I have just finished reading Walter Isaacson’s latest look into the roots of American society, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written—an account of how Thomas Jefferson came to start the Declaration of Independence with this sentence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Isaacson goes on to discuss the individual words and thoughts that, together, lay out the foundation of American democracy. Along the way, he also examines how Jefferson’s first draft was improved, word by word, by his companion revolutionaries-- Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and others—and how it was influenced by other philosophers of the Enlightenment.
He begins with the word “We” and continues with a chapter on every word or phrase that sharpened the definition of America and Americans that would guide the Revolution and, ultimately, the Constitution.
The story of how Jefferson and his colleagues carefully articulated their vision and their hopes for American society that would emerge from the Revolution is timely as we look forward to the nation’s 250th anniversary. It is a brief book—just 66 pages—but it sets the stage for us to better understand the philosophy that guided at its birth and that continues to be the guiding vision of our democracy.
It is a great work to accompany Ken Burns’ new documentary series, The Revolution.
I encourage all to read and watch.
