While our new nation was suffering attacks from both within and without, John Adams had a vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all. He guided his peers--General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--in setting the values and agenda for a glorious, free America. Adams and his wife Abigail refined these ambitious democratic ideals, and their partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

"A genius at devising civil protests and political maneuvers, Samuel Adams forced Britain into coercive military measures that ultimately led to America's irreversible split from the empire. He was behind nearly every major protest over British rule, and his pioneering tactics of civil disobedience outfoxed the leading ministers in England." "Adams was the most influential political writer in colonial America and he used this power to guide Americans...

Traces the political disputes that surrounded America's 1776 Declaration of Independence, offering insight into the views of Parliament sympathizers and colonists who stayed loyal to Britain.

Since 1996, Richard Brookhiser has devoted himself to recovering the Founding for modern Americans. The creators of our democracy had both the temptations and the shortcomings of all men, combined with the talents and idealism of the truly great. Among them, no Founding Father demonstrates the combination of temptations and talents quite so vividly as the least known of the greats, Gouverneur Morris. His story is one that should be known by every...

"Historian David O. Stewart restores James Madison, sometimes overshadowed by his fellow Founders, to his proper place as the most significant framer of the new nation. Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. To reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, he blended his talents with those of key partners....