Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Your Rating: 0 stars
Star rating for
Author:
Rasmussen, Dennis C.
Published:
Princeton University Press 2021
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Status:
Checked Out

Description

The surprising story of how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson came to despair for the future of the nation they had created
Americans seldom deify their Founding Fathers any longer, but they do still tend to venerate the Constitution and the republican government that the founders created. Strikingly, the founders themselves were far less confident in what they had wrought, particularly by the end of their lives. In fact, most of them—including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—came to deem America's constitutional experiment an utter failure that was unlikely to last beyond their own generation. Fears of a Setting Sun is the first book to tell the fascinating and too-little-known story of the founders' disillusionment.
As Dennis Rasmussen shows, the founders' pessimism had a variety of sources: Washington lost his faith in America's political system above all because of the rise of partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was too weak, Adams because he believed that the people lacked civic virtue, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions laid bare by the spread of slavery. The one major founder who retained his faith in America's constitutional order to the end was James Madison, and the book also explores why he remained relatively optimistic when so many of his compatriots did not. As much as Americans today may worry about their country's future, Rasmussen reveals, the founders faced even graver problems and harbored even deeper misgivings.
A vividly written account of a chapter of American history that has received too little attention, Fears of a Setting Sun will change the way that you look at the American founding, the Constitution, and indeed the United States itself.

More Details

Street Date:
03/02/2021
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780691211060
ASIN:
B08JHKC3LB

Also in This Series

Formats

Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Sample 
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
Sample 
OverDrive Read
Sample 
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.

More Like This

Other Editions and Formats

Choose a Format
Checked Out
Checked Out

More Copies In Prospector

Loading Prospector Copies...

Subjects

Subjects
History
Politics
Nonfiction

Borrower Reviews

Librarian Reviews

Published Reviews

Citations

APA Citation (style guide)

Dennis C. Rasmussen. (2021). Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders. Princeton University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Dennis C. Rasmussen. 2021. Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders. Princeton University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Dennis C. Rasmussen, Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders. Princeton University Press, 2021.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Dennis C. Rasmussen. Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders. Princeton University Press, 2021.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.

Copy Details

LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection20
Longmont Public Library00

Staff View

Grouped Work ID:
8ea58f05-bcc2-50bc-1d0d-09538a8e8eb9
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Mar 05, 2021 13:03:03
Date Updated:
Jan 11, 2023 20:00:24
Last Metadata Check:
Jun 16, 2024 04:59:41
Last Metadata Change:
Jun 16, 2024 04:59:41
Last Availability Check:
Jun 16, 2024 04:59:43
Last Availability Change:
Jun 11, 2024 23:40:34
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Jun 17, 2024 01:38:19

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780691211060
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B08JHKC3LB
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780691211060
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780691210230
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Dennis C. Rasmussen
title
Fears of a Setting Sun
dateAdded
2021-03-05T18:11:00Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=114&titleID=5757649
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Front Range Downloadable Library (CO)
          • id: 1100
sortTitle
Fears of a Setting Sun The Disillusionment of Americas Founders
crossRefId
5757649
subtitle
The Disillusionment of America's Founders
id
367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314
starRating
3.6

