'The American political tradition has always been driven by principle, and yet somehow open to compromise. In this unprecedented work, Alin Fumurescu investigates how colonists and early Americans - largely through competing and evolving conceptualizations of 'the people' - re-imagined the nature of compromise, its potentials and perils. In light of our current, increasingly polarized and uncompromising politics, the nuanced analysis here is as timely as it is valuable.' Robert Martin, Hamilton College
'Meticulously researched, this work expands literature connecting Puritanical influences and the American founding to modern politics.' K. Casey, Choice