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America's Founding Fathers  By  cover art

America's Founding Fathers

By: Allen C. Guelzo, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Allen C. Guelzo
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Publisher's summary

Today, the US Constitution is the oldest, continually-operating instrument of government in the world. But to think of the Constitution as a fully-formed, canonical document is to miss out on an honest, well-rounded grasp of American history. Now, more than ever, any well-informed citizen should understand how the Constitution lives, breathes, and endures.

In collaboration with Smithsonian, these 36 lectures are a deep dive into the creation of the US Constitution as it actually happened - and the remarkable men who played their own unique role in the creation (and survival) of American democracy. Designed to be enjoyed in chronological order, they take you from the closing days of the American Revolution to the opening decades of the United States under the newly created US Constitution. Told like a dramatic story, each lecture uses a Founder as a doorway through which to examine the process involved in crafting the Constitution.

You'll encounter fresh perspectives on familiar Founders including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, as well as people not necessarily considered Founders, including James McHenry, Secretary of War under John Adams; and Alexis de Tocqueville, author of the insightful Democracy in America. While detailed, the lectures are highly accessible for all learners, high school students and history buffs alike.

Less a biography of individuals, Professor Guelzo's lectures are instead a composite biography of one of the greatest political documents in history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

What listeners say about America's Founding Fathers

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Great lecture series

This is a fascinating lecture series, even for someone like me with a deep if amateurish knowledge of the revolutionary and early republic period. The particular strength of these lectures is Guelzo's lifting from semi obscurity a number of the founding fathers & embedding those individuals (& the briefest of biographies) in his main discussion about the Articles of Confederation and the Constitutional Convention. The lectures have great narrative drive, I was sorry as each little chapter was completed. The accompanying pdf is.also very helpful to reinforce the lessons. Over in Amazon a reviewer has dinged the work for Guelzo's 2-3 sentences about Jefferson's.multi year dalliance with his slave, something that has become by far the majority view among professional historians these days. Nevertheless downgrading a rating for an audio book where for than 1 minute of talk in almost 20 hours seems silly. I highly recommend this work to readers.

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75 people found this helpful

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Interesting Although Mistitled

To me this felt like a middle of the road course. The content was interesting and the professor is a good speaker and can keep you engaged at times but I can't say I got sucked in.

My first gripe is that the course and I got off on the wrong foot off the bat. The title gave the impression that a description of the founding fathers' contributions and accomplishments would be the focus of the lectures. Instead a more apt title would be: "A History of the Early United States from 1783-1817".

The course was more of a narrative history of the U.S. post revolution than of the lives and biographies of the founders (which explains the absence of Sam Adams, John Hancock, and Thomas Paine). Sure they were covered but they weren’t always the center of attention in the lectures and the full sense or summary of all of their accomplishments\places in history wasn't present.

Secondly, my assessment of the professor’s style is that it doesn't seem to involve providing facts on how history unfolded but to provide a number of quotes and vignettes to tell the story. And while a story makes it more interesting, the facts explaining the end result are lacking or lost. Maybe this is more reflective of my style of learning but I prefer everything laid out and then supported by quotes or stories vs. having to take an 18th century quote without much context and try to determine just what is going on or the professor's point.

Suffice to say the first time I listened to the entire course I just couldn't get into it and found myself drifting so much so that I lost interest and was ready to rate it a two star course. But I went back and listened to all 36 lectures a second time: this time with a different viewpoint of what I was expecting from the course (i.e. a history of the US vs. the fathers themselves and short stories vs. facts) and really dedicated myself to providing better concentration. This time I found it more interesting indeed.

All in all a three star rating feels right.

Lectures 5 (Thomas Jefferson and the Enlightenment) and 24 (Formation of political parties) were the highlights in my view.

I also enjoyed listening to the battles at the Constitutional Convention (lectures 11-18) in formulating a new government (the various plans, compromises, and committees).

