:"American Creation" by Joseph Ellis

Joseph Ellis is a gifted historian by virtue of his ability to articulate history through detailed stories that make the reader understand the movement of time as it most likely occurred. “American Creation” comes to grips with the evolution of our nation through the struggles and disagreements with a set of unusually intelligent and committed individuals of great talents.

Having miraculously defeated the British, attributed in no small part to the ineptness of the British leaders who had no insight into the actual conditions of warfare in the fledging states, various leaders worked for a few years to develop a Constitution. Even when being written, there were major disagreements and after its passage by the necessary number of states, some either still not understand all that was written or disagreed with some aspects of the document. In addition, many glimpsed into the dark side of the nation that would be tested in time, viz., slavery and treatment of Native Americans.

Decisions on slavery and the Native Americans were consistently temporized by the inability to figure out how to maintain a unified nation if actions more consistent with the understanding the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were adopted.

These leaders would enter old age and approach death with fear that the major discrepancies between ideals and reality would wreck the nation.

Somehow or other, we made it for over 200 years.

Reading American history helps me to place my strong views into perspective. I surely have no stronger views than Jefferson did, for example, relative to the role of federal government. Hamilton and Adams, among others, were in total disagreement with him. Yet, when Jefferson became president, he deviated totally from his own personal views to arrange for the Louisiana Purchase.

I advocate for a strong role of the federal government to counter the excesses of the free market and to ensure that the needs of the common good are met, e.g., education, health. In principle, Jefferson would align himself with today’s Republicans who focus more on individual rights and responsibilities rather siding with the people like Paul Krugman!

So, the morale of this reading is to take and deep breathe, hold your convictions while listening and often disagreeing with those holding opposing views, and yet realize that our nation somehow has a history of holding itself together, making progress here and there, in spite of bad decisions and actions.

We too may enter old age (may be there?) and approach death with some of the same fears that our Founding Fathers had. Let’s hope that we do our best as they did.