Showing titles in Revolution & Founding

Few periods of American history have been more written upon than the decade preceding the Revolution. Nevertheless, there is still room for a brief volume on the subject; all the world knows that the Revolution really began almost fifteen years before its beginning, because of the efforts of the British government to give greater unity and stiffness to its colonial system, both as to government and as to trade with other nations; but the real motives underlying the uneasiness of the colonies still need enlightenment.

Messages written in secret codes or invisible ink, agents operating behind enemy lines and known only by code names, the provision of vital secret intelligence used to direct military operations—these are staple elements of modern spy fiction. Still, all were used more than 200 years ago by one of the first professional spy networks ever created: the Culper Spy Ring. This is the story of a network of courageous patriot spies operating for several years in British-occupied New York during the American Revolutionary War.

On January 25, 1787, in Springfield, Massachusetts, militia Major General William Shepard ordered his cannon to fire grapeshot at a peaceful demonstration of 1,200 farmers approaching the federal arsenal. The shots killed four and wounded 20, marking the climax of five months of civil disobedience in Massachusetts, where farmers challenged the state’s authority to seize their farms for flagrantly unjust taxes. But this widely accepted narrative is just a legend: the “rebellion” was almost entirely nonviolent, and retired war hero Daniel Shays was only one of many leaders.

By “assembling” some of the most fascinating figures in world history, Meeting of Minds provided a groundbreaking opportunity for audiences to be exposed to ideas by way of a medium not normally known for its intellectual vigor. From activists and artists to international leaders—both famous and infamous—these conversations are unfailingly witty, thought-provoking, and genuinely entertaining. The panelists featured in this volume are President Theodore Roosevelt, Queen Cleopatra, theologian Thomas Aquinas, and American revolutionary Thomas Paine.

By “assembling” some of the most fascinating figures in world history, Meeting of Minds provided a groundbreaking opportunity for audiences to be exposed to ideas by way of a medium not normally known for its intellectual vigor. The innovative series remains one of the most delightful ways of gaining historical perspective ever devised. The panelists featured in this volume are theologian St. Augustine of Hippo, Byzantine Empress Theodora, American President Thomas Jefferson, and British philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell.

In Washington's Heir, Gerard N. Magliocca gives us the first published biography of Bushrod Washington, one of the most underrated Founding Fathers. Born in 1762, Justice Washington fought in the Revolutionary War, served in Virginia's ratifying convention for the Constitution, and was Chief Justice John Marshall's partner in establishing the authority of the Supreme Court. 

His name is carved in granite, his likeness cast in bronze, his legend as large as the role he played as America's first president. But before he was a commander-in-chief, George Washington was a general in a revolution that would decide the future of the people and land he called his own. If...

Running from Bondage, Karen Cook Bell's enlightening and original contribution to the study of slave resistance in eighteenth-century America, explores the individual and collective lives of these women and girls of diverse circumstances, while also providing details about what led them to escape. She demonstrates that there were in fact two wars being waged during the Revolutionary Era: a political revolution for independence from Great Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality in which Black women played an active role. 

Amid a great collection of scholarship and narrative history on the Revolutionary War and the American struggle for independence, there is a gaping hole; one that John Ferling’s latest book, Whirlwind, will fill. Books chronicling the Revolution have largely ranged from multivolume tomes that appeal to scholars and the most serious general listeners to microhistories that necessarily gloss over swaths of Independence-era history with only cursory treatment.

In order to release a reading of the Declaration of Independence in audiobook format, the original founding document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and adopted by the second Continental Congress, it was necessary to also create a short book to go along with it. We felt it was worth the effort—early listeners of our audiobook presentation have been very favorable, so we felt it was a worthy venture.

Robert Carter III, also known as Councillor Carter, was one of the wealthiest men in the United States in the 1700s. He emancipated more than 500 of his enslaved African Americans. And in today's world, his wisdom and teachings are needed more than ever. A Man Named Robert chronicles the actions of Robert Carter III's life and identifies the key leadership lessons he displayed. This book is part history and part guide to becoming a great leader, inspired by Robert Carter III, an advocate of peaceful change while never wavering in making the opposition listen and give in.

I did extensive research for The Faith of the American Founding Fathers. And I was so deeply moved at their genuine, deep felt, Christian faith. When representatives were sent from each colony to form the Continental Congress, including independence from England, and a Constitution, they were all very strong Christian men of God. But I do not want you to just take my word for it. So I decided to compile quotations from some of the most noted Founding Fathers. It would be best to listen to the direct sayings and writings of the American Founding Fathers about their faith.

The first Chief Justice of the United States, John Jay faced many unique challenges. When the stability and success of the new nation were far from certain, a body of federalized American law had to be created from scratch. 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Discover 365 reasons to love America as you read the storied history of the United States. The fife and drum of history mark the time of each passing day. And within their cadence, personalities, conflicts, discoveries, ideas, and nations peal and fade. American history...

Between 1765 to 1791, the American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution in British America. In the American Revolutionary War (between 1775 to 1783), the Americans in the 13 groups established sovereign countries that beat the British, getting independence from the British Crown and establishing the United States of America, the first modern-day constitutional liberal democracy. The tax of American settlers by the British Parliament, a body in which they had no direct representation, provided contention.

Though he was a great statesman, one of America's founding fathers, and the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson suffered from depression. In Jefferson's Demons, Michael Knox Beran examines episodes of melancholia in Jefferson's life. In particular, he focuses on the journey Jefferson made to Europe in 1787 to escape the depression that set in due to his tumultuous experience as governor of Virginia following the Revolution and his wife Martha's death.

“Quick in the saddle and fast out of town.” Watch one of America’s most remarkable heroes come alive through fast-paced prose and gripping storytelling. He’s Famous for his Ride. He’s Essential for So Much More. The story of Paul Revere is the story of the American Revolution. Always...

In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation—not a bloody battle against British forces but a campaign to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal during the long encampment. Herrera brings to light the army's herculean efforts to feed itself, support local and Continental governments, and challenge the British Army.

James Madison (who lived from March 16, 1751 to June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, expansionist, theorist, and founding father who worked as the United States' fourth president from 1809 to 1817. For his essential role in the creation and big promotion of the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights, he's referred to as the "Father of the Constitution". From 1801 till 1809, he functioned as the fifth Secretary of State of the United States, coauthoring The Federalist Documents, and cofounding the Democratic-Republican Party.

George Washington was an American soldier, statesman, and Founding Father who worked as the nation's first president from 1789 to 1797. Washington was called leader of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress, and he led the Patriot forces to triumph in the American Revolutionary War.