First Principles (book)
ISBN 9780062997456 | |
First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country is a nonfiction book by Thomas E. Ricks, published in 2020. First Principles explores the influence of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome on the founding of the United States by looking at the educations of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison as expressed through their speeches and writings. It entered The New York Times Best Seller list at number 4.[1]
Summary
Washington, although lacking a good education, became considered an example of the classical Roman standard and the ideal of a public man – "an American Cato". He consciously modeled himself on classical ideals through observation and experience. Adams, who attended
In "Part II", First Principles explores how these four
Public Virtue cannot exist in a Nation without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics. There must be a positive Passion for the public good, the public Interest, Honour, Power, and Glory, established in the Minds of the People, or there can be no Republican Government, nor any real Liberty. And this public Passion must be Superiour to all private passions.
"Part III" examines the decline of classical ideals throughout the new country as religious evangelism and commercial culture came to the forefront. Although classical scholars warned repeatedly of the dangers of factionalism, partisan politics established itself in the 1790s, which Adams tried to combat with the Sedition Act of 1798. The public equated classicism with elitism; classical republicanism had been rejected.
Reception
According to the review aggregator
USA Today says "Ricks masterfully documents how examples of city states like Athens and the Roman Republic (before Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon) informed the four aforementioned Founding Fathers and their fellow travelers."[5] The Washington Post describes it as "a rich compendium of the ancient wisdom that Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison believed they were gleaning from Aristotle or Tacitus, and the formation of "classically shaped behavior" in the early republic"[6] and The Wall Street Journal says the book is " extraordinarily timely".[7]
References
- ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Nov. 29, 2020". The New York Times. November 29, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- Book Marks. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ Anderson, Virginia DeJohn (November 10, 2020). "What America Owes to the Greeks and Romans". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ Trutor, Clayton (January 25, 2021). "A First-Rate Study of the Founders' First Principles". The American Spectator. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ Holahan, David (November 9, 2020). "'First Principles': Is modern America what the Founding Fathers had in mind?". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ King, Charles (November 6, 2020). "Review - Noble virtues, bad history: How Greece and Rome influenced America's founders". Washington Post. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ Allen, Brooke (November 13, 2020). "'First Principles' Review: Classically Constituted". WSJ. Retrieved March 27, 2021.