Founding Father

There’s never been a time when the Revolutionary War hasn’t been interesting to me.  The concept of people standing up for what they believe to be right and being willing to sacrifice everything for that is always inspiring.  The Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War had a set of beliefs and rights that they believed were given by God and being infringed upon by the English government.  They sacrificed intangible things like their names and reputations as well as treasure and the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears.  Their sacrifices resulted in a country that has provided incredible opportunity like nowhere else for generations and generations.  Whether it was regular soldiers suffering on cold battlefields or commanders trying to inspire their men against what was the world’s premier fighting force at the time, there were many sacrifices being made, inspiring both the people of that time and people like me hundreds of years later.

Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser (ISBN: 0-684-82291-1) provides a short overview of the original father of the country, George Washington.  The book starts with an interesting discussion of modern history, which is history that often looks to break down the heroes of the past, find fault with them, and discount the stories that have been handed down for generations.  Brookhiser claims he’s not looking to disparage Washington like other modern historians while being willing to set aside legend (“I cannot tell a lie,” for example) in order to give a clearer picture of the first president.  The book then provides a basic overview of the major parts of Washington’s life, war, overseeing the writing of the Constitution, and his time as President, plus a review of the ideals and morals that drove Washington or that Washington chose to drive himself to achieve, as the case may be.  A rather significant amount of time was spent relating Washington’s largely successful attempts at controlling his temper, other emotions, and tongue.  The book finished with an interesting and very modern, despite the book being published in 1996, review of Washington’s patriarchal role.  Brookhiser notes that fathers are not the rocks in people’s lives that they once were, and calling someone the father of a nation or a founding father may not really inspire anyone in modern America like it may have previously.  Washington’s role as the father of his country and the strong, guiding presence behind many early American events is examined before the book ends with his death.

Overall, I thought the book was fine.  I think I didn’t find it as amazing as many reviewers did is because I didn’t need to rediscover Washington.  I didn’t need to be disabused of any notions of Washington being a failure or some insufferable hypocrite who didn’t live up to lofty ideals he professed.  The Founding Fathers were mortal and had shortcomings.  That is why they are so inspiring.  Like Washington, who spent his life striving to be better by controlling himself, many of the Founders strove to live on a higher plane and provide that for others.  Washington, despite many efforts, has survived deconstruction rather well.  For those who may be questioning the greatness of the heroes of the Revolutionary War, Brookhiser’s work is a worthy addition to that of the more based authors finding the good in the men and women who were willing to put it all on the line and sacrifice for a better life for themselves and their posterity.  I was appreciative of the chance to re-acquaint myself, even if just briefly (the book barely makes it to page 200), with this great man and the great example he provides for us.

   

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