"Dr. Finley's book is a tribute, and a tribute passionate and earnest, to France. The heart of America to which he puts his ear is not the Mississippi Valley, but the actual pulsing organ which is the seat of our national life today."
-New York Times, 1915

The French pioneers in America left a lasting impact on the vitality and democratic ideals of the present-day United States. Through this collection of chapters originally penned as lectures for French audiences, Finley hints that the French, more than the English, played an instrumental role in the development of the American...