Synopses & Reviews
Science and experimentation were at the heart of the Founding Fathers philosophies and actions. The Founders relentlessly tinkered, invented, farmed by means of scientific principles, star-gazed, were fascinated by math, used scientific analogies and scientific thinking in their political writing, and fell in love with technologies. They conceived of the United States of America as a grand “experiment” in the scientific meaning of the word. George Washingtons embrace of an experimental vaccination for smallpox saved the American army in 1777. He was also considered the most scientific farmer in the country. John Adams founded a scientific society and wrote public support of science into the Massachusetts constitution. The president of another scientific society, Thomas Jefferson, convinced its leading lights to train Meriwether Lewis for the Lewis and Clark expedition; his Declaration of Independence was so suffused with scientific thinking that it was called Newtonian. Benjamin Franklins fame as an “electrician” gave him the status to persuade France to help America win the Revolutionary War. Thomas Paine invented smokeless candles, underwater bombs, and the first-ever iron span bridge. In Gentlemen Scientists and Revolutionaries, Tom Shachtman provides the full story of how the intellectual excitement of scientific discoveries had a powerful influence on Americas Founding Fathers.
Review
“A well-researched, lively entry into the current debate about the role of science in a democracy.”—
Kirkus
"An intriguing survey of sciences influence on the Founders."—Booklist
“We might hear as children about Ben Franklin with his kite and key in the thunderstorm, but this lively and learned book gives us the grown-up view of the Founders and their fascination with things scientific. Employing a large cast of colonial characters—Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, and other famous figures of the era, but also lesser-known thinkers and tinkerers—Tom Shachtman makes a compelling case that the American Revolution became a movement not only for political independence, but for scientific independence as well. Indeed, Shachtman shows us that the two can hardly be considered separable.” --Greg Nobles, Professor of History, Georgia Institute of Technology, and co-author of Whose American Revolution Was It?
“This splendid book tells the eye-opening story of Americas founding generation as first-class scientists. We know how they created the government of the United States. Here we learn much more—and what a story it is!” —Lee Dembart, former science book reviewer, Los Angeles Times
"Brilliant new book by Tom Shachtman: science as practiced by the Founding Fathers and their generation."-Charles Clark
Synopsis
A fresh exploration of the scientific pursuits of the Founding Fathers that reveals their science as critical to the great political "experiment” of the day
About the Author
Tom Shachtman has written or co-authored more than three dozen books, including Rumspringa, Airlift to America, and Terrors and Marvels, written and produced documentaries seen on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and BBC. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, Smithsonian, environmental magazines, and such blogs as The Huffington Post, History News Network, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Posts “Book Beat. ” He lives in Salisbury, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword
Chapter 1 CHILDHOODS OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS
Chapter 2 VARIOLA IN BOSTON, 1721-22
Chapter 3 GODFATHERS OF AMERICAN SCIENCE
Chapter 4 THE BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Chapter 5 TRACKING THE HEAVENS FROM THE COLONIES
Chapter 6 “EXPRESSIONS OF THE AMERICAN MIND”
Chapter 7 “THIS MOST DANGEROUS ENEMY”
Chapter 8 SEEKING A TECHNOLOGICAL EDGE
Chapter 9 SCIENCE RESURFACES
Chapter 10 MID-COURSE CORRECTIONS
Chapter 11 PATENTS, INNOVATIONS, AND FIRST STEPS
Chapter 12 THE SCIENCE-MINDED PRESIDENCY
Epilogue THE INTERWEAVING