About the Program
Gordon Wood presents a history of the United States from 1789 to the end of the War of 1812. Mr. Wood recalls the debates that occurred over the future of the young country as many wished to replicate the fiscal and military strength of France and Britain and others were resolute in a rural, agricultural model. He also reports that founders of the national government disliked the idea of political parties and wished to see the demise of slavery in the North. Gordon Wood presents his book at the Redwood Library & Athenaeum in Newport, Rhode Island. The New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, The Atlantic, and Kansas City Star selected Empire of Liberty as one of their notable non-fiction books of 2009. Empire of Liberty was the recipient of the 2009 American History Book Prize awarded by the New-York Historical Society.