The year 2026 is a particularly good time for reflection on how America started and evolved into what it is today. In each chapter he chooses a speech that was important in its time. His first choice was Benjamin Franklin addressing the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, near the end of his life. Rhodes serves up the speech with a substantial explication of what was said and what it means in the whole picture.
Next he chooses the rebuttal that a Seneca spokesman wrote to a missionary wanting the tribe to adopt Christianity. It was particularly fun to read how the Native American way of life is superior to their European oriented neighbors. Then he included a speech from a free African American woman exhorting black men to get up and fight for their rights - reminding them that knowledge was power. In each case, Rhodes makes a thoughtful selection and a substantial but highly readable summary. As the book progresses, he concentrates on presidents - finishing with speeches by Reagan, Obama and Trump. It is a thoughtful history course in one package.
Reviewed by Terry Ballard
May 26, 2026
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