Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different by Gordon S Wood - Book Report/Review Example

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different? by Gordon S. Wood This paper presents the book review of the above mentioned book, ‘Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different?’ by Gordon S. Wood. Wood, in this book, sheds light on the six revolutionary leaders in the course of American history whose contributions to the world greatly changed the landscape of the modern world to such an extent that they may be called as the founding leaders of modern day American political system. Wood brings the life of these men into focus and retells a story from their perspective. In the opening paragraphs of the book, Wood comments that life as in modern America hampers the development of true visionary leaders such as the ones he discusses subsequently in his book. The most interesting aspect and a contradiction in Wood’s book develop right in the beginning when Wood remarks on the absence of revolutionary men in today’s world. He wonders as to why the world does not have leaders like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson when the political system has gone to such a level. While Wood passes this statement in the beginning, he goes on to construct his book based on how history and men within this history progressed from wilderness to a modern way of living and how with a change in the functioning of the society, it progressed. When it is progression that Wood is discussing in his book, it is a contradiction that Wood believes that there is a need for leaders of the past in today’s world when today’s world is a much better world in the view of Wood. It may also be possible that when Wood wrote the book, his question may have been to question the world about the lack of men such as America’s founder fathers in today’s political system. Wood may have asked the question in all honesty and by writing the book, he may have inspired aspiring politicians of today. This book serves as an excellent point of example for today’s politician and tells them frankly what they lack. Thus, ‘Revolutionary Men’ does not just provide information to history lovers but also serves as inspiration for today’s political leaders. It tells the aspiring leaders what made America a super power today and if they wish to continue ruling as a super power they need to take example from the founding fathers and their characters. That being said, The First Total War by Wood was an interesting book to read. This is because of the manner Wood presents his view in the book. He explores a characteristic of the founding leaders that is often ignored. In most history book that we usually come across, leaders are shown as people with a great mass following. What prompted his following is often left remarked upon. Writers assume that the readers know what makes leaders so great. Wood, however, explored the basic premise when he said that character is the one main driving force behind these leaders. Wood has thus brought a personal touch to the book when he explores characters rather than history. Even though many books have been written on these founding leaders and some have even explored the personal motivation factors behind these leaders but Wood does it with reverence. When he discusses leaders such as George Washington, he lets his own opinion run free. He remarks that Washington was perhaps the greatest of Presidents. Since Wood does not back up with statement with ample proof about the greatness of Washington, it becomes clear that when calling Washington the greatest of Presidents, Wood is merely giving his own view of the leader. Also when Wood excludes Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr from his list of great founding fathers, this again points to how Wood presents his own biased version of the founding fathers of American History. Additionally, Wood’s reverence to the leader is limited to their political greatness. It does not extend into their personal lives. This is evident in the way Wood presents the information of the illicit affair of Hamilton but does not let this hamper what he thinks about the great leader. Rather Wood praises the leader for going away with his personal dignity in order to maintain his political dignity. This again should be a source of inspiration for aspiring leaders who carefully guard their personal secrets in order to maintain their political power and the public that expects the same from such modern day leaders. Wood here makes an excellent point that what leaders do in their personal lives should not cast a negative light on how they manage their political career and thus their attachment with the country should not be called into question. Another interesting aspect in Revolutionary Men was how Wood portrays the character of James Madison. While history books often wonder about the switch of Madison from being proactively Federalist to being vehemently anti- Federalist, Wood takes on a different argument. He, in his book, defines Madison as a man of character who saw the direction that politics had taken and since Madison was a man of character, he did what the country required him to do. When Wood shows Madison in this light, it allows readers to develop a good insight into the person Madison was and allows them to consider another perspective of the situation. While Wood’s theory may not be totally accurate, it does open up an argument for further discourse. One aspect that I found lacking in ‘Revolutionary Men’ was the background information. It seems that the book is written for readers who already have information on the founding leaders. Readers, for example, should be aware of the fact that Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr are considered to be founding leaders of America. Readers, who are new to this topic, may find that the book is incomplete when Wood is only uncovering the character of the founding leaders. For example, Wood recounts on the Federalist viewpoint of Madison and when he does so he automatically assumes that readers know that Madison was a Federalist or more importantly about what made Madison a Federalist in the first place. Wood takes up his story of the founding leaders where it seems that he left off from his previous book, ‘The Radicalism of the American Revolution’. It seems that Wood almost expects readers to read his first book before they move on to this one. We have to realize here that retelling history may never be totally based on facts since information in every age has been tainted by what and how people saw history. Therefore, Wood by opening up another perspective through his book has been able to bring forward something new on the table. Having said this, I would move on to say that while historians may not agree on Wood’s account of history but they should be able to commend him for exploring a new and fresh perspective of the situation. Thus, in the view of the above mentioned review, we can assume that the book may not offer new information to the readers but it does present a fresh perspective. Since history is merely based on perspective and information may never be accurate, Wood’s account of the six revolutionary leaders is a source of good information. It, however, requires that readers have background information about these leaders and in most cases it is a given since we have grown up with reading and often admiring these founding fathers since the time we read about them in our history books. This book is not about the founding fathers of America and what they contributed to the country but rather about men with characters in American history that changed the country with their strong will and perseverance. Read More