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As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, #1 New York Times bestselling author and FOX & Friends cohost Brian Kilmeade profiles six early Americans whose courage helped define freedom for our fledgling nation.

When the colonists threw off British rule, they launched a great experiment in democracy. Self-government by the people, with a sworn commitment to equality and liberty for all, had never been tried. To give the new nation shape, leaders and patriots, men who would raise their voices and serve the cause, needed to rise to the challenge.

Six among the founders — John Adams and his son John Quincy, George Washington, Captain Daniel Shays, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Quincy Adams – all would play defining roles in the decades to follow.

John Adams defended of the accused British soldiers at Boston Massacre, risking his reputation to establish the rule of law as an essential American value. George Washington, outnumbered in the face of the most powerful military force in the world, found a new way of war – and a road to victory. Daniel Shays lost everything for standing up for the little man — but inspired the Constitutional Convention.

The visionary Thomas Jefferson remade the country, doubling its boundaries by masterminding the Louisiana Purchase. James Madison challenged the British Goliath again, declaring the War of 1812 and rallying the United States in its first foray into making America a respected world power. Finally, John Quincy Adams, the conscience of the country, launched the nation’s hardest-ever conversation, attempting to erase America’s original sin.

Together, these six crucial episodes unified the fledgling United States of America, setting it on a trajectory unlike any other. As he has in his past bestsellers, Kilmeade’s storytelling is page-turning and eye-opening, and shows how they defined freedom in America and paved the way for the country we are today.