American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union
Feb 2026 · Random House
Ebook
496
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infoThis book will become available on February 17, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
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, Ronald Reagan, 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.
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, Ronald Reagan, 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.
About the author
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer. The Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, he is the author of the New York Times bestsellers And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, The Soul of America, The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, American Gospel, and Franklin and Winston.
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