American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence

This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class. Pauline Maier expertly researched the events leading up to the birth of the Declaration. The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in May of 1775, and included delegates from all of the thirteen colonies. Not all of the delegates to the Congress were in favor of separating from Great Britain, even though several of the colonies' militias were involved in military actions against the British forces in places like Ft. Ticonderoga. Politically forceful men, such as Robert R. Livingstone of New York, led the majority of delegates. They were primarily interested in the Congress petitioning King George III to hear the colonies grievances and amicably settle their differences. In June, Thomas Jefferson, a delegate from Virginia was chosen to serve on a committee to draft a declaration delineating the colonies grievances to the king. This would be Jefferson's first of many writing assignments while a member of the congress. As is so often the case in history, a great catalyst would have to move the delegates of the congress to overcome their fears and finally break with the Mother country. That catalyst came from Great Britain to the colonies in 1775; and in January 1776, the name Thomas Paine, was virtually on the lips of every adult colonist. Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer. Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push. Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776. To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement. It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies. In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end. No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success. Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain. The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion. The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again." By June 7, 1776, events had progressed to a point that Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, made a motion to dissolve all ties to Great Britain and declare independence. After the motion passed, the Continental Congress appointed a committee comprised of five men John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Ro

I teach a class on American civics and history, and if only this book had written for middle-schoolers (i.e. a bit shorter, since I only have a week to teach the material, review and test). It has excellent research and sources, and it (usually) captures the chaos, excitement and some of the danger of the time. It's a little long, probably by about two chapters. Aside from that, it's an excellent resource. It has made its way, I know, onto two university history and poli-sci department reading lists in North Carolina and Virginia, and I've heard that it's required reading in a few other places. It's a good read, a good telling of a fascinating story. For history buffs and students, this book is a must.

The Declaration of Independence holds a revered and honored place in our national lexicon of important American historical documents. But what makes a document that is well over two hundred years old command such respect. Pauline Maier sets out to tell the story of the Declaration of Independence, from the circumstances to surrounding its writing, to the documents that influenced its text, to how the Declaration came to be held in such high esteem. Maier begins her story on the eve of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and tells the story of how the Congress was moved toward independence by June and July 1776. She explains how Jefferson came to be the author of the Declaration and what documents influenced his writing. She also places the Declaration within the broader context of other "declarations of independence" being made by individual states during this time period. After Jefferson had completed his text, Maier illustrates the changes that both the draft committee and the Congress as a whole made to the document. Her final chapter deals with how American attitudes toward the Declaration changed between 1776 and the Civil War concluding with how Abraham Lincoln changed the Declaration into a living, breathing historical document.Maier's account of the Declaration of Independence is extremely well researched and well written. Maier has obviously done a lot of research - especially into the area of the "declarations" attached to the state constitutions begin written at the time. This was an angle of research that I had not seen before and it was interesting to see how the Declaration of Independence was both alike and different from the others. Maier's account is very readable and her writing is easy to follow.If you are looking for a readable, one-volume account of the story of the Declaration of Independence then look no forward. I would recommend this book to both students who have some background on the subject as well as the average person looking for some more information about their nation's history.

Maier's award winning book on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence is an important work that every history teacher in America should read. Maier clarifies for the world that the Declaration of Independence was not only the inspiration for our American Democracy but the product of it.What I found most fascinating was that the Declaration was not the pure work of one man (Jefferson), but a truly collaborative document that drew heavily from the ideas and documents that were emerging from the towns and hamlets within the colonies at that time. The book teaches the valuable lesson that citizens should not be mere consumers of our democracy, but the creators of it. In the end, Maier proves that the Declaration is not so much a divinely inspired work, but more of a precursor of what has become the product of a free people, the great American experiment that is the United States.

This interesting book demythologizes the creation of the Declaration by showing its relation to the times. Rather than being the brilliant and idiosyncratic creation of a single man (Thomas Jefferson), the Declaration is closely related to many other contemporary documents (including many other declarations of independence in the colonies). As Maier shows, its style and form also are derived from the historical conventions of written documents in Britain, the significance of such documents and their use to explain or justify events. Jefferson drafted the document but the final version is the product of a collective effort. Maier focuses on the historical context rather than on the abstract intellectual content of the Declaration considered in isolation. The book is well-written and I found it very interesting and informative. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Declaration or in this period of American history.