The formative period of the United States, running roughly from 1789 to 1829, has become remote and perhaps overly idealized. While the administrations of George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams set the country on the path to modernity by resolving some nagging problems left over from the Revolution, they failed to resolve many crucial issues, such as slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, and the consequences of industrial development. Despite many common goals, the gentry's leadership was riven by sectional friction, personal competition, and partisan bickering that almost tore the nation apart during the War of 1812. This dictionary recounts the achievements and the failures, the progress and the backsliding, and the high and low points of our forefathers.