The untold story of how America really talks, for readers of Mary Roach and Bill Bryson—and anyone who’s ever wondered about the power of “bad” words.

For 400 years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For 400 years, the’ve refused to listen.

Four-Letter Nation reveals the hidden history behind America’s most forbidden words—and why they’ve never really been forbidden at all. This isn’t a simple tale about prohibition giving way to permissiveness. It’s the surprising truth about how “bad words” built America.

From Puritan colonies where blasphemy could get you whipped, to Civil War battlefields where profanity became poetry, to modern comedy clubs where curse words became currency, historian Stephen Jaffe uncovers the rogues and revolutionaries who weaponized taboo language to challenge authority, claim their identities, and reshape what it means to be American.

You’ll discover:

-Why colonial Americans swore differently than the British (and what that says about democracy).

-How the Civil War created an explosion of new profanity that horrified—and secretly thrilled—the nation.

-The surprising role of women in preserving America’s dirtiest words.

-How Hollywood and hip-hop transformed curse words from moral failings into artistic statements.

This book is the story of American rebellion told through its most authentic voice. Four-Letter Nation proves that America’s “bad language” isn't a bug in our national character—it’s a feature. And it always has been.