Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Robert Hawes found himself surrounded by monuments, battlefields, and other reminders of America's history, while living in the shadow of its federal government. "I was fortunate to live in an area where I had regular access to Washington D.C., and the monuments and museums there," he says. "It helped me develop an interest in history and government at an early age." That early interest matured into a detailed study over the years, and has recently manifested itself through written commentary and other forms of activism. "I don't want to be seventy years old some day, sitting back and looking at what's happened to my country and wondering if, once upon a long time ago, I might have done something to about it."

In particular, Robert developed an interest in the history of the Southern Confederacy, the war between North and South, and Abraham Lincoln - with whom he shared a birthday. He started off admiring Lincoln and the Union cause, but later began to question both when he discovered that at least one of his ancestors had fought for Virginia and the Confederacy. This caused him to probe deeply into the conflict and the persons involved and, from there, to search for answers to what he came to view as the most fundamental questions an American can ask about himself and his heritage. "In some way or another, that single conflict touches on every aspect of what it means to be an American," he says. "And the issues involved are still with us today." This interest in the war and its core issues led to his first book: One Nation, Indivisible? A Study of Secession and the Constitution, released in 2006.

At present, Robert has several book projects in the works, ranging over such widely diverse topics as science, politics, religion, and philosophy. He has written several articles that have been published on various Internet sites. He also writes fiction and is working on one novel that is near completion. Aside from more serious pursuits, he is a film buff and an avid reader of suspense and science fiction novels.

Robert was born in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1973. He graduated cum laude from Pensacola Christian College in 1995 with a B.A. in Pre-law. He has been married for eleven years and is the father of two children, ages seven and five. He works in the I.T. industry and currently lives in South Carolina, but has plans on eventually relocating to western Montana.

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