Raphael provides a history of the work of seven forgotten founders of America, among the many Revolutionary Americans who contributed to the founding of the country: army private Joseph Plumb Martin; the wealthy merchant Robert Morris, who helped finance the nation; small-town blacksmith Timothy Bigelow, who helped engineer the first overthrow of British authority; conservative Henry Laurens; doctor Thomas Young; and political correspondent Mercy Otis Warren. He traces the lives and work of these individuals who aided in the revolution from 1761 to the passage of the Bill of Rights 30 years later. He focuses on these themes: the ideal of popular sovereignty, inclusion and exclusion, exchanges of power, efforts to constrain authority, and expansion of the country. Raphael has been a high school and college teacher and is the author of several books. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)