I have been writing about American History for more than thirty-five years. And many of my books, starting with Don’t Know Much About History, deal with the nation’s founding and what I have always called the Great Contradiction: that “a nation conceived in liberty” was also born in shackles.
Thomas Jefferson, chief author of the Declaration of Independence, and third president of the United States.
George Washington, first president of the United States.
John Adams, signer of the Declaration and second president of the United States portrait by Gilbert Stuart
For the 250th Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, I would like to highlight two of my books that explore the beginnings of American Democracy: In the Shadow of Liberty and Strongman.
The first of these examines the role of slavery in the lives and political fortunes of four presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Jackson. It also sets out to explain the role of slavery in the founding of the Republic.
Slavery was not a sideshow in American History but a central act.
STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy
The second title, Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy briefly describes the evolution of American democracy as it was understood by the Founders and Framers of the U.S. Constitution.
Read more about Independence, the Revolution, the Constitution and the birth of the Republic in my other works:
