation of 1763, when Grand Britain prohibited no further settlement west of the Appalachians. Then in 1764, the Revenue

Ellis eloquently conveys the interconnected personal relationships and overriding issues that set the nation's course. The eight most influential leaders he focuses on are: George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and Abigail and John Adams. The extraordinary mix of such diverse personalities with strongly held opinions helped check each other. Despite their differences, and particularly when contrasted with what was happening in France during the same period, it is noteworthy that the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804 was the only case in "the revolutionary generation when political difference ended in violence and death rather than in ongoing argument."

Some topics in this essay:
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