Professor Guelzo is a master at concluding lectures. Whether it is leaving a cliffhanger for the next lecture or ending on a hint of dramatic effect, no one is better at leaving you either in reflective thought or in anticipation for the next session. In fact this attribute is what prompted me to listen to the entire lecture series a second time: I had chills after his ending to lecture 36. How could I not go back and give this series a second try?

If you go in with the mindset this is a course on the early history of the U.S. (and not of the founders) and prefer the professor's style of teaching (collection of short stories/quotes vs. laying out the facts) then you will probably walk away enjoying this course. It certainly has its charms and will remain in my library.

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54 people found this helpful

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So Much More

I can't praise this offering from The Great Courses enough! It excels in every way - yes, we get to know the founding fathers better (especially those lesser-known); yes, their stories are described in context, which makes for a wonderful progression from the Declaration of Independence through the Revolutionary War, to the development of first the Articles of Confederation to the improvements of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Perhaps the most enlightening lessons are in the controversies. How far should the Federal government go to unite and control the individual States? Should there be an individual or a ruling committee at the top of the Executive Branch, and what should he be called? Should small States have as much influence and representation as the larger ones? What about the role, if any, of religion?

Professor Allen C Guelzo is an excellent organizer and lecturer. Each of the 36 sessions features a Founding Father, yes, but propels the entire story of America forward, with all the rich personalities, rivalries, and events described so well that the listener is surprised at how quickly each lecture comes to an end . There is inevitably some overlap, but very little obvious repetition.

This is a nearly unequaled lesson in American history, sure, but it is so much more. Looking back, we feel awe at these exceptional (although very human) people, humility at their wisdom and often at their foresight. We also see the difficulties and controversies that come up time and again in a democracy - and that will continue to challenge our form of government.

I'd like to have the power to make every American from middle school up listen to this course. I'd like to force members of our current government (hello, Congress!!) to hear every word and realize just what we have to lose if we don't heed the lessons of the past.

But, (hooray and alas!) it's a free country!

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33 people found this helpful

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A tour de force on American liberty

A well paced, fascinating, and very interesting set of lectures about the founding of America, the development of the Constitution and its aftermath.

All 36 lectures (a half hour each) were a pleasure. Highly recommended! Not just for the intellectually curious, but for anyone looking for a great story well told.

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23 people found this helpful

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The last 10 minutes...

The last 10 minutes of the entire lecture series is the most important commentary (and the most relevant for our day) that I have heard from anyone since I finished consuming the Gulag Archipelago. Excellent narrator... I would also recommend his lecture series on the American Revolution.

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14 people found this helpful

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Style and no substance

I was looking to learn, not a dramatic performance with subtle bias. Don’t waste your time and money on this one.

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Not a Story

This is a series of college lectures. The kind that you really hated sitting through. I am requesting a refund.

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9 people found this helpful

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Surpasses My Greatest Hopes

This is the second course I've listened to from Allen Guelzo, and I am thoroughly hooked. He is a really engaging speaker, but even better, he writes fascinating and thoroughly engaging courses.
As with the other course I listened to, The American Revolution, Guelzo veers far afield, covering details you've never heard anywhere else, but which are really fascinating, and which bring the era completely to life.
This is essentially the story of the tumult in America that led to the Constitutional Convention, the debate over the Constitution and the subsequent ratification fights, and the first years of the U. S. Every single chapter is riveting. I was really disappointed when it ended.
I'm going to go look for my next course from Prof. Guelzo.

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Very good and elucidating book

As a Brazilian, I had never read/listen to Americans constitution with this level of detail and in a very light way. Good listening!

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We all need a review

I enjoyed Professor Allen Guelzo delivery very much, the founding fathers came to life with this course. I would recommend this for anyone interested in american history. I especially licked the first part about the passing of the constitution. the struggles and the compromises that had to be made to establish this nation are beyond compare. I listened to the french revolution course and know understand that it was the constitution that saved us from a similar fate.

Well worth your time and credit.

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7 people found this helpful