If the founding fathers and mothers of the United States had built a time capsule to tell the story of the nation's beginnings, what artifacts would be packed inside? Tea leaves, a lantern, yellowed documents, and more tell a part of the story of the colonists' fight for independence. In this Time Capsule History book, readers can examine primary sources of the Revolutionary Era to explore this exciting moment in history!

An Imperfect God is a major new biography of Washington, and the first to explore his engagement with American slavery When George Washington wrote his will, he made the startling decision to set his slaves free; earlier he had said that holding slaves was his "only unavoidable subject of regret." In this groundbreaking work, Henry Wiencek explores the founding father's engagement with slavery at every stage of his life--as a Virginia planter, soldier,...

In this action-packed history, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger unfolds the epic story of Patrick Henry, who roused Americans to fight government tyranny, both British and American. Remembered largely for his cry for "liberty or death," Henry was actually the first (and most colorful) of America's Founding Fathers, first to call Americans to arms against Britain, first to demand a bill of rights, and first to fight the growth of big government...

An introduction to the life of Thomas Paine reveals how he left behind his home in England, defying conventions in search of a more fulfilling life using his writing talents.

"From the great historian of the American Revolution, New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer-winning Gordon Wood, comes a majestic dual biography of two of America's most enduringly fascinating figures, whose partnership helped birth a nation, and whose subsequent falling out did much to fix its course. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist...

In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense, which electrified the American colonies. Paine demanded freedom from Britain when even fervent patriots were revolting only against excessive taxation. His daring prose spurred passage of the Declaration of Independence. The Crisis, written when Paine was a soldier during the Continental Army's bleakest days, begins with the world-famous line "These are the times that try men's...