Only A Woman

I really enjoyed the first book in The American Story,  series. It followed a clear, chronological storyline that made it easy to stay engaged and understand how events unfolded. This book, however, was more difficult for me to follow. While it focuses on the early presidents, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson, the structure often jumps backward in time within each section. When reading about one presidency, it frequently returns to events from earlier administrations, which made it difficult to follow the timeline and stay oriented. One aspect I did appreciate was the emphasis on the personal faith of many of the founders. I found it especially interesting how the book addressed common claims about Jefferson, arguing that he was not a deist in the way he is often portrayed by modern historians. The detail about him attending church services held in the United States Capitol was particularly striking. I had ne...