![]() ![]() That the promises of the revolution and Jefferson’s “unalienable rights” failed, not least on slavery and Native Americans, is a shameful blight on the founding. The revolutionary “cause” contained the seeds of others. Leaving aside the actual cause of the split (briefly, “power, not money” and George III’s policy after the peace of 1763), Ellis’ emphasis is the uncomfortable nature of its legacy and its impact on politics. Ellis terms the story “The Cause”, because the patriots used it as “the operative term from the summer of 1775 to the summer of ’76”. The work covers some familiar ground from his other works with a focus on “bottom-up” politics. Ellis provides numerous analogies to the politics of the moment, notably bitter opposition to a strong national government, the dangers of debt and misplaced hubris. For generations, treatments of the revolution have reflected the interests and prejudices of their times. Or, as he terms it, the “American Evolution”. ![]()
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