The Rise of Jefferson (Liberty's Underworld)

In 1789, America was still young enough to lose what its patriots had fought and died to win.From far-off Paris, Thomas Jefferson sees the danger: a young republic with power enough to govern and too few boundaries to restrain itself. While France begins its descent from liberty toward blood, Jefferson’s books and papers must cross the Atlantic before Congress settles the words that will become the Bill of Rights.But ideas travel poorly when men call them ideas.So Jefferson’s cargo moves through watched ports, crooked ledgers, opium-shadowed routes, and imperial rooms where even Catherine the Great understands the value of a borrowed name. Gouverneur Morris lends his wit. John Paul Jones lends his thunder. Madison carries the language into Congress. Washington receives the consequence. Hamilton feels the wound. And Lucien, a nameless clerk in service to the coming Terror, learns that liberty intoxicated by power is not liberty at all.As America celebrates its 250th year, The Rise of Jefferson races back to the moment when the promise of 1776 still had to be rescued. Read more