Ray Raphael

Marie Raphael

An illegitimate child, born in the Caribbean, who arrived in America as a near-penniless teenager, Alexander Hamilton did not seem to have much in common with the rest of the founding fathers. But the audacious young immigrant quickly proved himself in the cauldron of revolutionary fervor gripping the colonies in the 1770s. After making a name for himself in the Revolution as an artillery officer and aide to George Washington, Hamilton became one of the foremost architects of the new United States of America.

Founding Father

Hamilton

Examines thirteen well-known American stories, including those about Paul Revere's legendary ride, Thomas Jefferson's pivotal role in the establishment of American equality, and Molly Pitcher's heroic contributions to the Revolutionary War, contending that many of their surrounding myths are not supported by recent scholarship. 20,000 first printing.

Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past

Founding Myths

A sweeping narrative of the wartime experience, A People's History of the American Revolution is the first book to view the revolution through the eyes of common folk. Their stories have long been overlooked in the mythic telling of America's founding, but are crucial to a comprehensive understanding of the fight for independence. Now, the experiences of farmers, laborers, rank and file soldiers, women, Native Americans, and African Americans -- found in diaries, letters, memoirs and other long-ignored primary sources -- create a gritty account of rebellion, filled with ideals and outrage, loss, sacrifice, and sometimes scurrilous acts...but always ringing with truth.

How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence

A People's History of the American Revolution

The little-known story of the dramatic political maneuverings and personalities behind the creation of the office of the president, with ramifications that continue to this day. On June 1, 1787, when the Federal Convention first talked of establishing a new executive branch, James Wilson moved that “the Executive consist of a single person.” To us this might sound obvious, but not so at the time. Americans had just won their independence from an autocratic monarch, and they feared that a single leader might commandeer power or oppress citizens. Should the framers even flirt with one-man rule? For the first and only time that summer, there was silence. Not one of the loquacious delegates dared speak up. Eventually Benjamin Franklin rose, then others. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Mason joined the debate, and for three months their deliberations continued. By early September the framers had made up their minds. A chief executive, the “president,” would be appointed by Congress to serve for seven years. He could not be reelected, and his powers were tightly constrained. He could neither negotiate treaties nor appoint Supreme Court justices and ambassadors. The Senate would do all that. Suddenly, less than two weeks before the convention adjourned, all this changed. How? And who made it happen? Enter Gouverneur Morris, the flamboyant, peg-legged hero of this saga, who pushed through his agenda with amazing political savvy and not a little bluster and deceit. For the first time, by focusing closely on the give-and-take of the convention’s dynamics, Ray Raphael reveals how politics and personalities cobbled together a lasting, but flawed, institution. Charting the presidency as it evolved during the administrations of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, Raphael shows how, given the Constitution’s broad outlines, the president’s powers could easily be augmented but rarely diminished. Today we see the result—an office that has become more sweeping, more powerful, and more inherently partisan than the framers ever intended. And the issues of 1787—whether the Electoral College, the president’s war powers, or the extent of executive authority—continue to stir our political debates.

How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive

Mr. President

Deer, Homesteaders, Potatoes, Loggers, Trees, Fishermen, Salmon, & Other Living Things in the Backwoods of Northern California

An Everyday History of Somewhere, Being the True Story of Indians

Politicians come and go, but the Constitution stands as the supreme law of the land. Setting forth the workings of our democracy, it is the bedrock document from which we derive our policies on topics as diverse and galvanizing as immigration, gun ownership, voting rights, taxation, policing, civil liberties, and war. In this indispensable edition, acclaimed historian and Constitutional expert Ray Raphael guides us through the origins, impact, and current relevance of the original text and all twenty-seven amendments. Here is the key historical context for issues in the news today—from the Electoral College to Washington gridlock, from peaceful protests to executive power. Thoughtful and nuanced, lively and highly readable, this annotated Constitution is for all of us to read and refer to—the ultimate political fact-checking source for every American.

Explained for Every American

The U.S. Constitution

Essential reading for anyone interested in the leaders who shaped our nation Popular interest in the Founding Fathers has surged over the past decade and is beginning to rival interest in the Civil War. People are increasingly looking back to the generation that invented this country's political ideas and institutions for help in today's complex political world. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to the Founding Fathers presents the Founding Fathers through the issues that defined them-issues that are with the country today.

Eavesdrop on the Great Mind and Debates That Shaped Our Democracy

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Founding Fathers

Shares interviews with California marijuana growers and those opposed to marijuana, in which they discuss their lifestyles, the region, violence among growers, and the prospect of legalization

An American Dream

Cash Crop

“The best single-volume history of the Revolution I have read.” —Howard Zinn Upon its initial publication, Ray Raphael’s magisterial A People’s History of the American Revolution was hailed by NPR’s Fresh Air as “relentlessly aggressive and unsentimental.” With impeccable skill, Raphael presented a wide array of fascinating scholarship within a single volume, employing a bottom-up approach that has served as a revelation. A People’s History of the American Revolution draws upon diaries, personal letters, and other Revolutionary-era treasures, weaving a thrilling “you are there” narrative—“a tapestry that uses individual experiences to illustrate the larger stories”. Raphael shifts the focus away from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to the slaves they owned, the Indians they displaced, and the men and boys who did the fighting (Los Angeles Times Book Review). This “remarkable perspective on a familiar part of American history” helps us appreciate more fully the incredible diversity of the American Revolution (Kirkus Reviews). “Through letters, diaries, and other accounts, Raphael shows these individuals—white women and men of the farming and laboring classes, free and enslaved African Americans, Native Americans, loyalists, and religious pacifists—acting for or against the Revolution and enduring a war that compounded the difficulties of everyday life.” —Library Journal “A tour de force . . . Ray Raphael has probably altered the way in which future historians will see events.” —The Sunday Times

Gary B. Nash

Alfred F. Young

Explores the founding fathers' more radical contemporaries, who advocated for true liberty for all at the United States' inception, including the abolition of slavery and equality despite race, class, or gender.

Ray Raphael

Books

Your next favorite book is out there