First published 2025
Edmund Morgan tackles America's most troubling contradiction through the lens of Virginia, the state that simultaneously birthed the revolution and held more enslaved people than any other. Morgan argues that understanding this paradox requires examining Virginia's unique people and political structures. The state that produced freedom's greatest champions also depended most heavily on human bondage. Morgan traces how Virginia's leaders reconciled their pursuit of liberty with their commitment to slavery. He reveals how the same soil that nurtured revolutionary ideals also sustained the plantation system. The book demonstrates that Virginia's dual identity as freedom's cradle and slavery's stronghold reflects America's broader struggle with its founding contradictions. Morgan shows readers how this tragic duality shaped the nation's character and continues to influence American society.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, political-thriller
Setting: Virginia, America
Period: 19th Century, 20th Century
496 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company
Content warnings: slavery