Book Log 2020 #67: Heirs of the Founders by H. W. Brands

This book examines the political careers of the three important American political figures of the early 19th century - Speaker of the House Henry Clay, Massachusetts Senator (and later Secretary of State) Daniel Webster, and South Carolina's John C. Calhoun, who would serve in multiple positions before becoming Vice President. We see how each man shaped the issues of the period, from tarriffs to nullification to slavery.

I do think Brands tried to do too much, in that there are a number of places where he'll mention something that begs for detail (like how Clay got himself named speaker in his first term). I also don't think there was enough balance between the three, as the narrative often favored one person over the other two to a significant degree. I don't think these are issues that are specific to this book - any survey of an historical era is going to have to play off detail for length and readability - but they were noticable during the reading.