Jan Ellen Lewis – författare

Of the People: A History of the United States does more than tell the history of America-of its people and places, of its dealings and ideals. It unfolds the story of American democracy, carefully marking how this country's evolution has been anything but certain, from its complex beginnings to its modern challenges. The authors see American history as a story "of the people," of their struggles to shape their lives and their land. Their narrative focuses on the social and political lives of people-some famous, some ordinary-revealing the compelling story of America's democracy from an individual perspective, from across the landscapes of diverse communities, and ultimately from within the larger context of the world.The theme of democracy concentrates attention on the most fundamental concerns of history: people and power. These concerns have been especially relevant as the authors completed revising the book for this new edition in the midst of the 2024 presidential election campaign, one of the most divisive in modern American history. Recent history is always a challenge and always subject to revision, but the authors show how contemporary struggles over democracy are rooted in the past. Their balanced, inclusive approach makes it more possible for teachers and students to deal with the most controversial events.

A discussion of the probability (shown by DNA tests) that Thomas Jefferson was the father of his slave Sally Hemings's children. The essays reflect the deeper questions the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings has raised about American history and national culture.

One of the finest historians of her generation, Jan Ellen Lewis transformed our understanding of the early U.S. Republic. Her groundbreaking essays defined the emerging fields of gender and emotions history and reframed traditional understandings of the founding fathers and the U.S. Constitution. As significant as her work was within each of these subfields, her most remarkable insights came from the connections she drew among them. Gender and race, slavery and freedom, feelings and politics ran together in the hearts, minds, and lives of the men and women she studied. Lewis's brilliant research revealed these long-buried connections and illuminated their importance for America's past and present.Family, Slavery, and Love in the Early American Republic collects thirteen of Lewis's most important essays. Distinguished scholars shed light on the historical and historiographical contexts in which Lewis and her peers researched, wrote, and argued. But the real star of this volume is Lewis herself: confident, unconventional, erudite, and deeply imaginative.