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American Struggle

Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union

Author Jon Meacham
Ebook
Random House Group | Random House
On sale Feb 17, 2026 | 480 Pages | 9780593597576
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America offers an empowering lens to understand our national debates and divisions from 1619 to the present, with his signature commentary on the consequential speeches, letters, and essays that led us to this moment.

In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many have seen America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies in between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones.

In American Struggle, Jon Meacham looks to the nation's complicated past for lessons on the way forward. This rich and diverse collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the present, with primary-source documents that spotlight in their own words those who sought unity or division, and with Meacham's commentary throughout--from the founders to Lincoln; to leaders in the South; to leaders during the World Wars; to figures in the modern era such as Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, LBJ, Shirley Chisolm, Walter Cronkite, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and many more. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion play out, these voices, brilliantly framed by Meacham's singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a "glorious liberty document".

Conflict is nothing new in American life; rather, as Meacham and these texts show, these arguments are built into the nation's character. To know what has come before, to watch as long-running disputes rise and fall, is to be armed against despair.
© Heidi Ross
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer. The author of the New York Times bestsellers Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Franklin and Winston, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, and The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, he is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, a contributing writer for The New York Times Book Review, and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. Meacham lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children. View titles by Jon Meacham

About

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America offers an empowering lens to understand our national debates and divisions from 1619 to the present, with his signature commentary on the consequential speeches, letters, and essays that led us to this moment.

In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many have seen America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies in between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones.

In American Struggle, Jon Meacham looks to the nation's complicated past for lessons on the way forward. This rich and diverse collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the present, with primary-source documents that spotlight in their own words those who sought unity or division, and with Meacham's commentary throughout--from the founders to Lincoln; to leaders in the South; to leaders during the World Wars; to figures in the modern era such as Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, LBJ, Shirley Chisolm, Walter Cronkite, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and many more. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion play out, these voices, brilliantly framed by Meacham's singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a "glorious liberty document".

Conflict is nothing new in American life; rather, as Meacham and these texts show, these arguments are built into the nation's character. To know what has come before, to watch as long-running disputes rise and fall, is to be armed against despair.

Author

© Heidi Ross
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer. The author of the New York Times bestsellers Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Franklin and Winston, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, and The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, he is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, a contributing writer for The New York Times Book Review, and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. Meacham lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children. View titles by Jon Meacham

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