Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters

Review Quotes:
Declaring Independence is a brilliant illumination of the self-evident truths that inspired America's revolutionary war against the tyrannical British monarchy. On the eve of our 250th anniversary, if we are to reclaim our founding ideals of democratic self-government and rule by law, we should begin by poring over every studied page of Edward J. Larson's anniversary gift to America.--J. Michael Luttig, former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge

Review Quotes:
At a time when the guardrails of our democracy are being tested, it is vitally important to understand the foundations of American government. Edward J. Larson has written a magnificent book that explains how pivotal 1776 was for liberty, equality, and democracy. This beautifully written history is stunning in its lessons for today.--Erwin Chemerinsky, author of No Democracy Lasts Forever

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Timely and timeless.--Susan Dunn, author of Jefferson's Second Revolution

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A profound account of a pivotal year, 1776, with special emphasis on the generative state constitutions and state declarations of rights that took shape that year. If you want to understand America--all of it, deeply, widely, then, now, and in between--read Larson.--Akhil Reed Amar, author of Born Equal

Review Quotes:
Edward J. Larson's eloquent and illuminating Declaring Independence ranks as the indispensable history to read as Americans prepare for our 250th anniversary as a nation.--Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution

Brief Description:
"At the beginning of 1776, virtually no one in the colonies was advocating independence: Americans based their grievances against Parliament on their rights as British subjects. By the end of 1776, independence was on every patriot's lips. The many tyrannies of a king had made an independent republic necessary. In Declaring Independence, Edward J. Larson gives us a compact, insightful history of that pivotal year. He traces a narrative arc that runs from the inspiring appeals of Paine's Common Sense in January; through the soaring ideals of midsummer, when the Continental Congress grounded independence in the self-evident truths of human equality and individual rights, and the states wove revolutionary principles of republican government and the rule of law into their new constitutions; to Paine's urgent pleas of December, when 'the times that try men's souls' required Americans not 'to shrink from the service of their country.' Dramatic military clashes also punctuate the year: the British evacuation of Boston forced by the brilliant maneuvers of Washington's Army; the Battle of Long Island, a costly defeat that opened New York to British occupation; and the desperate year-end victory of a threadbare American army at Trenton. Combined, these ideals and the sacrifices remind us why, on this anniversary and at this political moment, 1776 matters to all of us."--

Publisher Marketing:

At the beginning of 1776, virtually no one in the colonies was advocating independence: Americans based their grievances against Parliament on their rights as British subjects. By the end of 1776, independence was on every patriot's lips. The many tyrannies of a king had made an independent republic necessary. In Declaring Independence, Edward J. Larson gives us a compact, insightful history of that pivotal year. He traces a narrative arc that runs from the inspiring appeals of Paine's Common Sense in January; through the soaring ideals of midsummer, when the Continental Congress grounded independence in the self-evident truths of human equality and individual rights, and the states wove revolutionary principles of republican government and the rule of law into their new constitutions; to Paine's urgent pleas of December, when "the times that try men's souls" required Americans not "to shrink from the service of their country." Dramatic military clashes also punctuate the year: the British evacuation of Boston forced by the brilliant maneuvers of Washington's Army; the Battle of Long Island, a costly defeat that opened New York to British occupation; and the desperate year-end victory of a threadbare American army at Trenton.

Combined, these ideals and the sacrifices remind us why, on this anniversary and at this political moment, 1776 matters to all of us.

Review Citations:

• Library Journal 07/01/2025 pg. 11 (EAN 9781324078975, Hardcover)
• Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2025 (EAN 9781324078975, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Larson, Edward J
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.