'Life,Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness'is the best-known phrase from the Declaration of Independence,one of the most important documents of the eighteenth century and the whole Enlightenment Age.
Written by Thomas Jefferson,it is frequently evoked today as a shorthand for that idea we call the'American Dream'. But this is a line with a surprising history. Rather than being uniquely American,the vision it encapsulates - of a free and happy world - owes a great deal to British thinkers too.
Centred on the life of Benjamin Franklin,featuring figures like the cultural giant Samuel Johnson,the ground-breaking historian Catharine Macaulay,the firebrand politician John Wilkes and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine,this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration in 1776.
It takes us back to a vital moment in the foundation of the West,a time full of intent,confidence and ideas. It tells a whole new story about the birth of the United States of America - and some of the key principles by which we live to this very day.
Publisher: Vintage PublishingISBN: 9781784743192Number of pages: 512Weight: 800 gDimensions: 236 x 164 x 48 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Moore offers a rich and immersive intellectual history of the American Revolution... This is a pleasure.'- Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
'Like Jenny Uglow's The Lunar Men and Leo Damrosch's The Club,Moore's vibrant group biography brings to life the intellectual and political currents,in Britain and Colonial America,that gave rise to the phrase "life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness,"... An energetic and meticulously researched history.'- Kirkus (starred review)
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