Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence
From one of America's foremost historians, Inventing America compares Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence with the final, accepted version, thereby challenging many long-cherished assumptions about both the man and the document. Although Jefferson has long been idealized as a champion of individual rights, Wills argues that in fact his vision was one in which interdependence, not self-interest, lay at the foundation of society.

"No one has offered so drastic a revision or so close or convincing an analysis as Wills has . . . The results are little short of astonishing" —(Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books)
1101870789
Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence
From one of America's foremost historians, Inventing America compares Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence with the final, accepted version, thereby challenging many long-cherished assumptions about both the man and the document. Although Jefferson has long been idealized as a champion of individual rights, Wills argues that in fact his vision was one in which interdependence, not self-interest, lay at the foundation of society.

"No one has offered so drastic a revision or so close or convincing an analysis as Wills has . . . The results are little short of astonishing" —(Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books)
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Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

by Garry Wills
Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

by Garry Wills

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Overview

From one of America's foremost historians, Inventing America compares Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence with the final, accepted version, thereby challenging many long-cherished assumptions about both the man and the document. Although Jefferson has long been idealized as a champion of individual rights, Wills argues that in fact his vision was one in which interdependence, not self-interest, lay at the foundation of society.

"No one has offered so drastic a revision or so close or convincing an analysis as Wills has . . . The results are little short of astonishing" —(Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780385542838
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date: 02/15/2017
Sold by: Random House
Format: eBook
Pages: 398
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

About The Author
Garry Wills is one of the most respected writers on religion. He is the author of Saint Augustine's Childhood, Saint Augustine's Memory, and Saint Augustine's Sin, the first three volumes in this series, as well as the Penguin Lives biography Saint Augustine. His other books include “Negro President”: Jefferson and the Slave Power, Why I Am a Catholic, Papal Sin, and Lincoln at Gettysburg, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Date of Birth:

May 22, 1934

Place of Birth:

Atlanta, GA

Education:

St. Louis University, B.A., 1957; Xavier University, M.A., 1958; Yale University, Ph.D., 1961

Table of Contents

Introduction v

Prologue xiii

Part 1 Revolutionary Charter

1 "… our sacred honor …" 3

2 "… manly spirit bids us …" 19

3 "… former systems of government …" 34

4 "… right of the people to alter …" 49

5 "… assemblage of horrors …" 65

6 "… the circumstances of our emigration …" 76

Part 2 A Scientific Paper

7 "… necessary …" 93

8 "… course of human events …" 111

9 "… let facts be submitted …" 132

10 "… effect their safety & happiness …" 149

Part 3 A Moral Paper

11 "… attentions to our British brethren …" 167

12 "… self-evident …" 181

13 "… endowed by their Creator …" 193

14 "… created equal …" 207

15 "… all men …" 218

16 "… inalienable rights …" 229

17 "… pursuit …" 240

18 "… of happiness …" 248

Part 4 A Sentimental Paper

19 "… of nature and of nature's god …" 259

20 "… agonizing affection …" 273

21 "… bands which have connected …" 284

22 "… one people …" 293

23 "… unfeeling brethren …" 307

Part 5 National Symbol

24 "… opinions of mankind …" 323

25 "… decent respect …" 334

26 "… communication of grandeur …" 345

27 "… no part of our constitution …" 352

Epilogue 363

The Drama of the Declaration: An Afterword 371

Paraphernalia 375

Key to Brief Citations 377

The Declarations of Jefferson and of the Congress 379

Index to Proper Names 385

Index to Phrases 395

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