On the 250th anniversary of American independence, with the history of our founding a political battleground, this study of the ideas and battlefield sacrifices of 1776 by a Pulitzer Prize–winning scholar could not be more timely.
At the beginning of 1776, virtually no one in the colonies was advocating independence: Americans based their grievances against Parliament on their rights as British subjects. By the end of 1776, independence was on every patriot’s lips. The many tyrannies of a king had made an independent republic necessary. In Declaring Independence, Edward J. Larson gives us a compact, insightful history of that pivotal year. He traces a narrative arc that runs from the inspiring appeals of Paine’s Common Sense in January; through the soaring ideals of midsummer, when the Continental Congress grounded independence in the self-evident truths of human equality and individual rights, and the states wove revolutionary principles of republican government and the rule of law into their new constitutions; to Paine’s urgent pleas of December, when “the times that try men’s souls” required Americans not “to shrink from the service of their country.” Dramatic military clashes also punctuate the year: the British evacuation of Boston forced by the brilliant maneuvers of Washington’s Army; the Battle of Long Island, a costly defeat that opened New York to British occupation; and the desperate year-end victory of a threadbare American army at Trenton.
Combined, these ideals and the sacrifices remind us why, on this anniversary and at this political moment, 1776 matters to all of us.
Please refer to the welcome email which you received when purchasing or renewing your membership. At the bottom of this email, you will find your online member discount code. BEFORE checking out, please click on 'view cart' and type in your member code to the 'discount code or gift card' box. Your member discount will then be applied to your order.
If you are unable to locate your welcome email, please contact membership@huntington.org for further assistance.
We endeavor to process your order within 3 days of receipt. Once your order has been processed, packed, and ready to be shipped, you will receive an email with your item's tracking number.
Our couriers are USPS or UPS ground, If you would like your parcel to be shipped via FedEx or other courier, please add a comment in the NOTES section on your order and we will contact you for further information.
If you have selected 'pick up in store' as your delivery method, please wait until you receive an email from us to let you know that your order is ready to be collected.
You do not need a ticket to visit our store or pick up your order.
We accept returns within 30 days of delivery. Please note that food, beverages, teas, coffee, calendars, seasonal items, gift cards, trunk show items, and sale items are final sale and are not refundable.
To initiate a return, please email us at thestore@huntington.org to let us know that you would like to return your order. Then, follow the instructions on the paperwork included in your parcel.
Please note that returns must be received back at our warehouse in original packaging, with tags, and in a clean, resalable condition.
Once we have received your return in good condition, we will process a refund minus your original shipping charge. Please note that funds may take 1-3 days to appear back in your account, depending on your bank's T's and C's or payment method.
