A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation

A host of knowledgeable scholars and historians explore the charlatans, thieves, traitors, and others who helped found the U.S., as they shine light on their misdeeds in a collection of highly readable essays. Via detailed accounts of the lives of Benedict Arnold, James Wilkinson, the Kemper brothers, and many others, each essay examines the influences and cultures in which they lived and how those could have affected their poor decisions. The book also mentions facts about many of the founding fathers who enslaved people, and how others contributed to the legends of the biography subjects, such as Arnold’s second wife Peggy Shippen, who is fabled to have seduced him into betrayal. Editors Head (history, Univ. of Central Florida, Kentucky Wesleyan Coll.; Fate of the American Revolution) and Hemmis (history, Texas A&M Univ.) have overseen a strong project with this work.