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Book Review of Edmund S. Morgan's The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89.

Decent Essays

Edmund Sears Morgan, the author of, The Birth of the Republic, was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University. Morgan's studies focused on American colonial history and English history. He wrote many books examining the colonial period and the period of Revolution, an example of which is The Birth of the Republic. He is also known for writing a best-selling biography of Benjamin Franklin.1
In The Birth of the Republic, Morgan tells the story of the birth of America and its road to independence, as well as the period after the Revolutionary War, in a blunt and concise manner. He begins by describing an era in which American civilians lived happily, enjoying an appropriate amount of freedom under the ruling of England; their owned …show more content…

The author wrote this book to summarize the Revolution Era with a brief description of the pre-revolution; with some analytical arguments and opinions incorporated within the book. Morgan takes into prospective the actual motives behind the founding fathers' decision during the Revolution, which he claims to have been driven by their personal benefits. This shows as slavery was not eliminated even though a fundamental basis of the revolution was human equality. Morgan aimed to make an easily accessible outline of the Revolution Era, backed with several documents which critical to the outline; such as, The Constitution of the United States and the Articles of Confederation. He also devoted several pages outlining important dates mentioned throughout the book.
Keeping in mind that The Birth of the Republic is one of the author's earlier works, it was not the best of which, though one of the most popular. Morgan achieved his goal to a certain degree, assuming his goal was to create an energetic, interesting read as well as a source of information about the formation of the United States; however, some may say that Morgan has implemented theories about the founding founders' actual motives behind the pursuit of freedom, whilst not supporting his arguments with evidence, which may have hurt his credibility and

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