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: FearsofaSettingSun_9780691211060_5757649
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 1663321
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780691211060
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 1
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 3/2/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=367f8263-392b-4f8f-960f-bb437afbc314&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: FearsofaSettingSun_5757649
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B08JHKC3LB
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 3/2/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=367f8263-392b-4f8f-960f-bb437afbc314&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: FearsofaSettingSun_9780691211060_5757649
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780691211060
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 3/2/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=367f8263-392b-4f8f-960f-bb437afbc314&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: Insurgency
      • value: subversion
      • value: politics
      • value: racism
      • value: frustration
      • value: Despotism
      • value: War
      • value: John Adams
      • value: Anxiety
      • value: Revolution
      • value: Impeachment
      • value: persecution
      • value: isolationism
      • value: patriotism
      • value: Fraud
      • value: prejudice
      • value: selfishness
      • value: republicanism
      • value: Abolitionism
      • value: Bribery
      • value: Slavery
      • value: attempt
      • value: Populism
      • value: Political violence
      • value: ostracism
      • value: Rebellion
      • value: Hypocrisy
      • value: speculation
      • value: representative democracy
      • value: infidelity
      • value: tyrant
      • value: Imperialism
      • value: Censorship
      • value: distrust
      • value: self-interest
      • value: pessimism
      • value: voter suppression
      • value: hush money
      • value: veto
      • value: insubordination
      • value: disenchantment
      • value: fake news
      • value: ratification
      • value: constitutional crisis
      • value: sons of liberty
      • value: insignificance
      • value: guerrilla warfare
      • value: foray
      • value: circumstantial evidence
      • value: Alien and Sedition Acts
      • value: impasse
      • value: jay treaty
      • value: demagogue
      • value: Trade Barrier
      • value: Overreaction
      • value: inferiority complex
      • value: Nullification Crisis
      • value: Opposition Party
      • value: Cynicism (contemporary)
      • value: Superiority (short story)
      • value: Term limit
      • value: anti-federalism
      • value: Compromise of 1790
      • value: Quasi-War
      • value: personality clash
      • value: era of good feelings
      • value: United States Bill of Rights
      • value: Sinecure
      • value: Political suicide
      • value: Proclamation of Neutrality
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Rasmussen, Dennis C.
      • bioText: Dennis C. Rasmussen is professor of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His books include The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought (Princeton). He lives in Cazenovia, New York.
      • name: Dennis C. Rasmussen
publishDate
2021-03-02T00:00:00-05:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Fears of a Setting Sun
fullDescription

The surprising story of how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson came to despair for the future of the nation they had created
Americans seldom deify their Founding Fathers any longer, but they do still tend to venerate the Constitution and the republican government that the founders created. Strikingly, the founders themselves were far less confident in what they had wrought, particularly by the end of their lives. In fact, most of them—including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—came to deem America's constitutional experiment an utter failure that was unlikely to last beyond their own generation. Fears of a Setting Sun is the first book to tell the fascinating and too-little-known story of the founders' disillusionment.
As Dennis Rasmussen shows, the founders' pessimism had a variety of sources: Washington lost his faith in America's political system above all because of the rise of partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was too weak, Adams because he believed that the people lacked civic virtue, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions laid bare by the spread of slavery. The one major founder who retained his faith in America's constitutional order to the end was James Madison, and the book also explores why he remained relatively optimistic when so many of his compatriots did not. As much as Americans today may worry about their country's future, Rasmussen reveals, the founders faced even graver problems and harbored even deeper misgivings.
A vividly written account of a chapter of American history that has received too little attention, Fears of a Setting Sun will change the way that you look at the American founding, the Constitution, and indeed the United States itself.

popularity
0
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BvwAAAA25/products/367f8263-392b-4f8f-960f-bb437afbc314/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
    • shareInLibby:
        • href: https://link.overdrive.com/share?titleId=5757649
        • type: text/HTML
id
367f8263-392b-4f8f-960f-bb437afbc314
starRating
3.8
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1980-1/{367F8263-392B-4F8F-960F-BB437AFBC314}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: History
      • value: Politics
      • value: Nonfiction
publishDateText
03/02/2021
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780691210230
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription

The surprising story of how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson came to despair for the future of the nation they had created
Americans seldom deify their Founding Fathers any longer, but they do still tend to venerate the Constitution and the republican government that the founders created. Strikingly, the founders themselves were far less confident in what they had wrought, particularly by the end of their lives. In fact, most of them—including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—came to deem America's constitutional experiment an utter failure that was unlikely to last beyond their own generation. Fears of a Setting Sun is the first book to tell the fascinating and too-little-known story of the founders' disillusionment.
As Dennis Rasmussen shows, the founders' pessimism had a variety of sources: Washington lost his faith in America's political system above all because of...

sortTitle
Fears of a Setting Sun The Disillusionment of Americas Founders
crossRefId
5757649
subtitle
The Disillusionment of America's Founders
publisher
Princeton University Press
bisacCodes
      • code: HIS036020
      • description: History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775)
      • code: HIS036030
      • description: History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
      • code: POL022000
      • description: Political Science / Constitutions