First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country

Most of us have heard how the Founding Fathers were influenced by the Enlightenment, but the Ancient Greeks and Romans played a significant role in shaping their views. That's the premise of "First Principles, What America's Founders learned from the Greeks and Romans and How that Shaped Our Country." The author makes a convincing case in a relatively short 297 pages. The book reads incredibly well; indeed, historian Thomas E. Ricks manages to keep it simple and far from dry, writing about a vast and complex subject. If you are at all interested in the Founding Generation, you'll find this a fascinating and worthwhile read.While creating a new nation, the Founding Fathers looked to the ancient Greeks and Romans for inspiration; in particular James Madison, who studied the Greek republics while gathering information for the Constitutional Convention; and George Washington, who modeled his leadership qualities after a number of Roman generals; in particular Fabius, and Cincinnatus, and, decidedly, not Julius Caesar.Ricks also underscores the point that Washington, while a brilliant military strategist and leader, was the least educated of the Founders (a number of his influential state papers were ghost-written by others). A good portion of the book deals with Washington as a military leader during the French and Indian Wars and, of course, the war for independence that followed, and his years as our nation's first president; and with Madison in his quest to form a more perfect union.All of the Founders were obsessed with the Greek and Roman ideals of public virtue. In the Ancient World "public virtue" equated to putting the public welfare ahead of personal ambition. What did the Founders read? "The Iliad", Plutarch's "Lives of Ancient Greeks and Romans", the philosophy and literature of Xenophom, Epicurius, Aristotle, and the speeches and commentaries of Cato and Cicero.Of particular concern to Madison, was the formation of political factions, which was the root cause of the breakup of the Greek and Roman Republics. As a possible solution, Madison looked to several Enlightenment philosophers, particularly to French philosopher Charles Montesquieu, who, the author says, constituted a bridge between the Enlightenment and the Classical World; his masterpiece, "The Spirit of the Laws" while largely rejected in France due to the popularity of the monarch, proved highly influential among the Founders, and was essentially a meditation on how to inject ancient wisdom into modern governance. While the author builds a strong case for Montesquieu's influence on Madison, he largely ignores Scottish philosopher David Hume, who also wrote a significant and influential essay on how to create a republic that effectively counteracted factions. Indeed, historian Douglass Adair, makes a strong case for Hume's influence on Madison (see "Fame and the Founding Fathers", by Douglass Adair). Surprisingly, while Ricks writes eloquently about Montesquieu, he pretty much ignores Hume's influence.Also, while the author admires Madison and Washington, he does not think highly of John Adams (his reputation is over-rated), or Thomas Jefferson (whose "avoidance of reality" he found disturbing), or Alexander Hamilton (too ambitious and something of a conniver).Despite being mostly about the influence of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the author also delves deeply into the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment, which arrived on American shores in the form of books by David Hume, Adam Smith, Thomas Hutchison and others, as well as a host of scholars, tutors, and teachers who arrived on American shores in the mid-eightenteenth century. Among them was William Small, who tutored Thomas Jefferson while a teen. Donald Robinson, who tutored James Madison while a teen, and Hugh Knox, who, while teaching in the Caribbean, was the first to recognize Alexander Hamilton's literary skills, and arranged what amounted to a scholarship for Hamilton's college education in the American colonies. John Witherspoon, who as a college professor at the College of New Jersey at Princeton, taught James Madison. Witherspoon would go to be a part of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.The author admits he researched and wrote his book in the wake of Donald Trump's election as president, which he found disturbing. While he lauds the Founders for creating an enduring republic, he laments that, being such an incredibly intellectually-gifted and well-read group, the Founders failed to find a solution to slavery, which today lives on in the form of white supremacy. At the close of the book, the author offers ten steps "that I think might help us more on the course intended by the Revolutionary generation to help us move beyond where we are stuck and instead toward what we ought to be."Early in the book he writes: "We are a nation fundamentally dedicated to equal standing before the law, yet also have developed a political system in which one of the two major parties always seems to have offered a home to white supremacists, up to the present day . . . our government remains an experiment that requires our serious and sustained attention to thrive."

