Vineyard of Liberty, 1787–1863, The American Experiment

Name: Vineyard of Liberty, 1787–1863, The American Experiment
Author: James MacGregor Burns

A Pulitzer Prize winner looks at the course of American history from the birth of the Constitution to the dawn of the Civil War.
The years between 1787 and 1863 witnessed the development of the American Nation—its society, politics, customs, culture, and, most important, the development of liberty. Burns explores the key events in the republic’s early decades, as well as the roles of heroes from Washington to Lincoln and of lesser-known figures. Captivating and insightful, Burns’s history combines the color and texture of early American life with meticulous scholarship. Focusing on the tensions leading up to the Civil War, Burns brilliantly shows how Americans became divided over the meaning of Liberty. Vineyard of Liberty is a sweeping and engrossing narrative of America’s formative years.

James MacGregor Burns

James MacGregor Burns (1918–2014) was a bestselling American historian and political scientist whose work earned both the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Born in Boston, Burns fell in love with politics and history at an early age. He earned his BA at Williams College, where he returned to teach history and political science after obtaining his PhD at Harvard and serving in World War II. Burns’s two-volume biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt is considered the definitive examination of the politician’s rise to power, and his groundbreaking writing on the subject of political leadership has influenced scholars for decades. Most recently, he served as the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and as Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the University of Maryland.