On July 4, 1776, the delegates to the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to sign their Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Each realized this meant war and possible disaster but all knew it was too late to turn back. The words of the Declaration penned by young Tom Jefferson were born of years of bitter struggle. The full story behind the Declaration of Independence was that of a great drama of men and ideas on both sides of the Atlantic. 

The British, under George III, saw the thirteen American colonies as possessions that should return a profit through trade and taxes. The views of the colonists were given voice by fiery young Patrick Henry of Virginia: “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”

Moderates like William Pitt and Edmund Burke in England and America’s Benjamin Franklin tried to heal the breach. But they were helpless before the inexorable logic of events. Tax after tax was levied by the Crown, and British soldiers were sent to enforce them. Americans formed armed groups to resist royal authority. Clashes became inevitable, and the oft-divided colonies united in response to the comment danger. 

In the course of a decisive decade America became a powder keg, and at Lexington and Concord in 1775, the spark was lit. By the year’s end, a rag-tag Continental army under George Washington faced the mightiest power in the world, and the stage was set for the emotionally charged Philadelphia summer days when fierce debate and compromise hammered out the final version of the document that would change the course of history. 

From the dust jacket