18th century

Explains how fugitive slaves escaping from the South to the northern states awakened northerners to the true nature of slavery and how the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act divided the nation and set it on the path to civil war.

A book for young readers about the life of Thomas Paine and the impact of his most famous work, Common Sense.

This book guides readers through the eighty-five essays that make up the Federalist Papers. It explores the notions that pushed the states toward ratification and promoted a solid federal government.

"Reveals fully the dimensions and depths of George Washington's relations with the First Americans"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses the framing of the United States Constitution, describing the hotly debated issues tackled in the document and such key players as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington.

Describes John Newbery's life and how he reinvented children's literature by creating books that were designed to bring young children pleasure and entertainment, as opposed to mere instruction.

A National Book Award Finalist for Non-Fiction, Never Caught is the eye-opening narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave, who risked everything for freedom. Now in a Young Readers Edition.

Provides a cultural and historical context for the development of the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and includes Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island and Connecticut, New Netherland and New Sweden, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and more.

"This volume demonstrates how freedom of the press is part of American heritage from colonial times and how it remains essential to democracy"--Provided by publisher.

Provides an account of the yellow fever epidemic that swept through Philadelphia in 1793, discussing the chaos that erupted when people began evacuating in droves, leaving the city without government, goods, or services, and examining efforts by physicians, the Free African Society, and others to cure and care for the sick.