Showing results for "philosophy" in Revolution & Founding

Jefferson was a soft-spoken man who recoiled from direct conflict, yet a master puppeteer in politics. Whenever he left Monticello, where he could control his environment, he suffered debilitating headaches that plagued him for decades, until he finally retired from public life. So, what did it feel like to be Thomas Jefferson? Burstein explains the decision to take as his mistress Sally Hemings, the enslaved half-sister of his late wife, who bore him six children, none of whom he acknowledged.

Explore the captivating lives of the Founding Fathers. Eight captivating manuscripts in one audiobook. So if you want to learn more about the life of Founding Fathers, get this audiobook now!

This captivating history audiobook presents a general outline of the American Revolution, focusing largely on the period between the outbreak of rebellion in 1765 until the ratification of the US Constitution in 1789.

Thomas Paine was born in Great Britain; he came to America at the age of 37 for the first time. He is rightly considered to be the Anglo-American writer, philosopher, publicist, as well as "American godfather" for supporting separatist spirits and inspiring Americans to fight for their independence (at that very moment, the break between America and England was imminent). He described his thoughts in a wonderful tract Common Sense, that according to G. Washington, revolutionized the minds. Later, Thomas Paine's arguments were reflected in The Independence Declaration, written by Jefferson.

Alexander Hamilton, unlike many of the other founding fathers of the United States, was born outside of wedlock and was an orphan at the age of 13 after his mother died. He was thrown into the world, depending on the charity of friends and neighbors. That perhaps is one of the reasons why Alexander Hamilton was fiscally sensitive and always anxious about funding and finance, not only for himself but for the new nation of the United States, where he emigrated when he was in his late teens.

Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy? Not only the erudite Thomas Jefferson, the wily and elusive Ben Franklin, and the underappreciated Thomas Paine, but also Ethan Allen, the hero of the Green Mountain Boys, and Thomas Young, the forgotten Founder who kicked off the Boston Tea Party. These radicals who founded America set their sights on a revolution of the mind. Derided as "infidels" and "atheists" in their own time, they wanted to liberate us not just from one king but from the tyranny of supernatural religion.

Today, the United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world. Comprised of 50 states, this huge nation is filled with diverse topography, as well as a variety of flora and fauna. Not only that, but the USA is also home to a huge population with diverse ethnic backgrounds. A vast number of the white population are the descendants of the European colonists and settlers who ultimately conquered the land, dominating the Native Americans who were the original inhabitants of the land. If you want to learn more about the American Indian Wars, listen to this audiobook!

An acclaimed historian presents a sweeping new look at the Declaration of Independence, focusing not on the lofty principles of the preamble but on the list of grievances leveled against King George III.

This addition to Oxford's Very Short Introductions series traces how Americans have addressed the issues and events of their time and place, whether it is the Civil War, the Great Depression, or the culture wars of today.

Explore the captivating history of the Culper Ring! Spying and warfare have always gone hand-in-hand. From Julius Caesar to modern generals, we have accounts of commanders covertly gathering information about their opponents, ensuring they have the intelligence they need to conduct a war. George Washington was not late to realize he needed a spy ring to defeat the British in the American Revolution. So, the Culper Ring was created, and their work during the American Revolutionary War was carried out in the shadows, often informally, and with a great deal of care for secrecy.

From plantation owner to diplomat to US president, James Monroe was known for his tenacity in pursuing what he thought was right, while also being honored for his fair policies, such as the Monroe Doctrine and policies to develop the country’s infrastructure. Explore more of the captivating life of James Monroe.

In 1775 the American colonies were a hotbed of political discord. Many of the British policies, specifically taxes, had caused American colonial leaders to consider the unthinkable: declaring independence from the British Empire and its King George. One such leader, Thomas Paine, wrote Common Sense: a pamphlet that explained the advantages of immediate and complete independence.

Long before the United States was a nation, it was a set of ideas, projected onto the New World by European explorers with centuries of belief and thought in tow. From this foundation of expectation and experience, America and American thought grew in turn, enriched by the bounties of the Enlightenment, the philosophies of liberty and individuality, the tenets of religion, and the doctrines of republicanism and democracy.

At a time when Americans are debating the future of public education, Johann N. Neem tells the inspiring story of how and why Americans built a robust public school system in the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War. It’s a story in which ordinary people in towns across the country worked together to form districts and build schoolhouses and reformers sought to expand tax support and give every child a liberal education. By the time of the Civil War, most northern states had made common schools free, and many southern states were heading in the same direction.

The game of chess has long be used a microcosm for everything from international politics to war. In The Morals of Chess, an essay originally published in The Columbian Magazine in 1786, Benjamin Franklin, American founding father, polymath, and thinker, tackles this intricate game and likens it to life itself. Franklin discusses what he believes to be key virtues one must possess to be happy, successful, and productive in life, and illustrates these virtues, such a patience and circumspection, within the context of the game of chess.

In The Three Toms, author Kevin L. Whitworth takes listeners on a bold intellectual journey through the minds of three of history’s most powerful—and controversial—thinkers: Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Sowell. Part memoir, part philosophical deep dive, and part cultural critique, this book connects the fiery dissent of Paine, the visionary structure of Jefferson, and the data-driven realism of Sowell into one electrifying guide to independent thought.

Scholars have long debated the meaning of the pursuit of happiness, yet have tended to define it narrowly, focusing on a single intellectual tradition, and on the use of the term within a single text, the Declaration of Independence. In this insightful volume, Carli Conklin considers the pursuit of happiness across a variety of intellectual traditions, and explores its usage in two key legal texts of the Founding Era, the Declaration and William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England.

Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Monroe were in the vanguard of revolutionary ideas in the 18th century. As founding fathers, they risked their lives for American independence, but they also wanted more. Each wished for profound changes in the political and social fabric of pre-1776 America and hoped that the American Revolution would spark republican and egalitarian revolutions throughout Europe, sweeping away the old aristocratic order. Ultimately, each rejoiced at the opportunity to be a part of the French Revolution, a cause that became increasingly untenable as idealism gave way to the bloody terror.

In this bold and brilliantly argued book, acclaimed author and talk-radio host Michael Medved zeroes in on 10 of the biggest fallacies that millions of Americans believe about our country - in spite of incontrovertible facts to the contrary. In The 10 Big Lies About America, Medved pinpoints the most pernicious pieces of America-bashing disinformation that pollute current debates about the economy, race, religion in politics, the Iraq war, and other contentious issues.

Experience one of the most influential political works in American history, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, now narrated by Gary Middleton. First published in 1776, this revolutionary pamphlet boldly called for American independence from British rule, igniting the flames of rebellion and inspiring a new nation to rise.