Presents the story of the 1940s Wall Street attorney and presidential candidate to explore his advocacy of civil rights, promotion of America's involvement in international politics, and enduring legacy. "In the wake of one of the most tumultuous Republican conventions ever, the party of Lincoln nominated in 1940 a prominent businessman and former Democrat who could have saved America's sclerotic political system. Although Wendell Lewis Willkie would...

Gabriel Long was the son of Jeremiah and Frances Long. He married Margaret Harrison, the daughter of Andrew Harrison. Gabriel lived in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia in 1678. His brother Richard married Elizabeth. Richard's will was filed in Spotsylvania County in 1762. His children listed in the will were Gabriel, James, William, Andrew and Reuben. James Davis was born in 1722 and married Catherine Wendell. Their children included Wendell, Jane,...

Adam Cohen tells the story of one of the darkest moments in the American legal tradition: the Supreme Court's decision to champion eugenic sterilization for the greater good of the country. In 1927, when the nation was caught up in eugenic fervor, the justices allowed Virginia to sterilize Carrie Buck, a perfectly normal young woman, for being an "imbecile." It is a story with many villains, from the superintendent of the Dickensian Virginia Colony...