The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis | Summary & Analysis: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789

By IRB Media

The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis | Summary & Analysis

Preview:

The Quartet is an historical account of the debates and events leading up to, during, and immediately following the creation of the Constitution of the United States of America. The quartet is four politicians that played an integral role in the creation, shaping, and implementation of the Constitution and early federal government in the US. These include George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Each man had some involvement in the American Revolution, which lent credence to the worthiness of their cause and ability to establish a national government. Washington served as the head of the Continental Army. Hamilton served as Washington’s aide de camp and later served as commander of his own troops. Madison was a commissioned colonel of the Orange County militia from Virginia and served on the Continental Congress. Jay also served on the Continental Congress and negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War…

Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of The Quartet

• Summary of book

• Introduction to the Important People in the book

• Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781943427543

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SUMMARY

The Quartet is an historical account of the debates and events leading up to, during, and immediately following the creation of the Constitution of the United States of America. The quartet is four politicians that played an integral role in the creation, shaping, and implementation of the Constitution and early federal government in the US. These include George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Each man had some involvement in the American Revolution, which lent credence to the worthiness of their cause and ability to establish a national government. Washington served as the head of the Continental Army. Hamilton served as Washington’s aide de camp and later served as commander of his own troops. Madison was a commissioned colonel of the Orange County militia from Virginia and served on the Continental Congress. Jay also served on the Continental Congress and negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War.

During the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were designed to unite the colonies to fight the British. The Articles protected individual values and goals while avoiding the creation of a central government that many felt was too similar to the tyrannical, distant government the Revolution was meant to free them from. The Articles were inadequate, but that was their purpose. Washington, Madison, Hamilton, and Jay each found fault with the Articles, and used its insufficiencies as a stepping stone to convince others as to why a federal government and Constitution were necessary for the viability of the country.

In 1781, Robert Morris, one of the richest men in the US, accepted the role of superintendent of finance of the republic. He accepted this position reluctantly, as he realized that his solutions for the emerging country’s financial problems would be out of the understanding or acceptance of many citizens and delegates. He used his own credit to fund the Continental Army early in the war, and he was eventually