The author of Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis, introduces the purpose of his book as an examination of how the relationships of the main players in the Revolutionary generation influenced the course of American history. He explains all this in the preface which is titled The Generation. Ellis implores the reader to consider the stories from their foresight and hindsight, suggesting that these stories should only be understood in how they actually occurred, and in terms of what was later revealed over the years. Ellis has chosen to make the focus of Founding Brothers key members of the Revolutionary generation, including Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and Hamilton.
The first real chapter of this book is titled The Duel. This chapter explains to the reader the most famous duel in American history, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. These two foes met on July 11, 1804 near Weehawken, New Jersey in a challenge based on their honor. Hamilton's unsurprising death is examined, while Ellis also discusses how the duel reveals the importance of personal reputation in the days of a nascent government.
In the second chapter, The Dinner, Ellis tells the traditional story of how three opposing men met together in order to save their country from financial disaster. This was the dinner held in 1790. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton had all set aside their political differences to compromise on a plan to pay off the national debt and to locate the nation's new capitol in the South. Ellis considers whether the story has been influenced by Jefferson's self-interested record of the event. He explains how the story tells us more about Jefferson than about the compromise, which Ellis believes might have been brokered before the dinner ever took place.
In the third chapter, titled The Silence, Ellis explores how burdensome the issue of slavery was even from the moment of this country's birth. Ellis speaks of a time in 1790 where both a Quaker delegation and Benjamin Franklin urged the House of Representatives to fight for an end to the African slave trade. Ellis elaborates on this debate by explaining how outraged Southern representatives demanded the issue be dropped and Northern representatives attempted to shed light on the issue without proposing emancipation. The inability to come to any real compromise only illustrates how pointed and difficult the question truly was for this early government.
In the fourth chapter, The Farewell, Ellis discusses George Washington's retirement from the presidency. He believes Washington’s action was not a sign of failure but of strength and wisdom. Washington knew how powerful his influence was and didn’t want to take advantage of that. Washington believed that by setting a two-term precedent for Presidency he would ensure the strength of his country. Ellis also points out how Washington’s hatred of press criticism and his failing health led to his retirement. This chapter ends with a discussion of the major points in Washington’s Farewell Address.
Chapter five is titled, The Collaborators, and explains a key relationship between the Founding Fathers. Ellis turns his attention in these final two chapters to the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. After having gained a strong friendship during the Revolution, the two men were separated by political differences, especially during Adams's term as the country's second President. During his reign, Jefferson served as Vice President. Adams's presidency was filled with a variety of issues that Ellis discusses. Adam’s most severe resentment was solely reserved for Jefferson, who unfairly criticized him for the sake of political gain. Jefferson won the office in 1800, mostly because of the success of these attacks, and despite the fact that Adams's final decisions in office have been proven wise by history.
Finally, in the last chapter, titled The Friendship, Ellis examines the renewed friendship between Adams and Jefferson. This friendship persisted through correspondence up until their deaths. After Jefferson won the presidency, neither man wrote to the other for well over a decade. After time passed, they started to write again. Ellis details these letters, noting how they discussed their competing views of the Revolutionary period, current events, and the country's future. Adam’s and Jefferson’s long friendship ended on July 4, 1826, the nation's 50th Independence Day. This was also the day on which they both died.