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The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent, May 1-July 4, 1776
Simon & Schuster
July 2011
On Sale: July 5, 2011
288 pages ISBN: 1416584102 EAN: 9781416584100 Kindle: B003L785N8 Paperback / e-Book
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Non-Fiction History
This is the rambunctious story of how America came to
declare independence in Philadelphia in 1776. As late as
that May, the Continental Congress had no plans to break
away from England. Troops under General George Washington
had been fighting the British for nearly a year—yet in
Philadelphia a mighty bloc known as "reconciliationists,"
led by the influential Pennsylvanian John Dickinson, strove
to keep America part of the British Empire. But a cadre of activists—led by the mysterious Samuel Adams
of Massachusetts and assisted by his nervous cousin
John—plotted to bring about American independence. Their
audacious secret plan proposed overturning the
reconciliationist government of Pennsylvania and replacing
it with pro-independence leaders. Remarkably, the adventure
succeeded. The Adams coalition set in motion a startling
chain of events in the Philadelphia streets, in the
Continental Congress, and throughout the country that
culminated in the Declaration of Independence on July 4. In Declaration William Hogeland brings to vibrant
life both the day-to-day excitement and the profound
importance of those nine fast-paced weeks essential to the
American founding yet little known today. He depicts the
strange-bedfellow alliance the Adamses formed with scruffy
Philadelphia outsiders and elegant Virginia planters to
demand liberty. He paints intimate portraits of key figures:
John Dickinson, a patriot who found himself outmaneuvered on
the losing side of history; Benjamin Franklin, the most
famous man in America, engaged in and perplexed by his
city’s upheavals; Samuel Adams, implacable in changing the
direction of Congress; his cousin John, anxious about the
democratic aspirations of their rabble-rousing Philadelphia
allies; and those democratic radical organizers themselves,
essential to bringing about independence, all but forgotten
until now. As the patriots’ adventure gathers toward the world-changing
climax of the Declaration, conflicts and ironies arise, with
trenchant relevance for the most important issues
confronting Americans today. Declaration offers a
fresh, gripping, and vivid portrait of the passionate men
and thrilling events that gave our country birth.
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