Declaring Independence - Why 1776 Matters

The self-evident truths of 1776 hover over America's divisions-as inspiring ideals, as measures of how far the nation still must come, as the hypocrisy of slaveholders, as intrusions on local traditions. The revolutionary politics of 1776 turned from securing the rights of Englishmen to establishing the authority of an independent nation. The battlefields of 1776 cast the military mould for the war years to come and gave an enduring symbol of gritty determination. Drawing together the eloquence of Jefferson and the insistence of Paine, the strategies of generals and the audacious tactics of armies on the move and the powerful political movement that transformed colonies into states, this history of 1776 is a leading scholar's distillation of the pivotal events that must be reckoned with two hundred and fifty years after the nation's birth.

About the author

Edward J. Larson is the author of many acclaimed works of history, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning account of the Scopes trial, Summer for the Gods, and the recent study of liberty and slavery at the founding, American Inheritance. A chaired professor of history and law at Pepperdine University, Larson lives with his family near Los Angeles.

Product details

• Authors: Edward J Larson, Larson Edward J.
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 11.11.2025
• EAN: 9781324078975
• ISBN: 978-1-324-07897-5
• Dimensions: 163 mm x 236 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 475 g
• Illustrations: 8 pages of illustrations
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, military history, HISTORY / Military / United States, HISTORY / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), Local History, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, Northeastern & North Atlantic States, US Northeast: New England, American War of Independence, C 1700 To C 1800, US Northeast: Mid-Atlantic States, c 1765 to 1783 (American Revolutionary period), c 1783 to c 1800 (American Federalist era)