Description
Book SynopsisIn this revised and expanded second edition of Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of Self-Government, the original themes of American independence and the meaning of the pursuit of happiness have been updated in light of current controversies among historians surrounding the interpretation of the Revolution and questions of slavery and race in late eighteenth-century imperial debates. This new edition develops more thoroughly the substantive revisions made by Congress, with expanded focus on the excision of the original grievances against the king for fostering slavery and the retention of the charge of inciting domestic insurrection, to ask about the implications of these alterations in the text for the ideals of the Revolutionary movement. The original argument concerning the importance of the universalist claims of the Declaration in favor of self-government, informed by a strong distinction between state and society, remains
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments to the Second Edition – Acknowledgments to the First Edition – Introduction: Engaging the History of the Declaration – "A History of Repeated Injuries": The Designs of Empire – "Let Facts Be Submitted to a Candid World": Power on Trial – "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness": Jefferson and the Natural Social Order – "New Guards for Their Future Security": The Declaration and the Constitution – Conclusion: The Declaration and Its Implications –Bibliographic Essay – Appendix A: Declaration of Independence – Appendix B: Strictures upon the Declaration …, by Thomas Hutchinson – Index.
