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Book Launch: 'Declaring Independence' by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian Edward J. Larson
Historian Edward J. Larson looks back at a pivotal year in United States' history with the launch of his new book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters. He will be in conversation with moderator Dr. Aaron Q. Weinstein to discuss this significant year and its impact on our country almost 250 years later.
This event is presented in part with our Community Partner, the Drum Hill Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, the Westport Museum for History and Culture, and VFW Post 399.
About the Book
The self-evident truths of 1776 hover over America’s divisions — as inspiring ideals, as measures of how far the nation still must come, as the hypocrisy of slaveholders, as intrusions on local traditions. The revolutionary politics of 1776 turned from securing the rights of Englishmen to establishing the authority of an independent nation. The battlefields of 1776 cast the military mould for the war years to come and gave an enduring symbol of gritty determination. Drawing together the eloquence of Jefferson and the insistence of Paine, the strategies of generals and the audacious tactics of armies on the move and the powerful political movement that transformed colonies into states, this history of 1776 is a leading scholar’s distillation of the pivotal events that must be reckoned with 250 after the nation’s birth.
About the Author
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 near Los Angeles.
About the Moderator
Dr. Aaron Q. Weinstein is an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at Fairfield University. He specializes in American political thought, with a particular attention to the difficulties facing a “unifying” American Civil Religion (ACR) during hyper-polarized and distrustful times. His research has been accepted for publication in numerous peer-reviewed scholarly outlets, including Polity; Politics, Religion & Ideology; American Political Thought; and Routledge Press.
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