American Scripture

American Scripture

by Maier, Pauline

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"The definitive statement of the Declaration of Independence as the embodiment of the American mind and historical experience". -- The New York Times Book Review

In a pathbreaking work that revolutionizes our understanding of the Declaration of Independence, Pauline Maier strips away the accumulated misconceptions and misplaced reverence that have long surrounded this epoch-making document.

Drawing upon dozens of other "declarations of independence" written to protest the repression of the colonies by King George III, as well as carefully analyzing the drafts of the Declaration eventually signed on July 4, 1776, Maier reveals the extent to which Thomas Jefferson's words and ideas were indebted to popular political beliefs. She also sheds new light on Abraham Lincoln's role, in his Gettysburg Address, in making the Declaration the sacred scripture of American freedom and equality. This is cultural history at its best -- a work that irrevocably changes our perspective on how America came to be.

"Splendid. Maier skillfully traces the progress of the Declaration from political event to sacred text". -- Washington Post

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