Founders as Fathers: The Private Lives and Politics of the American Revolutionaries

Lorri Glover (Get this book)
A superb new perspective on America's Founding Fathers. Glover explores the family lives of five remarkable Virginia planter-patriarchs who helped shaped the rebellion against England, commanded the Continental Army and led the early continental governments. At a time when fatherhood entailed responsibility for the well-being of their communities, their relatives and the social order, these dutiful gentry fathers ran their plantations, mastered their slaves and served in political office. Writing with authority, she traces the often overlooked private lives of elite men who preferred the joys of plantation life ("our own Vine and our own fig tree") but deemed their revolutionary cause "a parental obligation." Well-written and immensely rewarding, this important book will appeal to both scholars and general readers.--Kirkus