This solid book is a valuable addition to the growing literature on how classical studies helped shape colonial and early national America. The author takes a somewhat different approach from other studies on this topic. Unlike the leading study in this area, Eran Shaley's impressive "Rome Reborn on Western Shores," the author here does not try and discuss generally how Rome and Greece had such an impact. Rather, he concentrates on the first four presidents and how they were impacted. This approach sacrifices breadth for a detailed examination of how these four crucial leaders interacted with classical studies while shaping the new nation. And yet he still manages to hit some more general themes such as the importance of virtue.Early chapters focus on the presidents in their formative stages. And even the chapters on Washington and Jefferson, certainly well covered in other studies, deliver some fresh insights. We see the early writings and activities of these presidents to be. Jefferson was highly classical in his early studies. All four, particularly Madison and Jefferson, were well versed in the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries. Jefferson infuses his draft of the Declaration with classical Epicurean concepts ("the pursuit of happiness").I thought the highlight of the book were the chapters on Washington's military strategy during the Revolution. The author is a recognized military historian and it really shows. The author demonstrates that far from being the bumbling general he is often assumed to be, Washington grabbed onto some ancient Roman strategy (from Fabius) to outwit and defeat the Redcoats. I among others have seriously misjudged Washington in the field.For the author, there is no way that even classicism can erase "the blot" of slavery. In fact, the expansive use of slaves in the ancient world was used as a defense to the American practice. Madison gets a good deal of attention in connection with drafting the Constitution , writing some of the Federalist Papers, and serving as the fourth president. Madison demonstrated how political parties could contribute to government stability. Classical elements even play a role in Jefferson's defeat of Adams in 1800. The final chapter traces the reasons for the decline and end for classicism as antebellum pressures, the developing free market, and new trends in religion take their toll.The book is supported by 64 pages of notes and runs some 369 pages including notes. It is a pleasant and informative read, but also a long one. Set aside ample time to really get into this fine volume..

All students, legislators and American patriots should read this book to better understand how gifted yet flawed our founding fathers were. Reading this enforces my opinion on how far we’ve drifted from understanding the concept of “democracy”, “virtue” and “non-partisan” politics. I hope we have not permanently lost our way

First Principles is a brilliantly written book. Ricks is a phenomenal historian that eloquently and accurately discusses why the Founders reflected on the Greeks and Romans when designing the American nation. If any today are to comprehend the American design, then it is imperative to know about the Founders reliance on the ancients. This book should be a standard issue for all Americans and especially for any that is in government. Virtue is the key cornerstone for the American democracy and should be comprehended via the Founding period.

This is one of those books that makes you realize that your were not as educated as you thought. Turns out your 'education' might have been more of an indoctrination into the creation myths of your country [the U.S.A.] and much less about the realities. This book gives a pretty vivid picture of the first four presidents of the U.S.A. It's a much more 'human' picture that we got in grade school, high school, and [in my case] a liberal arts education in an conservative university.Specifically, you get deep insights into the personalities and the intellectual influences of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, and Jefferson, along with the brilliance, and faults, foibles, and contradictions in the character of these men. It's not so much that Thomas Ricks enjoys knocking them off their pedestal, as it is an honest effort to portray them as not just exceptional, but as complex, and fully human, like the rest of us.If you've ever heard the phrase "It's not the man who makes the office, it's the office that makes the man. Recent history has shown that, in the case of the U.S. presidency, that's not always the case, but is probably more the rule than the exception.This is history at it''s most illuminating, surprising, interesting and ─ dare I say it ─ entertaining. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Recommend it to anyone interested in history, education, and the human condition. And, to his credit, Ricks shows the the somewhat tortured path, with all it's consistencies and deviations, from the hopes and aims of the founders to the present day. Simply put, it has relevance to and informs the present.

Loved this book. Certainly gives mea new perspective on the current GOP and the original Democratic party. A must read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the principles of the founders of the USA and the framers of the constitution were striving for.Highly Recommend

THE INTELLECTUAL RIGOUR IS OUTSTANDING.AMERICANS NEE DTO READ THIS AND APPLY IT TO THE WORLD TRUMP HAS CREATED.

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