1. Introduction: What a republic is and how it was mislaid in America-- 2. Samuel and Solon: The origins of the republic in tribalism-- 3. From Brutus to Brutus: The rise and fall of Rome-- 4. William Tell: The failure of kings in Switzerland-- 5. Niccolò Machiavelli: The Florentine commune-- 6. John Calvin: A Republican church-- 7. John Milton: A commonwealth of saints-- 8. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin: A Republican Union-- 9. Maximilien Robespierre: The democratic republic-- 10. Thaddeus Stevens: The legacy of the America Whigs-- 11. Léon Gambetta and the Troisième: The Parliamentary Republic-- 12. Gustav Noske: The Reluctant Republic of Weimer-- 13. Five Senators: The Republic versus its Presidents-- 14. Conclusion: Squaring the circles of Polybios