In this engaging, succinct study of the accomplishments and difficulties of the young American republic, key historical questions are discussed with references to important scholarship. Among the topics covered are the development of political parties, the animosity between the Republicans and Federalists and the eventual disintegration of the latter group, the leadership abilities of the first presidents, and the foreign relations problems that led to the War of 1812.

Morton Bordon is the author of Parties and Politics in the Early Republic 1789 - 1815, published by Wiley.