Sign-In
Cart
Roots Before Branches: How America Formed and Lost the Citizens Self-Government Requires
Paperback
General Political ScienceGeneral United States HistoryUnited States Politics
Publisher Price: $39.95
Publisher: Our Civics Press
Published: Aug 1 2026
Pages: 348
Weight: 1.38
Height: 0.95 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Roots Before Branches provides the analytical framework behind the Civic Formation Trilogy's central thesis: the ceiling of government competence is set by the floor of citizen capacity. Moving through fourteen historical eras, from colonial salutary neglect through the digital age, this volume examines how the American founding generation was formed for constitutional self-government, and traces how that formation has drifted across two hundred and fifty years. Each era is examined through a consistent lens: the world citizens inhabited, what was forming them, what they feared, what they believed, and where the pressure broke. The book argues that modern citizens risk something different from the tyranny the founders resisted: a voluntary and gradual surrender of self-government through comfort, distraction, and institutional dependency. Roots Before Branches ends with urgent questions and no easy answers, setting up the diagnostic instrument of Book III.
Also from
Oliver, J. D.
Awakening a Forgotten Republic: Restoring the Soul of Liberty and the Duty of Self-Government
Oliver, J. D.
Paperback
Also in
General United States History
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
Up from the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times
Sachs, Aaron
Hardcover
The Agrarian Seeds of Empire: The Political Economy of Agriculture in Us State Building
Bauerly, Brad
Paperback
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an: A History of Islam & the United States
Federer, William J.
Paperback
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kobes Du Mez, Kristin
Hardcover
American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
Meacham, Jon
Hardcover
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy
Montgomery, Beronda L.
Hardcover
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America
Phillips-Fein, Kim
Hardcover
1,000 Days in America: An Illustrated History of the Moments That Defined a Nation
National Geographic
Hardcover
Miracles in American History: 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer
Federer, Susie
Federer, William J.
Paperback
Freedom's Daughters: How a Generation of Black Women Resisted Oppression Through Literacy and Education
Headlee, Celeste
Hardcover
Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More
Bezemek, Mike
Paperback
The Promise of a Nation: Commemorating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection
Smithsonian Institution
Hardcover
The East Wing: Power, Intrigue, and the Untold Story of America's First Ladies
Moaveni, Azadeh
Hardcover
The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live
Bash, Dana
Hardcover
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Paperback
American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate
Lichtblau, Eric
Hardcover
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
America in 25 Revolutions: The Story of Our Imperfect Nation's 250-Year Quest to Become a More Perfect Union
Graff, Garrett M.
Hardcover
The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History
Williamson, Vanessa S.
Hardcover
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Steinbeck, John
Paperback
We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America (Large Print Edition)
O'Donnell, Norah
Andersen Brower, Kate
Paperback
Aristocracy, American Style: Class Privilege and the Persistence of Elite Power
Isenberg, Nancy
Hardcover
The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century
Rosenblatt, Helena
Paperback
The Girls Who Beat the Odds: Stories of Women Who Changed the Course of Sports History
Eder, Mari K.
Hardcover
Old Glory: Iconic Flags and the Stories They Tell of America's 250-Year History
Miller, Roland
Hardcover
Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity
Sutton, Matthew Avery
Hardcover
Sunrise Through the Darkness: A Survivor's Account of Learning to Live Again Beyond 9/11
Jimeno, Will
Moats, Michael
Paperback
This Haunted Land: Reckoning with Ghosts and the Stories That Shape America
Quammen, Betsy Gaines
Hardcover
Princeton Review AP U.S. History Premium Prep, 26th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
AP U.S. History Premium, 2027: 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Resnick, Eugene V., M. a.
Paperback
Forever Stamps: 250 Years of United States History Writ Small
United States Postal Service
Anderson, Gail
Smith, Brian E.
Hardcover
American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States - Including 40 Recipes
Malik, Anela
Wilson, Renae
Hardcover
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Woodard, Colin
Paperback
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America: Second Revised and Updated Edition
Gonzalez, Juan
Paperback
Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
Pember, Mary Annette
Paperback
Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
Baker, Brea
Hardcover
1000 American History Facts and 101 True Tales: A Journey Through America's Defining Moments and Figures
Publications, Ahoy
Hardcover
Unusual Orcas Island: Ghost Stories and Other Legends from the Gem of the San Juans
Reigel, Joseph
Paperback
This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U. S. History (Large Print Edition)
Gage, Beverly
Hardcover
The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
Crist, David
Paperback
Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century
Bessner, Daniel
Paperback
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Hardcover
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America
Luo, Michael
Hardcover
Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch
Freeman, Andrea
Paperback
Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff
Gurvis, Sandra
Paperback
Watching the Girls Go by: A History of Street Harassment in the United States
Brookfield, Molly M.
Paperback
Erased: True Stories about Race and Racism in America That You Probably Weren't Taught in School
Korgen, Kathleen
Khanna, Nikki
Hardcover
The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump
Cane, Clay
Paperback
The Invention of Infinite Growth: How Economists Came to Believe a Dangerous Delusion
Jones, Christopher F.
Hardcover
The Declaration Of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill Of Rights & Amendments
Fathers, Founding
Paperback
Land of Hope Young Reader's Edition: An Invitation to the Great American Story Volume 1
McClay, Wilfred M.
Paperback
Colonial Williamsburg: The Guide: The Official Companion to the Historic Area
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Paperback
The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink
Hartmann, Thom
Paperback
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating the Spirit of America: 101 Stories about the Country We All Love
Newmark, Amy
Paperback
Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
Dugard, Martin
O'Reilly, Bill
Hardcover
Not "A Nation of Immigrants": Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne
Paperback
250 Great American Things: A Semi-Quincentennial Celebration
Highway, County
Samuels, David
Kirn, Walter
Paperback
Re-Inhabited: Republic for the United States of America: Volume II The Story of the Re-inhabitation
Hertler, Jean Hallahan
Paperback
The Cherokees: A Captivating Guide to the History of a Native American Tribe, the Cherokee Removal, and the Trail of Tears
History, Captivating
Hardcover
Miracles in American History, Volume Two: Amazing Faith That Shaped the Nation: Adapted from William J. Federer's American Minute [With 2 Paperbacks]
Federer, William J.
Federer, Susie
Paperback
A Student Workbook for Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story
McBride, John
McClay, Wilfred M.
Paperback
Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Levenda, Peter
Hardcover