Divided Over the Declaration

Upon the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence comes a gripping fight-by-fight chronicle of America’s fiercest ongoing debate—the battle over the Declaration’s true meaning—waged by the Founding Fathers and enslaved people to suffragists, abolitionists, anti-imperialists, and civil-rights leaders. The ideological war endures and continues to shape our democracy today. As America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the nation remains divided over the true meaning of every word, phrase, and sentence. In Divided Over the Declaration, acclaimed historians of American democracy David J. Bobb and Tony Williams lead readers through the centuries-long argument over the Declaration’s promises—an argument that has shaped every major struggle in our nation’s history. Alongside the historical figures who forged the most powerful arguments, readers enter the rooms, streets, battlefields, churches, and courtrooms where the meaning of equality and liberty was questioned, claimed, denied, or reaffirmed. They encounter Jefferson drafting the Declaration under impossible pressure, Abigail Adams urging the nation to “remember the ladies,” and Frederick Douglass insisting that America honor the universal promise of equality. They witness Lincoln redefining the nation’s ideals at Gettysburg, Elizabeth Cady Stanton invoking the Declaration at Seneca Falls, and Martin Luther King Jr. reclaiming its principles on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. From the founding through abolition, suffrage, anti-imperialism, civil rights, and beyond, here is the story of an evolving document that has inspired movements, fueled resistance, and sparked conflict from 1776 to today. In an era of deep political polarization, Divided Over the Declaration invites readers to see the Declaration not as sacred text or political weapon, but as the beginning of a conversation Americans have never stopped having.