This is a forceful statement of what is right about America -- as well as a history of where we've gone wrong. Our principles are the best the world has ever known: freedom, democracy, equality, justice, and independence. Yet failure to follow this creed leads us to great wrongs -- from the genocide of the Indians, slavery, and discrimination, to rule by corporations, the privatisation of our currency, endless undeclared wars for empire, and the erosion of rights under the surveillance state. With an array of fascinating, little-known details, the author shows how each failure comes from betraying our ideals, and calls for us to finally live up to them.