Preface
Introduction
1. Raconteur, Memorialist, Founder: Benjamin Franklin Meets Himself in History
2. Yankee Continentalism: The Provincial Roots of John Adams's Vision for American Union, 1755-1776
3. George Washington’s Vision for the United States
4. Agrarian Founders: Three "Rebellions" as Legitimate Opposition, 1786–1799
5. The Sovereign People: Indians, Treaties, and the Subversion of the Founders’ Colonialist Vision
6. "Arraying Him against Himself": The Jefferson Presidency and the American Future through the Eyes of Alexander Hamilton
7. James Madison and American Nationality: The View from Virginia
8. Mastery over Slaves, Sovereignty over Slavery: James Monroe, Virginia, and the Missouri Crisis
9. Antiquarian America: Isaiah Thomas and the New Nation’s Future
Afterword: The Contradictions and Paradoxes of American Future-Gazing
Notes on Contributors
Index