Alin Fumurescu is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, Texas. Anna Marisa Schön is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Houston, Texas.

'This valuable anthology connects primary texts of American political thought with key works of the European tradition. By focusing on the liberal, republican, and Puritan sources of the American founding period, Fumurescu and Schön provide the best introduction I know to the richness and diversity of our enduring national character. This book will be an invaluable instructional text for years to come.' Steven B. Smith, Yale University

• 1. Introduction – The People's Two Bodies; 2. Republicanism – The People 'Is'; 3. Liberalism – The People 'Are'; 4. The Puritans – The Bi-Dimensional Covenant; 5. Independence – The Negative Founding; 6. The Positive Founding (I): One People or Several Peoples? 7. The Positive Founding (II) – The People as One and Many; 8. The Whole and the Parties; 9. People That Were Left Behind; 10. The United States 'Is'.

Alin Fumurescu is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, Texas. Anna Marisa Schön is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Houston, Texas.

'This valuable anthology connects primary texts of American political thought with key works of the European tradition. By focusing on the liberal, republican, and Puritan sources of the American founding period, Fumurescu and Schön provide the best introduction I know to the richness and diversity of our enduring national character. This book will be an invaluable instructional text for years to come.' Steven B. Smith, Yale University

• 1. Introduction – The People's Two Bodies; 2. Republicanism – The People 'Is'; 3. Liberalism – The People 'Are'; 4. The Puritans – The Bi-Dimensional Covenant; 5. Independence – The Negative Founding; 6. The Positive Founding (I): One People or Several Peoples? 7. The Positive Founding (II) – The People as One and Many; 8. The Whole and the Parties; 9. People That Were Left Behind; 10. The United States 'Is'.