Joseph J. Ellis
Joseph J. Ellis
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BIOGRAPHY

Joseph Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke since 1972, is one of the nation's foremost scholars of American history. Ellis's commentaries have been featured on CSPAN, CNN, and PBS's Lehrer News Hour. He has appeared in several documentaries on early America and his essays and book reviews appear regularly in national publications, such as The New York Times, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

He is the author of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (1997); His Excellency: George Washington (2004); Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic (2008); First Family: Abigail and John Adams (2010); and Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence (2013), among others. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Ellis has won the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation; the National Book Award for American Sphinx, a biography of Thomas Jefferson; and His Excellency: George Washington was a New York Times bestseller.

Primary Contributions (4)
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson draftsman of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and the nation’s first secretary of state (1789–94) and second vice president (1797–1801) and, as the third president (1801–09), the statesman responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. An early advocate of total…
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Publications (8)
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
By Joseph J. Ellis
in This Landmark Work Of History, The National Book Award—winning Author Of american Sphinx explores How A Group Of Greatly Gifted But Deeply Flawed Individuals–hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, And Madison–confronted The Overwhelming Challenges Before Them To Set The Course For Our Nation.the United States Was More A Fragile Hope Than A Reality In 1790. During The Decade That Followed, The Founding Fathers–re-examined Here As Founding Brothers–combined...
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The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789
The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789
By Joseph J. Ellis
The Prizewinning Author Of Founding Brothers And American Sphinx Now Gives Us The Unexpected Story--brilliantly Told--of Why The Thirteen Colonies, Having Just Fought Off The Imposition Of A Distant Centralized Governing Power, Would Decide To Subordinate Themselves Anew. The Triumph Of The American Revolution Was Neither An Ideological Nor Political Guarantee That The Colonies Would Relinquish Their Independence And Accept The Creation Of A Federal Government With Power Over Their Individual Autonomy....
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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
By Joseph J. Ellis
National Bestseller  For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight—and not only during his active political career. After 1809, his longed-for retirement was compromised by a steady stream of guests and tourists who made of his estate at Monticello a virtual hotel, as well as by more than one thousand letters per year, most from strangers, which he insisted on answering...
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His Excellency: George Washington
His Excellency: George Washington
By Joseph J. Ellis
the Author Of Seven Highly Acclaimed Books, Joseph J. Ellis Has Crafted A Landmark Biography That Brings To Life In All His Complexity The Most Important And Perhaps Least Understood Figure In American History, George Washington. With His Careful Attention To Detail And His Lyrical Prose, Ellis Has Set A New Standard For Biography. drawing From The Newly Catalogued Washington Papers At The University Of Virginia, Joseph Ellis Paints A Full Portrait Of George Washington S Life And Career—from...
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American Creation
American Creation (2007)
By Joseph J. Ellis
National BestsellerAcclaimed historian Joseph J. Ellis brings his unparalleled talents to this riveting account of the early years of the Republic.The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of both triumphs and tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our burgeoning nation. Ellis casts an incisive eye on the...
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