
The Quartet
Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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By:
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Joseph J. Ellis
From Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis, the unexpected story of why the thirteen colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew.
We all know the famous opening phrase of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this Continent a new Nation.” The truth is different. In 1776, thirteen American colonies declared themselves independent states that only temporarily joined forces in order to defeat the British. Once victorious, they planned to go their separate ways. The triumph of the American Revolution was neither an ideological nor a political guarantee that the colonies would relinquish their independence and accept the creation of a federal government with power over their autonomy as states. The Quartet is the story of this second American founding and of the men most responsible—George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. These men, with the help of Robert Morris and Gouverneur Morris, shaped the contours of American history by diagnosing the systemic dysfunctions created by the Articles of Confederation, manipulating the political process to force the calling of the Constitutional Convention, conspiring to set the agenda in Philadelphia, orchestrating the debate in the state ratifying conventions, and, finally, drafting the Bill of Rights to assure state compliance with the constitutional settlement.
Ellis has given us a gripping and dramatic portrait of one of the most crucial and misconstrued periods in American history: the years between the end of the Revolution and the formation of the federal government. The Quartet unmasks a myth, and in its place presents an even more compelling truth—one that lies at the heart of understanding the creation of the United States of America.
©2015 Joseph J. Ellis (P)2015 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
“The dissenters—George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison—faced no less a task than redefining the meaning of the War for Independence in what amounted to a Second American Revolution. How they did so is the burden of the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis' The Quartet, an engaging reconsideration of the arduous path to the Constitution.” (The Wall Street Journal)
“Customary, graceful prose. His portraits [show] his sure touch—highlighting Washington’s dignity, Hamilton’s energy, Madison’s learning and Jay’s diplomacy.” (New York Times Book Review)
“The author is a sure-handed and entertaining guide through the thickets of argument, personality and ideology out of which the American nation emerged." (The Economist)
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An Introductory Look, Good Appendices
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Excellent
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best book in years
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My initial review was that anyone who quotes. the Constitution, Federalist Papers or writings by Jefferson or believes what they hear or see from the media, political organizations or politicians regarding these sources should listen to or read this book before they begin to throw them around. There are historians who do not agree with Ellis and again if you are going to live or die by these sources, again you should read those opposing views and make your own choice. Besides run on sentences these are strong facts.
In the last 20 or 30 years I have seen quotes regarding the Constitution, especially by Jefferson, who was in France before and long after the Constitution was written. Due to his position in the planter class, landed gentry , he had a vested interest in maintaining the Article's of Confederation. Therefore had no idea of the structure or negotiations and compromising that went into it.
I believe the book is well-written and well narrated and a must read.
Extremely Pertinent in today's United States
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After the Revolution
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Good intro to how our nation was really born
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Original Intent
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Fascinating story
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Yet another great American history book
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character and motivation of each subject
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