The Unfinished Business of 1776: Why the American Revolution Never Ended

by Thomas Richards

368 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 3, 2026

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[Shiny Ruins · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Thomas Richards does an excellent job of examining the Revolution, its legacy and how different eras and different groups of Americans responded to it in its immediate aftermath, decades later and towards a conclusion of the book, centuries later. His weaved an profound examination of figures and events (the Westward expansion, the Civil War for example) and how opposing groups tried to reaffirm and aligned themselves with the message of the Revolution and the Founding Fathers. Through it all he examined how America has failed and continue to fail to live up to the promises made in the Constitution, while also demonstrating the countless numbers of Americans who continually strive to make the words laid out in the document a reality for everyone.

In the epilogue, which he focuses on the nation's upcoming 250th birthday in 2026, he rightfully sets his gaze on Trump and the damage he is doing.

Trumpism is also predicated on easily disprovable, often dangerous or malicious lies, unbridled demagoguery, and an open embrace of anti-intellectualism—all of which the Founding Fathers abhorred. The Founders were undoubtedly flawed, but they did not lie egregiously, embrace fanaticism, or celebrate stupidity. [...] At a time of rapidly rising inequality, increasingly unaffordable housing, the deindustrialization and hollowing out of wide swaths of the country, a lowering standard of living, and the cost of higher education reaching six figures per year, the Democrats have offered unexceptional ideas and stale political platitudes.

[Chelsea Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

The Unfinished Business of 1776 is a timely book that discusses the American Revolution published for the 250th year since the Declaration of Independence. In this book Richards argues that the revolution never ended. Many topics are discussed in this such as The Bill of Rights, The Whiskey Rebellion, racial equality, the two-party political system and the Cherokee’s fight for their rights.

This book is very timely and important. It is an informative read with a lot of interesting information on varied topics that are all linked to the American Revolution. I enjoyed the parts on racial equality the most because generally I am interested in that topic. The book was written well and I will be recommending this. The epilogue was superb and I loved how the author tied it all together to current politics. I would have liked more links to today’s politics but overall this was good and well researched.

Favourite quote - “It is not only deeply reactionary—Make America Great Again—but it is also based upon a version of America that never really existed in the first place. Indeed, Trump has never defined the exact era of American greatness he would like to return to.”