In the mid-1770s, leaders of thirteen British colonies stretching most of the length of the Atlantic coast of North America improbably succeeded in breaking loose from imperial control. In the 1780's-90's, they struggled to turn their nation-states into a viable union, capable of survival in a still-hostile world. They looked across the Atlantic to France, seeing that revolution more probably leads to further bloodshed and the imposition of a new form of totalitarianism. Some patriots saw the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as compromising, or even abandoning, the Spirit of '76. Others saw it as a natural and necessary evolution. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, close personal friends in the band of brothers, personify the two positions, and sacrifice their friendship to promote their vision. Founding Brothers looks closely at a series of incidents that bring the post-revolutionary era alive, examining the major events and controversies that were taken up or covered up in the early republic's struggle for survival. The final chapter takes up the substance of the debate as the chief adversaries mellow with advanced age and seek to establish their views for posterity.