Joseph J. Ellis Audio & Video

From the bestselling author of "Founding Brothers" and "His Excellency" comes a work that explores why the last quarter of the 18th century the most politically creative period in American history.

An illuminating study of the intertwined lives of the founders of the American republic–John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

A culminating work on the American Founding by one of its leading historians, The Cause rethinks the American Revolution as we have known it.

This is the story of the American Revolution, the men who made it and who then secured it. It is the story of an improbable victory by a provincial collection of loosely knit colonies over the dominant military and political power in the world.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis, the unexpected story of why the 13 colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew.

For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight-and not only during his active political career.

Appearing by remote access from Chicopee, Massachusetts, Joseph Ellis talked about George Washington as a military and political leader and responded to telephone calls and electronic mail.

John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence....

Recently, Washington's papers were catalogued at the University of Virginia. Joseph J. Ellis had primary access to the 90-volume papers, allowing him to paint a thorough and fascinating portrait.

The summer of 1776 was a busy time for the American colonies. As the Continental Congress discussed an independent future, Britain sent a massive armada, which cruised menacingly off Staten Island in July.