"During the Civil War, scores of people wrote firsthand accounts and stories of the events. Politicians of the time, soldiers, ordinary citizens, and countless others, both Union and Confederate, recorded their thoughts, impressions, and observations. After the war and through the years, many authors wrote down histories and more stories were passed down generation to generation. However, ideas, opinions, and even details of life experiences may change,...

"The Founding Fathers are essential to the American narrative. Unfortunately, popular histories have a tendency to gloss over unpleasant truths and harmonize the discordant voices of the past. This book looks beyond powdered wigs and polished portraits to find the human founders of the United States. Multiple and minority perspectives are taken into account, and well-worn stories of the founding era are revisited--from the complex issues of slavery...

"This book explains the establishment of the thirteen colonies not just through the eyes of the colonists, but of Native Americans, African slaves, and the British Empire as well. Readers will learn that religious freedom wasn't the only reason colonists flocked to the New World."--