Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

Another motif of Ellis’ book is the act of correspondence. From a practical standpoint, letter-writing is the only way that the revolutionary generation can communicate with one another from a distance and express their intimacy with one another over time. This is especially the case with Jefferson and Adams, who correspond intensely during their periods of friendship, but lose contact in the years between 1800 and 1812, the years of their enmity. 

Their letters have a sense of historical perspective. For example, an elderly Jefferson writes to Adams “‘while writing to you, I lose the sense of these things, in the recollection of ancient times, when youth and health made happiness of everything”’ (243). His sentiments show that the correspondence keeps alive the moments when they were youthful and working together on the revolution. However, letters also express this generation’s ideas on the Revolution and its changing meaning. Ellis writes how “all the vanguard members of the revolutionary generation developed a keen sense of their historical significance even while they were still making the history on which their reputations would rest” (18). 

While both Jefferson and Adams prepare their papers for posterity toward the ends of their careers, Adams even tells his wife to do so before the outbreak of the war for independence. Within this correspondence, Adams and Jefferson develop complementary and sometimes competing narratives of the revolution. Jefferson’s version goes down in history because his is complete, where Adams’ is not. 

From a wider perspective, letters are an important motif of the book because Ellis credits its existence to edited volumes of the revolutionary generation’s letters.