Examines how the educations of America's first four presidents, and in particular their scholarly devotion to ancient Greek and Roman classics, informed the beliefs and ideals that shaped the nation's constitution and government.

Examines how the educations of America's first four presidents, and in particular their scholarly devotion to ancient Greek and Roman classics, informed the beliefs and ideals that shaped the nation's constitution and government.

On the morning after the 2016 presidential election, Thomas Ricks awoke with a few questions on his mind: What kind of nation is this? Is it what was designed or intended by the nation₂s founders? Trying to get as close to the source as he could, Ricks decided to go back and read the philosophy and literature that shaped the founders₂ thinking, and the letters they wrote to each other debating these crucial works, among them the Iliad, Plutarch₂s Lives, and the works of Xenophon, Epicurus, Aristotle, Cato, and Cicero. For though much attention has been paid the influence of English political philosophers. It follows four members of the Revolutionary generation from their youths to their adult lives, as they grappled with questions of independence, and forming and keeping a new nation. In doing so, Ricks interprets not only the effect of the ancient world on each man, and how that shaped our constitution and government, but offers startling new insights into these legendary leaders.