We the people : the modern-day figures who have reshaped and affirmed the Founding Fathers' vision of America / Juan Williams.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-432) and index.

The Founding Fathers and Modern America -- THE GREAT AMERICAN MELTING POT : JFK, Ted Kennedy, and the Immigration Reform That Changed America -- THE LIVING CONSTITUTION : Earl Warren, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, and the Fight for Civil Rights -- BROKEN WINDOWS, URBAN CRIME, AND HARD DATA : Bill Bratton and Modern Policing -- "NO APOLOGIES, NO REGRETS" : General William Westmoreland and the Rebirth of the U.S. Military -- IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID : Milton Friedman's New Math of Free Markets, Big Business, and Small Taxes -- LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL : Eleanor Roosevelt and the Fight for Universal Human Rights -- THE BRIDGE AND TUNNEL CROWD : Robert Moses, William Levitt, and the American City -- "KEEP THE BOYS HAPPY" : George Meany, Labor Unions, and the Rise of the Middle Class -- ONE NATION UNDER GOD : Billy Graham and the Power of the Christian Right -- GIRLS TO WOMEN TO YOUR BOSS : Betty Friedan and American Feminism -- THE POWER OF DIPLOMACY : Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, and the Opening of China -- ONE-THIRD OF A NATION : Pat Moynihan and the War on Poverty -- EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW : Harry Hay, Barry Goldwater, and Gay Rights -- BACK TO THE FUTURE : Ronald Reagan, Ed Meese, and the Remaking of the Judicial System -- THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET : Social Security, Medicare, and Robert Ball -- SILENT SPRING : Rachel Carson and the Environmental Movement -- A NEW BEGINNING : Martin Luther King Jr. Jesse Jackson, and the Fight for Racial Equality -- THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS : Charlton Heston and the NRA.

"What would the Founding Fathers think about America today? More than 200 years ago the Founders broke away from the tyranny of the British Empire to build a nation based on the principles of freedom, equal rights, and opportunity for all men. But life in the United States today is vastly different from anything the original Founders could have imagined in the late 1700s. The notion of an African American president of the United States, or a woman such as Condoleezza Rice or Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, would have been unimaginable to the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, or who ratified the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. In a fascinating work of history told through a series of in-depth profiles, prize-winning journalist, bestselling author, and Fox political analyst Juan Williams takes readers into the life and work of a new generation of American Founders, who honor the original Founders' vision, even as they have quietly led revolutions in American politics, immigration, economics, and sexual behavior, and reshaped the landscape of the nation. Among the modern-day pioneers Williams writes about in this compelling new book are the passionate conservative President Reagan; the determined fighters for equal rights, Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the profound imprint of Rev. Billy Graham's evangelism on national politics; the focus on global human rights advocated by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; the leaders of the gay community who refused to back down during the Stonewall riots and brought gay life into America's public square; and the reimagined role of women in contemporary life as shaped by Betty Friedan. Williams reveals how each of these modern-day founders has extended the Founding Fathers original vision and changed fundamental aspects of our country, from immigration, to the role of American labor in the economy, from modern police strategies, to the importance of religion in our political discourse. America in the 21st Century remains rooted in the great American experiment in democracy that began in 1776. For all the changes to our economy and our cultural and demographic makeup, there remains a straight line from the first Founders' original vision, to the principles and ideals of today's courageous modern day pioneers"-- Provided by publisher.

"In We the People, renown journalist, Fox political analyst, and bestselling author Juan Williams examines the lives of the men and women in the 20th century who have extended the Founding Fathers' original vision of the country and reshaped what America is"-- Provided by publisher.