Ellis’ final chapter is an epilogue he uses to discuss the successes and failures of early American leadership because he believes “the founders managed to maximize the creative possibilities of their time more fully than any subsequent generation of political leaders in American history” (p. His choice of both issues and founders reflect, he argues, “what is still an ongoing argument about our destiny as a people and a nation” (p. In the Now portions of each chapter, Ellis situates each current issue “as recent entries in long-standing patterns” (p. In each case, Ellis chooses one member of the founding generation as the central figure with whom to engage in his “dialogue”: For race, it is Thomas Jefferson for equality he chooses John Adams James Madison is his focus for law and for our diplomatic relations abroad he uses George Washington. The four areas he identifies are race, equality, law, and foreign policy. Hence, his use of the term dialogue in his title. Acknowledging that a true conversation with the founders is obviously impossible, he attempts to connect their concerns regarding these controversial topics with those of modern America.

Ellis establishes the historical foundation for each subject and then examines the complexity of each in the context of a divisive political climate complicated by domestic and international obstacles. Each chapter focuses on what he identifies as four enduring issues that are more salient and challenging in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Was this another attempt at deciphering the intent of the founders as it pertains to current issues or was it something else? As I read each chapter, I discovered this work was significantly more and I saw important connections for classroom teachers.įollowing a preface, Ellis divides four chapters into two parts each: Then and Now. The sub-title to his latest work, The Founders and Us, especially piqued my interest. I must confess I am a fan of Ellis’ writing and have read several of his books on early American history. Ironically, Ellis’ book deals in part with the very issue the young man raised namely, what we can learn from the “ongoing conversation between past and present” (p. The book I had that day was American Dialogue by Joseph J. He then went on to lament how history is being deemphasized in school and to question how were we to avoid repeating the errors of the past if we don’t know what they were. “A book on American history” I responded. While ordering lunch at a deli in South Carolina, the young cashier noticed I had a book with me.

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