After nearly two-and-a-half centuries of (mostly) growth and prosperity, there is a segment of the American population that believe their nation’s success and power was inevitable.
Some historians have even fallen victim to this line of thinking, treating America’s founders as demigods that used their mystical powers to build an unsinkable republic that was rock solid from the start.
In reality, it was far from a fait accompli.
The United States is a stitched-together quilt of states, regions, and cultures that is sometimes fraying at the seams. What most may not realize, however, is that it has always been that way.
Only six years after the Constitution was ratified – and sixty-six years before the start of the Civil War – George Washington, in the middle of his second presidential term, was already concerned about America separating into two factions.
In his book, Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America’s Founders, Dennis C. Rasmussen examines how the Founding Fathers, namely George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the G.O.A.T. John Adams, and the deplorable Thomas Jefferson, each came to believe that the grand American experiment was in mortal danger and would likely not last long.
They all worried for the nation’s survival, but for different reasons. Jefferson feared a monarchy; Adams feared an aristocracy; Hamilton feared the power of the states; and Washington feared overall disunion. The title comes from the half sunburst carved into the chair in which Washington sat during the Constitutional Convention and whether, as Benjamin Franklin noted, the sun was rising or setting.
Each of the four has three chapters dedicated to him that serve as tiny character studies showing how their lives and outlooks intersected, overlapped, and, in some cases, collided head-on with one another. For example, there is an inverted symmetry in how Hamilton and Jefferson, mortal enemies, fretted about the same calamity, only from opposite sides – Hamilton fearing a federal government that was far too weak; Jefferson fearing one that was far too strong. To bring it home, all of this is juxtaposed nicely at the end of the book with two chapters on James Madison, the seemingly lone optimist of his generation.
It is, in short, excellent. It has a unique hook that illuminates an area of revolutionary America that has too long been completely overlooked or, at best, only hinted at. Its brevity and conciseness also prevent it from getting bogged down into the morass that befalls so many other scholarly history books.
Rasmussen’s research is extensive, building upon the work of other historians and, especially, the authoritative Papers project devoted to each figure, using all of the material to weave together various threads to demonstrate the collective hopelessness of the group. Most of all, though, it is the writing – clear, direct, succinct, with some biting, humous editorial asides – that separates Fears of a Setting Sun from so many other dry, pedantic books about the period and the men that created our government.
In the epilogue, Rasmussen writes, “The looming demise of American democracy has been announced countless times in the course of the nation’s history, on each occasion with assurances that this time it really is the end of democracy as we know it. We are bombarded with similar pronouncements today.”
The Founding Fathers – they’re just like us!
Fears of a Setting Sun is available now.
I was provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Christopher Pierznik is a John Adams superfan and the worst-selling author of nine books. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Connect on Facebook or get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
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