LEESBURG, Va. - s4story -- What motivated the key people who created the industrial revolution?

In this ground-breaking new book on economic history, author Anton Chaitkin takes you behind the scenes, to see the two sides struggling to control American policy: nationalist statesmen and industrial innovators, versus the British empire, Wall Street, and the Southern slaveholders.

In Who We Are: America's Fight for Universal Progress, from Franklin to Kennedy—Volume 1: 1750s to 1850s ($19.99, paperback, Amazon), Chaitkin draws from 40 years of research to correct the disastrous flaw in the way the history of modern times has so far been presented.

Both imperial apologists such as Adam Smith, and "New Left" revisionists like Howard Zinn, portray greed as the motive force for modern development. Chaitkin demonstrates that all great advancements in our power over nature were deliberate projects for the improvement of humanity. The author comments, "The only people who can seriously criticize the real evils of America today, are those who seriously appreciate what America—uniquely—did right in the past. That's the purpose of the book."

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Some startling details from Who We Are:
• Benjamin Franklin guides his friends in England who develop the steam engine, canals, steelmaking and automatic machinery.
• Lord Shelburne's British Intelligence system acts to prevent other countries from acquiring the new technical powers, by fake insurrections and the "free trade" dogma.
• Franklin and his close allies guide America's revolt against the empire, write the Constitution, and strategize for a strong industrial nation-state.
• Thomas Jefferson betrays his ideals, joins the enemy Shelburne apparatus, defends southern slavery and British interests, and sabotages Alexander Hamilton's founding development program.
• The British turn the French Revolution to anarchy and mass bloodshed—the first documented account of that regime-change intervention.
• America's founding program remains blocked, until a new generation of nationalist leaders fight the British again and start industrialization.
• In the 1820's, an idealistic core group acting as a team in government and the military, builds U.S. canals, coal and iron industries, and railroads. They bring on modern times, and actively aid other countries' industrial progress—against the violent opposition of the pro-slavery and British imperial interests.

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Volume 1 takes us to the Civil War. Volume 2 (planned for 2021) carries the story of progress, versus empire, from Abraham Lincoln to John F. Kennedy. An accompanying website to the book contains color pictures, live links to the wealth of cited archival sources, and additional information. Visit: WhoWeAreBook.com.

For a review copy or to interview the author, contact Anton Chaitkin at info@antonchaitkin.com.
Purchase on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NS611G9/