Founding Brothers; Shaping America

On July 4, 1776, Britain's King George III noted in his diary "nothing much happened today," having no idea that--just across the big pond--56 men in the rebellious colonies were busy affixing their John Hancock's (including John Hancock) to America's birth certificate, "The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America," or, as it later came to be known, the Declaration of Independence. One of 22 episodes in the handsomely produced Shaping America series, a survey telecourse covering U.S. history from Columbus's 1492 sailing of the ocean blue to 1877, Declaring Independence examines the events leading up to the decision to make a decisive (not to mention treasonous) break with the Mother Country, recounts the drafting of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson (who, like Voltaire, thought that the "last king should be strangled with the entrails of the last priest"), and underscores the continuing relevance of this living document. Combining graphics, archival sketches and portraits, and lucid commentary from a group of well-spoken historians (Joseph Ellis, Patricia Cohen, Gordon S. Wood, Edward Countryman and James Oliver Horton), Shaping America, which includes online activity guides, is recommended. Other titles in the series include: Settling in New England, Making a Revolution, The Slave South, The Union Collapses, and Reconstructing the Nation. Aud: H, C, P.On or about the evening of June 20, 1790, Thomas Jefferson supped with James Madison (Republican) and Alexander Hamilton (Federalist) at a private dinner party at his home in the nascent nation's first capitol, New York City. Not the most amiable of political bedfellows then, and destined for even more acrimonious relations in the near future, the three men hammered out a compromise that would be instrumental in preserving the fledgling union: within five weeks of the legendary dinner, the House of Representatives would pass both the Assumption Bill (Hamilton's brilliant plan to build faith in the new government by assuming states' debts) and the Residence Bill (which eventually moved the capitol to Washington, very near Madison's Virginian home). The particular genius of Joseph Ellis's fascinating Pulitzer Prize-winning book Founding Brothers (on which this three-hour-plus documentary is based) lies in his ability to locate the personal motivations--both elevated and base--that drove Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Franklin in their quest to create "a more perfect union." This A&E miniseries serves up plenty of historical food for thought as it examines six key early historical events: the aforementioned secret dinner, Benjamin Franklin's near-deathbed call for an end to slavery, George Washington's farewell address to the nation (which was actually printed, not delivered), John Adams's controversial term as president, the infamous duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the touching final reconciliation between Adams and Jefferson after decades of feuding. Combining dramatic re-enactments, archival sketches and portraits, and commentary from a luminous group of historians (including Ellis, Gordon S. Wood, Carol Berkin, and Richard Brookhiser), this sure-to-be-popular presentation is definitely recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. [Note: Also of interest, A&E's companion series Founding Fathers (VL-3/01) a delightful chronicle of the larger-than-life statesmen who fought for, and ultimately founded, the first modern democracy.] (R. Pitman)