"Few American families were caught so thoroughly in the roil of America's early history as the Mordecais. Over three generations, they witnessed the Continental Congress convening in Philadelphia, struggled to understand their faith during the evangelical fervor of the Great Awakening, joined patrols in the aftermath of Nat Turner's revolt, participated in the free-love experiments of the 1850s, and watched firsthand as the Union Army razed Richmond. And through it all they wrote - letters, diaries, newspaper articles, books - having made personal and familial enlightenment through self-improvement their anchor throughout the tumultuous decades." "Drawn from these rich archives, Mordecai is a re-creation of one family's first century in the United States. It gives this nation's early history a uniquely personal face."--BOOK JACKET.