Joseph Ellis has contributed much to making the history of America’s Founding Fathers accessible to many Americans. His Pulitzer Prize winning book ‘‘Founding Brothers” was turned into a television series and his book ‘‘American Sphinx” is an excellent way to begin your exploration of Thomas Jefferson.

This 2007 book discusses the delicacy of the Founding Fathers on the eve of their victory against the British, giving life to an extraordinary precedent in world political history, a constitutional democratic republic. In his chapter entitled ‘‘The Winter,” Ellis illuminates readers with how George Washington came to the conclusion that the mere survival of the Continental Army constituted a victory, thus every battle planned by Washington should include a means of escaping to fight another day.

This was not easy for Washington, whose instincts told him that drawing up an army on the field and facing the British was the correct way of fighting. Among those who convinced Washington was Nathaniel Greene, a man who learned war reading books and practiced it with rare competence in the field, French Engineer Antoine Duportail and the Prussian Von Steuben. Washington was persuaded not only by his advisors but more importantly, by the fact that he did not have the numbers of Continental troops required to wage a direct offensive. The conclusion of this defensive strategy would be finally reached in the winter at Valley Forge, Pa., in late 1777 and early 1778.

The chapter entitled ‘‘The Argument” is a highly readable discussion of the debate between the Founding Fathers over the United States Constitution in 1787. We see the Founders disagreeing over the course of the new nation, and Ellis highlights what he calls the most important debate in our nation, between James Madison and Patrick Henry. At stake was whether the United States would abandon the Articles of Confederation that kept the states divided and weak, or united with a new constitution that would redefine relations between the 13 original states under a federated system of government.

The first major challenge to relations between the states and the newly created federal government would be over Native American policy. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is discussed today in relation to Congressional powers to regulate commerce with foreign nations. In Washington’s time the focus was the right given to Congress to regulate commerce with Native American tribes. Washington’s first Secretary of War, Henry Knox, argued in favor of the Native American tribes, feeling a betrayal of these tribes would undermine the values of the American Revolution. It is Knox who convinced Washington, and between the two of them created what would be the Native American Reservation system protected by Federal Law. Over the decades this protection eroded and the laws were contravened, yet it is important to highlight the ideas of the Founders such as Washington on the issue. Chapters continue with the evolution of political parties, and end with Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase that made the United States a continental power. Spend time with Joseph Ellis and the history of the early founding of America.

Editor’s Note: Aboul-Enein writes for two U.S. Navy base papers, the Naval Training Center Great Lakes Bulletin and the Naval District Washington Waterline. He also maintains a regular column in the Bolling Air Force Base paper, the Bolling Aviator. Aboul-Enein wishes to thank Personnel Specialist 1st Class (SW⁄AW) David Tranberg, the President of the Pentagon Chapter of the First Class Petty Officer Association, for his edits and comments. He also wishes to express appreciation to the Bolling AFB Library.