Taking his inspiration from a 16th century French manual on etiquette, young George Washington compiled his own set of instructions under the title, The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. These concise rules to live by have been studied and copied by millions of readers eager to absorb Washington's secrets of success in life and work. Neither unduly severe nor sentimental, the rules have stood the test of time and still reverberate today. -- Provided...

Whatever sense of hope the Founder Fathers may have felt at the new government's birth, almost none of them carried that optimism to their graves. Franklin survived to see the Constitution in action for only a single year, but most of the founders who lived into the nineteenth century came to feel deep anxiety, disappointment, and even despair about the government and the nation that they had helped to create. Indeed, by the end of their lives many...