American Scripture
Making the Declaration of Independence
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Yen
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By:
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Pauline Maier
About this listen
Maier describes the transformation of the Second Continental Congress into a national government, unlike anything that preceded or followed it, and with more authority than the colonists would ever have conceded to the British Parliament.
In Maier's hands, the Declaration of Independence is brought close to us. She lets us hear the voice of the people as revealed in the other "declarations" of 1776: the local resolutions - most of which have gone unnoticed over the past two centuries - that explained, advocated, and justified Independence and undergirded Congress' work. Detective-like, she discloses the origins of key ideas and phrases in the Declaration and unravels the complex story of its drafting and of the group-editing job which angered Thomas Jefferson.
Maier also reveals what happened to the Declaration after the signing and celebration: how it was largely forgotten and then revived to buttress political arguments of the 19th century; and, most important, how Abraham Lincoln ensured its persistence as a living force in American society. Finally, she shows how by the very act of venerating the Declaration as we do - by holding it as sacrosanct, akin to holy writ - we may actually be betraying its purpose and its power.
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- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and apply the Constitution? Are liberals right when they cite its “elastic” clauses to justify big government, or are conservatives right when they cite its explicit limits on federal power? Professor Brion McClanahan, popular author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, finds the answers by going directly to the source—the Founders themselves, who debated all the relevant issues in their state constitutional conventions.
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Biased from the opening
- By David on 11-05-20
By: Brion McClanahan
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We the Fallen People
- The Founders and the Future of American Democracy
- By: Robert Tracy McKenzie
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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We the Fallen People presents a close look at the ideas of human nature to be found in the history of American democratic thought. McKenzie, following C. S. Lewis, claims there are only two reasons to believe in majority rule: because we have confidence in human nature - or because we don't. The Founders subscribed to the biblical principle that humans are fallen and their virtue is always doubtful, and they wrote the US Constitution to frame a republic intended to handle our weaknesses.
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Thoughtful reflection and historical perspective, but ultimately no easy answer
- By Brandon on 03-28-23
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The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
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Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
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The Age of Reason
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology, published in three parts from 1794, was a best seller in America, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. Promoting a creator-God while advocating reason in the place of revelation, Paine’s controversial pamphlet caused his native British audience, fearing the results of the French Revolution, to receive it with more hostility than their American counterparts.
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Amazed by the energy, originality & bravery
- By Darwin8u on 10-06-12
By: Thomas Paine
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America's Revolutionary Mind
- A Moral History of the American Revolution and the Declaration That Defined It
- By: C. Bradley Thompson
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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The purpose of this book is twofold: first, to elucidate the logic, principles, and significance of the Declaration of Independence as the embodiment of the American mind; and, second, to shed light on what John Adams once called the "real American Revolution"; that is, the moral revolution that occurred in the minds of the people in the 15 years before 1776.
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Excellent study of Revolutionary Thinking
- By Amazon Customer on 03-24-21
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Rights of Man
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Rights of Man presents an impassioned defense of the Enlightenment principles of freedom and equality that Thomas Paine believed would soon sweep the world. He boldly claimed, "From a small spark, kindled in America, a flame has arisen, not to be extinguished. Without consuming...it winds its progress from nation to nation."
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By his voice alone he helped transform the West
- By Darwin8u on 12-23-12
By: Thomas Paine
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Twelve Who Ruled
- The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution
- By: R. R. Palmer, Isser Woloch - foreword
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The Reign of Terror continues to fascinate scholars as one of the bloodiest periods in French history, when the Committee of Public Safety strove to defend the first Republic from its many enemies, creating a climate of fear and suspicion in revolutionary France. R. R. Palmer's fascinating narrative follows the Committee's deputies individually and collectively, recounting and assessing their tumultuous struggles in Paris and their repressive missions in the provinces.
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A Warning
- By Josh Rowe on 03-20-21
By: R. R. Palmer, and others
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What listeners say about American Scripture
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Andy
- 07-30-21
Excellent
This book is such a wonderful context of the document I look back to with such admiration. I actually read the author's later work "Ratification" first, which I found harder to push through, due do it's necessarily more detail-laden content, it's substantially increased volume, and the fact that I am a slow reader. This "American Scripture" audiobook however, was a delightful breeze that struck chords in my intellect and heart as I listened. The narrator does a fantastic job setting off the numerous quotations. I can't recommend the book enough, and especially like Maier's conclusion at the end of the epilogue. (I'm not gonna spoil it, just listen to it yourself!)
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- Brad Weisberger
- 05-24-21
Outstanding Book. Horrible Narration.
If you enjoy books about the founding of our country including the very interesting people and events, then you will like this superb book. It is well-researched and extremely enjoyable. Pauline Maier is both an outstanding historian and an excellent story teller and this paper book was already in my library.
The book begins just after the first shots of what would become the American Revolution.
Maier is often on the History Channel and she even lectured at my University. I should add that I would read a few excerpts of this text in the American Government class I teach.
I am sorry to report that I did not enjoy the narration which I found both distracting an unpleasant. I hope a new recording is created. Whenever dialogue is read the narrator reads it in a voice that sounds to me like an odd, unclear, cartoon voice.
I don’t hold the poor narration against the author, but I feel bad that it must impact both sales and reaction to the audio version of an outstanding book.
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3 people found this helpful