Building the Empire State examines the origins of American capitalism by tracing how and why business corporations were first introduced into the economy of the early republic. Brian Phillips Murphy follows the collaborations between political leaders and a group of unelected political entrepreneurs, including Robert R. Livingston and Alexander Hamilton, who persuaded legislative powers to grant monopolies corporate status in order to finance and manage civic institutions. Murphy ...

Building the Empire State examines the origins of American capitalism by tracing how and why business corporations were first introduced into the economy of the early republic. Brian Phillips Murphy follows the collaborations between political leaders and a group of unelected political entrepreneurs, including Robert R. Livingston and Alexander Hamilton, who persuaded legislative powers to grant monopolies corporate status in order to finance and manage civic institutions. Murphy ...

From the "preeminent historian of Reconstruction" (New York Times Book Review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period that shaped modern America.Eric Foner's "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed.Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unl...

From the “preeminent historian of Reconstruction” (New York Times Book Review), an updated abridged edition of Reconstruction, the prize-winning classic work of Civil War history on the post-Civil War period which shaped modern America.Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery, a pivotal era in African American history. It address...

The classic work of American history by the renowned author of From Slavery to Freedom, with a new introduction by historian Eric Foner.First published in 1961, John Hope Franklin's revelatory study of the Reconstruction Era is a landmark work of history, exploring the role of former slaves and dispelling longstanding popular myths about corruption and Radical rule. Looking past dubious scholarship that had previously dominated the narrative, Franklin comb...

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton--two of the most influential Founding Fathers--were also fierce rivals with two opposing political philosophies and two radically different visions for America.While Jefferson is better remembered today, it is actually Hamilton’s political legacy that has triumphed--a legacy that has subverted the Constitution and transformed the federal government into the very leviathan state that our forefathers fought against in the Ameri...

A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian recounts the tale of the unwanted president who ran afoul of Congress over Reconstruction and was nearly removed from office.Andrew Johnson never expected to be president. But just six weeks after becoming Abraham Lincoln's vice president, the events at Ford's Theatre thrust him into the nation's highest office.Johnson faced a nearly impossible task—to succeed America's greatest chief executive, to bind the nation's wounds...

Longlisted for the Massachusetts Book AwardA Publishers Weekly’s “Top 10” PickThis groundbreaking book tracks the massive wealth amassed from slavery from pre-Civil War to today, and lays out a case for reparations that shows exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed.In this timely, powerful, investigative history, The Stolen Wealth of Slavery, Emmy Award-nominated journalist David Monter...

"Provides a focused explanation of the reasons the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first federal constitution, went lurching toward collapse." —Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize winner, The Washington PostIn 1783, as the Revolutionary War came to a close, Alexander Hamilton resigned in disgust from the Continental Congress after it refused to consider a fundamental reform of the Articles of Confederation. Just four years later, that same government collap...

"William Hogeland is the best guide I have found to understanding how we today are, for good and evil, children of Alexander.” —J. Bradford DeLong, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Slouching Towards UtopiaHow Alexander Hamilton embraced American oligarchy to jumpstart American prosperity.“Forgotten founder” no more, Alexander Hamilton has become a global celebrity. Millions know his na...

The author of The Whiskey Rebellion "dig[s] beneath history's surface and note[s] both the populist and anti-populist dimensions of the nation's founding" ( Library Journal).Recent movements such as the Tea Party and anti-tax "constitutional conservatism" lay claim to the finance and taxation ideas of America's founders, but how much do we really know about the dramatic clashes over finance and economics that marked the founding of America? Dissent...

**An eye-opening history of taxation showing that battles over taxes have always really been battles over democracy itself“A convincing case that we must take back the power of taxation” (Heather Cox Richardson, New York Times–bestselling author of Democracy Awakening)**Americans have always fought over the meaning of freedom and equality. What is not commonly recognized is that the battles most pivotal in defining our democracy, from the framing of the Co...