Caitlin Fitz

“Superb. . . . As instructive as Ms. Fitz’s narrative is, it is also a pleasure to read. She has a gift for the sparkling phrase that both enchants and illuminates. . . . It is a rare historian who can bring politics alive with such verve.” — Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal

“Fitz’s elegantly written history tells an early American story of reverse racial progress.” — Robinson Meyer, Atlantic

“[Fitz] is a deft guide to this reinterpretation of early American history, a time when ‘earlier rhetoric of inalienable rights and self-evident truths was increasingly challenged by assertions of white superiority and U.S. exceptionalism’… Fitz shows that history is not always written by wars, treaties, and administrative actions; often, the people take the lead.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This study, based on strong academic foundations and written in captivating and elegant prose, is an impressive achievement that suggests intriguing origins of American exceptionalism.” — Publishers Weekly