Böcker av Carl J. Richard

This lively and engaging book is the only popular work to explore the profound impact of Ancient Greece and Rome on the Founding Fathers. The classical education they imbibed as young students inspired them to undertake the American Revolution and influenced their approach to a host of constitutional and practical issues crucial to the shaping of the new American republic. Recounting the stirring stories the founders encountered in their favorite histories of Greece and Rome, renowned scholar Carl J. Richard explores what they learned from these vivid tales and how they applied these lessons to their own heroic quest to win American independence and establish a durable republic. Crucial to the decisions that shaped the United States, these lessons remain invaluable today for every citizen concerned with America's future course.

The influence of Greek and Roman authors on our American forefathers finally becomes clear in this fascinating book-the first comprehensive study of the founders' classical reading.

Richard explores the enshrinement of the classics in American antebellum culture. For the first time, knowledge of the classics extended beyond aristocratic males to the middle class, women, African Americans, and frontier settlers, but the Civil War led to a radical alteration of the educational system that steadily eroded their preeminence.

As Richard vibrantly describes the contributions of the individuals, he details the historical context in which each lived, showing how these men influenced their world and ours.