the Founding Brothers

The idea of a revolution is capable of being produced by one man alone, yet the commencement and completion of a revolution simply cannot be done in singularity, no matter how spectacular his intelligence, or how incredible his reason. A revolution must be in the minds of the entire Nation or group of peoples in which the revolution is brought about. Just as in a war, one man may wish to declare it, yet he will need an entire army behind him to be able to succeed. Just as a war is fought, so is a revolution - only without manpower and weapons, but with propaganda, will power and reason. In the case of the American Revolution, there were only a few masterminds behind this plot, yet behind them stood more people, and even though their intelligence was no where near their leader's genius, they found their strength in numbers. To look at these few elite leaders from a different more obscure perspective, imagine them to all be one person, or one machine. They were the driving force of the Revolution, all their skills and qualities added up to create a very affective machine. While not always working together, the different pieces and parts of the machine (the leaders as individuals) always did their job in one way or another - for although this machine was not perfect, the strange ways it fit together and entwined talent, eventually ended up with the success and end of the American Revolution. In effect, it takes many different personalities, view points, and thoughts to successfully aid the drive an entire revolution forward.


To begin, leadership comprised of mostly these attributes; a strong combination of personality, stature, energy, determination, strong opinion, optimism, grace, style of manner, a strong will, intellect, modesty, wisdom, experience, an bravery. After reading the novel Founding Brothers, by John Ellis, it is clear that the founding brothers must have possessed these qualities. Even though sometimes personality quirks and disagreements took place, these were all attributes that added up to the machine that aided, and by some views was the revolution.

"A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved,
and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest
as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man."

- John Adams

It is true, that while commanding a party such as a small team, one will need a lot of personality. Now imagine that person in the later 1700's, trying to control an unruly mob of citizens tired of oppression, a tired, hungry and sore army of soldiers about to give up on your cause, and most of all the other men of high rank an intelligence that you must collaborate with. To be a leader in this time period, and of this stature, you were required to have a great amount of personality. If you were a bleak, uninteresting man, most likely you were either to be completely ignored or degraded for lack of intelligence and then ignored. All of these men; George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton possessed some form of personality, whether it be conflicting with his brother or not. It was simply an attribute that a man must have in order to be a leader. Secondly, a strong opinion and determination play a large role in being a leader,especially in this turbulent and troubled time. John Adams is a specific example of this. Having a Harvard education, Adams was a political leader, in fact, one of the most outspoken and biased men in the whole Continental Congress. While others cringed at the thought of stepping forward, Adams stepped forward bravely, (and sometimes in rage) to express his opinion. Once put into office as Vice President to General George Washington in 1789, Adams was still not satisfied. He felt insignificant, and expressed this so to his wife Abigail. He stated "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." However, this did not thwart his attempts at creating the America he dreamed of. Finally in the year 1792, he beat General George Washington by fifty five votes and was elected the second president of the United States. John Adams's presidency was the end of the Revolution, something he had dreamed of for most of his life. In truth, a revolution if never completely over until the power of the General who had usurped the power to begin with was successfully transferred to a new president without dissension.

"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem
your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

- General George Washington

Also needed for the intense role of leadership is bravery and stature. Although General George Washington may not have been the most intelligent man in the room, he certainly was a stately man. He towered above all the other men of intellect, at about six foot three and a half. His appearance was enough to make any man stop and listen to anything he had to say. He was not just a lengthy man, he was also broad. This image has continued to be the image of leadership and strength ever since this man came into the picture. He was a very virtuous man, and often quoted things as to diverge the true meaning behind his heart. "Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience." George Washington. It could have been bravery that made General Washington stand at the top of hill in the fog while bullets where whizzing past his head, or vigor and commitment. Yet, it could have been stupidity and irrational behavior. Yet, in the winter of 1777, he was also the commander of the troops in the miserable condition residing at Valley Forge. They were starving, weary, angry, tired, and hurt. Washington wrote in his journal that some of the men even had traces of blood on this feet from worn down shoes and walking in the bitter condition. Since an army marches on its stomach, and General Washington's army had so little, it is a spectacular feat indeed that they continued to fight.

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what
may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."
-Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was indeed a large driving force behind the revolution. He was the brains of this machine; the wisdom, the knowledge, and the good sense. Although he did not always expel his thoughts at the slightest provocation (like Adams did), Franklin knew when to keep his mouth shut, and this, was a very useful trick indeed. Not only will people think of you more conserved and not over-spoken, when you do finally decide to voice your opinion, one may well be listened to more intently than one that has articulated so boldly in the past. However, this is yet another example of how the many parts of the machine work together; they may not function entirely the same, yet put together they add up into a form of genius. Being an inventor by fame, a printer by profession, Benjamin was also a political and wise man. Men such as John Adams sought confidence in him; John Adams may or may not have made the decisions he had without the counsel of Benjamin Franklin. In short, every group of leaders, or leader as in individual must have good sense, and intellect. Without this plans will go awry, and even if, by chance, a good plan is in question, the peoples ask to follow may not give their absolute respect and confidence to a man they believe dim witted. Their hearts and minds will simply not be in it. These quotes "Anger is never without Reason, but seldom a good One," and "be Civil to all;sociable to many, familiar with few, friend to one, enemy to none," all pay tribute to his wise character and intellect.

To conclude, these were only a few of the men who contributed their daily lives to the cause of an American Revolution. They each possessed an array of the social and mental qualities that was and is needed to be a great leader. Working as one well oiled, machine (yet sometimes in conflict), these men have come together to create a spectrum of personalities and attributes. These men possessed personality, stature, energy, determination, strong opinion, optimism, grace, style of manner, a strong will, intellect, modesty, wisdom, experience, an bravery. Add these together with a catalyst of emotion, disagreement and war, you have the beginnings of the American Revolution . Subtract any of of these variables (men) and the outcome consequently would not have been the same. In effect, all parts of a well working machine must work together. If onepiece fails, the rest of the contraption cannot complete its duty. This is how the founding Brothers achieved such works of greatness. Leadership is not one quality, it is the combination of many fair ones; just as a revolution cannot be commenced without the support or acknowledgement of an entire Nation.