The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding

What do the differing final actions of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on slavery suggest about the relationship between personal morality and political leadership in the founding era?

How does Ellis’s concept of “demography as destiny” shape his account of political ideology, moral responsibility, and the constraints on the Founders’ choices?

How does Ellis’s use of literary framing, such as the “Ghost at the Banquet” metaphor (79), shape his presentation of historical events and political compromises?

How does the book’s structure, moving from national compromises to the personal struggles of Washington and Jefferson, influence the assignment of historical responsibility?

Beyond the pressure of westward expansion, how does Ellis distribute responsibility for the failure of the Treaty of New York among federal officials, state governments, and settlers?

How did the revolutionary concept of “The Cause” shape debates over emancipation and its deferral in the interest of political unity?

If you have read Ellis’s Founding Brothers (2000), how does The Great Contradiction revise or complicate the portrait of the revolutionary generation presented in that work?

After researching the stated goals of the “America250” commemoration, how does its approach to the American founding compare with Ellis’s in The Great Contradiction?