The story of history is a ceaseless conversation between past and present, and here the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Founding Brothers poses the often-asked question, "What would the Founding Fathers think?" Pondering how their now centuries-old ideas illuminate the disturbing impasse of today's political conflicts, Joseph Ellis considers Jefferson in the context of racism, Adams and the specter of economic inequality, Washington grappling with American imperialism, and Madison on the doctrine of original intent.

"Ellis knows that history is not simply about the past…. [This] is an exploration of our values that is both timely and timeless."—Walter Isaacson