Bailyn, Bernard

To begin the world anew : the genius and ambiguities of the American founders / by Bernard Bailyn - 1st edition - New York : Knopf , c2003. - x, 185 p. : ills. ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Two time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Bernard Bailyn has distilled a lifetime of study into this brilliant illumination of the ideas and world of the Founding Fathers. In five succinct essays he reveals the origins, depth, and global impact of their extraordinary creativity. The opening essay illuminates the central importance of America's provincialism to the formation of a truly original political system. In the chapters following, he explores the ambiguities and achievements of Jefferson's career, Benjamin Franklin's changing image and supple diplomacy, the circumstances and impact of the "Federalist Papers," and the continuing influence of American constitutional thought throughout the Atlantic world. To Begin the World Anew enlivens our appreciation of how America came to be and deepens our understanding of the men who created it.

9780375413773

2002019020


Statesmen----History----United States----18th century
Presidents----History----United States----18th century
Constitutional history----United States


United States---Politics and government---1775-1783
United States---Politics and government---1783-1809

E302.1 / .B16 2003

973.3 BAI