"From a Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful history that reveals how the twin strands of liberty and slavery were joined in the nation's founding. New attention from historians and journalists is raising pointed questions about the founding period: was the American revolution waged to preserve slavery, and was the Constitution a pact with slavery or a landmark in the antislavery movement? Leaders of the founding who called for American liberty are scrutinized...

Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel brings to life the attitudes and passions of 17th century New England. Condemned by her Puritan fellows for having a child out of wedlock, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter.

"Those who don't learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. History is more than just dates and names and battles -- it's about ideas and power and philosophy. America's history is no different. It's a tale of trade, exploration, adventure, and tension between groups of people with different perspectives and priorities. The problems and challenges we face today are quite different from what America's founders lived through -- but their experiences...