The Great Contradiction
The Tragic Side of the American Founding
What's it about
Ever wonder how America's Founding Fathers could champion liberty while owning slaves? This summary tackles that very paradox, revealing the uncomfortable truths and complex motivations behind the nation's birth. You'll gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the figures you thought you knew. Discover the private debates, political compromises, and economic interests that allowed slavery to become embedded in the new republic. Through Joseph J. Ellis's sharp analysis, you’ll explore how this "great contradiction" shaped early American identity and left a tragic legacy that the United States is still grappling with today.
Meet the author
Joseph J. Ellis is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and one of the nation’s leading scholars of the American founding, renowned for his penetrating studies of the revolutionary generation. After decades spent examining the founders' public triumphs and private struggles, Ellis has dedicated his career to revealing the complex, often contradictory, human beings behind the historical myths. His work unearths the difficult truths and moral compromises that shaped the United States, offering a more complete and challenging understanding of its origins.
What's it about
Ever wonder how America's Founding Fathers could champion liberty while owning slaves? This summary tackles that very paradox, revealing the uncomfortable truths and complex motivations behind the nation's birth. You'll gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the figures you thought you knew. Discover the private debates, political compromises, and economic interests that allowed slavery to become embedded in the new republic. Through Joseph J. Ellis's sharp analysis, you’ll explore how this "great contradiction" shaped early American identity and left a tragic legacy that the United States is still grappling with today.
Meet the author
Joseph J. Ellis is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and one of the nation’s leading scholars of the American founding, renowned for his penetrating studies of the revolutionary generation. After decades spent examining the founders' public triumphs and private struggles, Ellis has dedicated his career to revealing the complex, often contradictory, human beings behind the historical myths. His work unearths the difficult truths and moral compromises that shaped the United States, offering a more complete and challenging understanding of its origins.
The Script
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