Synopses & Reviews
Biographers, journalists, and satirists have long used the subject of sex to define the masculine character and political authority of America's Founding Fathers. Tracing these commentaries on the Revolutionary Era's major political figures in
Sex and the Founding Fathers, Thomas Foster shows how continual attempts to reveal the true character of these men instead exposes much more about Americans and American culture than about the Founders themselves.
Sex and the Founding Fathers examines the remarkable and varied assessments of the intimate lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouverneur Morris from their own time to ours. Interpretations can change radically; consider how Jefferson has been variously idealized as a chaste widower, condemned as a child molester, and recently celebrated as a multicultural hero.
Foster considers the public and private images of these generally romanticized leaders to show how each generation uses them to reshape and reinforce American civic and national identity.
Review
"In this concise, engaging book, Foster (Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man) explores the intimate lives of six Founding Fathers, and, more importantly, the way their sex lives have been presented and analyzed over the years. Focusing on George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and the oft-forgotten Gouverneur Morris, Foster deftly demonstrates the ways these mens private lives have been essentially rewritten to present the normative, virtuous, and manly Founders Americans choose to believe in. Drawing primarily from popular biographies, from the colonial era through present day, the book explores the ways biographers present their subjects in response to the times: strict Victorian morals, Freudian psychoanalysis, and contemporary attempts to embrace, rather than hide, all aspects of their lives. Foster addresses the glossing over of Washingtons lack of children (perhaps he was sterile, but god forbid he was impotent), the refashioning of Franklins Parisian affairs as the harmless” pleasures of a foxy grandpa,” and the romanticized marriage of John and Abigail Adamsthe Romeo and Juliet of the American Revolution”. Proving that you cant trust biographers, Foster ably reveals that sex has always factored into national identity and that the Founders were flesh-and-blood men, unable to support idealistic American standards of morality."--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Sex and the Founding Fathers
is a must read for all who are interested in the founding era and the historiography of the period." Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
Review
"Foster tells us that each new generation has inquired into the intimate lives of great men and found reflections of its own habits and desires and anxieties....Using the methods of intellectual and cultural history, Foster examines contemporary and scholarly interpretations of the sex lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouvernor Morris. Foster holds that we read and write about our Founding Fathers’ intimate habits because we want these icons of masculinity to be relatable. Foster is right; we do seek ourselves in our histories."—Journal of American History
Review
"Sex and the Founding Fathers considers how the sexual exploits of the founding fathers have been viewed over time by the media, academics, and the general public.... Foster proffers in-depth analysis of how the historical memory of the founding fathers and their sex lives have evolved over time.... the historiography is impressive.... The two most enjoyable chapters are the ones on [Thomas] Jefferson and [Gouverneur] Morris." —History: Review of New Books
About the Author
Thomas A. Foster is Associate Professor in the History Department at DePaul University. He is the author of Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man: Massachusetts and the History of Sexuality in America and the editor of three books, the most recent being Documenting Intimate Matters: Primary Sources for a History of Sexuality in America.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction: Remembering the Founders: Sex and the American Quest for a Relatable Past 1 George Washington 2 Thomas Jefferson 3 John Adams 4 Benjamin Franklin 5 Alexander Hamilton 6 Gouverneur Morris Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index