"Aaron Burr was a hero of the Revolution, a brilliant politician, lawyer, and very nearly president; a skillful survivor in a raw new country filled with constantly shifting loyalties. But there were dark whispers about him: that he was untrustworthy, a libertine, a man unafraid of claiming whatever he believed should be his. Sold into slavery as a child in India, Mary Emmons was brought to an America torn by war. Toughened by the experiences of her...

In this biography, the author portrays Aaron Burr, the third vice president, and would be secession leader, as a daring and perhaps deluded figure who shook the nation's foundations in its earliest, most vulnerable decade. It traces his career discussing his acrimonious relationship with Thomas Jefferson; his ambitious vision of expansion; and his historical, self-defended trial for treason. This account of Burr's tumultuous life also offers a rare...

Discusses the men and women who, in the early days of the United States, spoke out about the threat of a too powerful and intrusive federal government.