Audiobooks by Joel Richard Paul

Indivisible: Daniel Webster and the Birth of American Nationalism

The story of how Daniel Webster popularized the ideals of American nationalism that helped forge our nation's identity and inspire Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union When the United States was founded in 1776, its citizens didn't think of themselves as "Americans." They were New Yorkers or Virginians or Pennsylvanians. It was decades later that the seeds of American nationalism-identifying with one's own nation and supporting its broader interests-began to take root. But what kind of nationalism should Americans embrace? The state-focused and racist nationalism of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson? Or the belief that the U.S. Constitution made all Americans one nation, indivisible, which Daniel Webster and others espoused?  In Indivisible, historian and law professor Joel Richard Paul tells the fascinating story of how Webster, a young New Hampshire attorney turned politician, rose to national prominence through his powerful oratory and unwavering belief in the United States and captured the national imagination. In his speeches, on the floors of the House and Senate, in court, and as Secretary of State, Webster argued that the Constitution was not a compact made by states but an expression of the will of all Americans. As the greatest orator of his age, Webster saw his speeches and writings published widely, and his stirring rhetoric convinced Americans to see themselves differently, as a nation bound together by a government of laws, not parochial interests. As these ideas took root, they influenced future leaders, among them Abraham Lincoln, who drew on them to hold the nation together during the Civil War. As he did in Without Precedent and Unlikely Allies, Joel Richard Paul has written in Indivisible both a compelling history and a fascinating account of one of the founders of our national perspective.

Joel Richard Paul (Author), Fred Sanders (Narrator)

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Without Precedent

The rich, dramatic story of John Marshall, the most influential Chief Justice in history, who in the early 1800s played a key role in developing the Supreme Court into a crucial part of government. No member of the Founding Generation had a greater impact on the American Constitution than Chief Justice John Marshall, and no one did more than Marshall to preserve the fragile unity of the fledgling United States as it was struggling to establish itself. Marshall led the Supreme Court for thirty-four years (1801-1835), longer than any other Chief Justice, and he singlehandedly established its supremacy in American life. Buffeted by political enemies who were prepared to do anything to stop him, Marshall brilliantly outflanked them. Against forces that threatened to shatter the union, Marshall defended his vision of a strong national government. Armed with nothing more than his innate intelligence, eloquence and his gift for thinking innovatively, Marshall triumphed against all odds. At a time when all of the country's leading southern statesmen -- Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe -- were from wealthy landowning families, Marshall grew up in a two-room log cabin shared with fourteen siblings on the hardscrabble frontier of Virginia. His only formal education consisted of one year of grammar school and six weeks of law school. Yet in the space of two decades he went from being an unschooled frontiersman to become a military officer, a successful attorney, a foreign diplomat, a national hero, Washington's biographer, a congressman, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice. During a tumultuous time, against myriad enemies, John Marshall held the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the union together. Without Precedent is the engrossing true story of the life and times of this exceptional man, who understood the balance of power and mastered the art of self-invention, applying both to everything he did.

Joel Richard Paul (Author), Fred Sanders (Narrator)

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Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution

Unlikely Allies, a bold reinterpretation of the struggle for independence, is the gripping true story of how three men used espionage, betrayal, and sexual deception to help win the American Revolution.

Joel Richard Paul (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

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