To oppose a throne is a dangerous business. We often forget the true stakes of the American Revolution, because they won, so we remember the events for their heroism, and for the Founding Fathers' political philosophies toward individual sovereignty. But for the actual historical characters, the events were full of terror and fear, because they didn't know whether they would win, or if this novel would occur. When Washington dies at the end of the novel, the author is clearly encouraging readers to reconsider their knowledge about history from multiple perspectives.
From Sophie's perspective, the American founding fathers are political heroes, but more than that. She follows Benjamin Franklin's philosophies as if they are her religion, and when the troublesome, youthful Creighton arrives, she is the girl who he seems to like, but that means that he must consider Franklin's ideas for himself, and they never actually become an item, but still, they have a relationship built around the idea that each individual is sovereign and that the goal of life is to be ethical.
We also see a picture of the opposite—a few actually. Of course, Washington's death would be an obvious instance of violence; after all, it is political assassination. But not only that, we also meet a young Benedict Arnold, the famous traitor. This encounter is strange, since Creighton is a traitor himself, but Creighton notices that Arnold is a violent, wrathful person who likes to fight, and that is one hypothetical theory about why Arnold betrayed America—because he opposes non-violence.
