A country born with the words "All men are created equal," wins its independence and then must deal with an enormous irony. Two kinds of people are not being treated equally at all. Hundreds of thousands of humans, kidnapped at gunpoint, are given life sentences to do the bidding of their masters or suffer unthinkable punishments. Native Americans who had lived here for centuries found themselves to be inconvenient in the face of the booming and boisterous culture that had arisen with the European invasion. In both cases, men of good will wanted to do the right thing but did not have the power to do so. Half of the country had banned slavery or set the wheels in motion to do so in their states. The southern states were adamant that they be free to keep up the system. Virginia charted what seemed like a more moderate course, being in favor of ending the slave trade. Ellis points out that this was actually a ploy to use the law of supply and demand to make their slave property more valuable. The leaders could only provide a fig leaf of banning the import after 20 years, and hoping that a federal government would then be strong enough to end slavery. It sort of happened in 1861, but much blood was shed getting it done.
With the Indians, Washington tried to work out an equitable solution. With great fanfare he invited Creek Indian chiefs to New York to be wined, dined and given an iron clad treaty that they could have their lands and soldiers would be posted to secure the borders. It turned out that there were not enough soldiers to do the job. The can was again kicked down the road to be settled in future blood baths.
Ellis, a major historical writer keeps the story in human terms, making occasional jibes at Jefferson, whose inspiring words did not reflect his actual life. A very timely book to say the least.
Reviewed by Terry Ballard
October 28, 2025
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