"The Abenaki Indians" by Frederic Kidder is a comprehensive exploration of the Abenaki people, an Indigenous group from the northeastern United States. Kidder delves into their history, culture, and social structures, providing readers with a detailed account of their traditions and way of life. The book highlights the Abenaki's interactions with European settlers and the impact of colonization on their communities. Through meticulous research and engaging narrative, Kidder brings to life ...

On February 22, 1770, a group of teenagers began throwing stones and rocks at the home of British customs official Ebenezer Richardson, who tried to disperse the teens by firing a shot to scare the crowd. Instead, the bullet mortally wounded a teenager named Christopher Seider, who was accorded a full funeral procession in Boston arranged by Samuel Adams. Richardson was subsequently convicted of murder but received a royal pardon and was allowed to continue working as a customs official. Seid...

Winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize: “[A] commanding and important book.”—Jill Lepore, The New YorkerThis epic work—named a best book of the year by the Washington Post, Time, the Los Angeles Times, Amazon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and a notable book by the New York Times—tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history...

Barbara W. Tuchman, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the classic The Guns of August, turns her sights homeward with this brilliant, insightful narrative of the Revolutionary War.In The First Salute, one of America’s consummate historians crafts a rigorously original view of the American Revolution. Barbara W. Tuchman places the Revolution in the context of the centuries-long conflicts between England and both France and Holland, demonstrating ...

The classic biography by John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. According to Wikipedia: "George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731 December 14, 1799) served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and as the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Because of his significant role in the revolution and in the formation of the United States, he is often revered by Americans as the "Father of Ou...

Perhaps the most revered American of all, George Washington has long been considered a stoic leader who held himself above the fray of political infighting. What has gone unnoticed about the much-researched life of Washington is that he was in fact a consummate politician, as historian John Ferling shows in this revealing and provocative new book. As leader of the Continental Army, Washington's keen political savvy enabled him not only to outwit superior British forces, but--even more chal...

Here is a vividly written and compact overview of the brilliant, flawed, and quarrelsome group of lawyers, politicians, merchants, military men, and clergy known as the "Founding Fathers"--who got as close to the ideal of the Platonic "philosopher-kings" as American or world history has ever seen. In The Founding Fathers Reconsidered, R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and the other founders not as shining demigods but as imperfect human bein...

One of the most famous revolutions in history, the American Revolution (1775-1783) was the political upheaval in which 13 distinct colonies in North America banded together to cast off British rule, forming the United States of America. After the shot heard round the world on April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington, the colonies sent representatives to the Second Continental Congress, the new states joined together at first to defend their respective self-governance and manage the armed...

"This unusual book . . . may have a major impact on how we Americans understand ourselves. . . . Fast paced and full of shrewd judgements." —Gordon S. Wood, New York Times Book Review, front pageThis powerful reinterpretation of United States history is remarkable not only for its scholarship and historical breadth, but also in its assertion that the success of the country depends in a large part on the unique American character, which has shaped so many hi...

The history of the American rebellion against England, written by one of America’s preeminent eighteenth-century historians, differs from many views of the Revolution. It is not colored by excessive worship of the Founding Fathers but, instead, permeated by sympathy for all those involved in the conflict. Alden has taken advantage of recent scholarship that has altered opinions about George III and Lord North. But most of all this is a balanced history—political, military, social, constitu...

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1825) was one of the most well-known Americans in history. As one of the prominent Founding Fathers, Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, the first Secretary of State, the third President of the United States, and the founder of the University of Virginia. Jefferson served the young nation for over five decades of his life. Given his gifted writing ability, its no surprise that Jefferson was a pro...