
America's Revolutionary Mind
A Moral History of the American Revolution and the Declaration That Defined It
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Narrated by:
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Tom Parks
About this listen
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. The Declaration is used here as an ideological road map by which to chart the intellectual and moral terrain traveled by American Revolutionaries as they searched for new moral principles to deal with the changed political circumstances of the 1760s and early 1770s. This volume identifies and analyzes the modes of reasoning, the patterns of thought, and the new moral and political principles that served American Revolutionaries first in their intellectual battle with Great Britain before 1776 and then in their attempt to create new Revolutionary societies after 1776.
The book reconstructs what amounts to a near-unified system of thought - what Thomas Jefferson called an "American mind" or what author C. Bradley Thompson calls "America's Revolutionary mind." This American mind was, Thompson argues, united in its fealty to a common philosophy that was expressed in the Declaration and launched with the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident."
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The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed - as many at the time feared it would - it's possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today.
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Compelling
- By Jean on 03-05-18
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A People’s History of the American Revolution
- How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence
- By: Ray Raphael
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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A sweeping narrative of the wartime experience, A People's History of the American Revolution is the first book to view the Revolution through the eyes of common folk. Their stories have long been overlooked in the mythic telling of America's founding but are crucial to a comprehensive understanding of the fight for independence. Now, the experience of farmers, laborers, rank-and-file soldiers, women, Native Americans, and African Americans - found in diaries, letters, memoirs, and other revelatory primary sources - create a gritty account of rebellion....
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A treasure trove of information
- By DM on 04-30-21
By: Ray Raphael
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E Pluribus Unum
- How the Common Law Helped Unify and Liberate Colonial America, 1607-1776
- By: William E. Nelson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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E Pluribus Unum highlights the political context in which the common law developed, and how it influenced the United States Constitution. In practice, the triumph of the common law over competing approaches gave lawyers more authority than governing officials. By the end of the 18th century, many colonial legal professionals began to espouse constitutional ideology that would mature into the doctrine of judicial review.
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A banquet for the legal scholar, or the curious
- By Philo on 07-25-19
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Occupied America
- British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution
- By: Donald F. Johnson
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Donald F. Johnson chronicles the everyday experience of ordinary people living under military occupation during the American Revolution. Focusing on day-to-day life in port cities held by the British Army, Johnson recounts how men and women from a variety of backgrounds navigated harsh conditions, mitigated threats to their families and livelihoods, took advantage of new opportunities, and balanced precariously between revolutionary and royal attempts to secure their allegiance.
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very solid given the lack of sources
- By wylie smith on 02-13-24
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Founding Rivals
- Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation
- By: Chris DeRose
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1789, James Madison and James Monroe ran against each other for Congress-the only time that two future presidents have contested a congressional seat. But what was at stake, as author Chris DeRose reveals in Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election That Saved a Nation, was more than personal ambition. This was a race that determined the future of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the very definition of the United States of America.
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A Must for Anyone Interested in the Constitution
- By Garshom L. Arkoff on 07-09-13
By: Chris DeRose
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Washington's Crossing
- By: David Hackett Fischer
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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This New York Times best seller is a thrilling account of one of the most pivotal moments in United States history. Six months after the Declaration of Independence, America was nearly defeated. Then on Christmas night, George Washington led his men across the Delaware River to destroy the Hessians at Trenton. A week later Americans held off a counterattack, and in a brilliant tactical move, Washington crept behind the British army to win another victory. The momentum had reversed.
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Particularly Good Military History
- By William on 10-11-04
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Civil War of 1812
- American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 20 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor tells the riveting story of a war that redefined North America. In a world of double identities, slippery allegiances, and porous borders, the leaders of the American Republic and the British Empire struggled to control their own diverse peoples. Taylor’s vivid narrative of an often brutal—sometimes farcical—war reveals much about the tangled origins of the United States and Canada.
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A proper history of an obscure epoch
- By margot on 04-22-12
By: Alan Taylor
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Independence Lost
- Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution
- By: Kathleen DuVal
- Narrated by: Susan Boyce
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Independence Lost reveals that individual motives counted as much as the ideals of liberty and freedom the Founders espoused: Independence had a personal as well as national meaning, and the choices made by people living outside the colonies were of critical importance to the war's outcome.
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Reader who doesn't understand content
- By Heidi Rabel on 10-11-15
By: Kathleen DuVal
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The Bill of Rights Primer
- A Citizen's Guidebook to the American Bill of Rights
- By: Akhil Reed Amar, Les Adams
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Many Americans reference the Bill of Rights, a document that represents many of the freedoms that define the United States. Who doesn’t know about the First Amendment’s freedom of religion or Second Amendment’s right to bear arms? In this succinct volume, Akhil Reed Amar and Les Adams offer a wealth of knowledge about the Bill of Rights that goes beyond a basic understanding.The Bill of Rights Primer is an authoritative guide to all American freedoms. Uncluttered and well-organized, this audiobook is perfect for those who want to study up on the Bill of Rights without needing a law degree to do so.
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At this length, basic; but at that, great
- By Philo on 06-10-15
By: Akhil Reed Amar, and others
What listeners say about America's Revolutionary Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Phillip T Buse
- 10-21-21
A detailed line by line analysis!
This is a book, that takes the American Revolution and its root motivations in morality, very seriously. It includes a line by line analysis of the Declaration of Independence, that cross references the philosophical influencers of the founders, the communication between citizens and statesmen of the day, and successfully integrates the empirical facts with the ideas contained within the document itself.
Near the end, there is a story told through the clash of cultures that the philosophy of the enlightenment made unavoidable by declaring right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness as universal absolute moral truth. From the attacks on the DoI by slave owners in the south, to the 20th century move toward moral relativism in rejection of human right to life.
Comprehensive, and grounded in reality. Very important book. I believe the author mentioned undergoing the revolution scholars tedious traditional pilgrimage, through all preserved literature and locale relevant to the event.
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- dave
- 12-10-20
essential
Absolutely an amazing book a must read to understand the declaration of Independence and the roots ofAmerican history.
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- Jack G.
- 10-24-20
Still no answer as to why!
Good read. Background of the philosophy behind the Constitution excellent. However no good answer to why slaves not included in the philosophy....or freed.
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- David R.
- 05-06-21
The Shot Heard Around the World Still Reverberating
The author’s research, and discussion of it, is well worth the listen. His conclusion of the book, where he revisits slavery, is outstanding. I’ll listen again after some time to think about it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-19-22
Summary of beliefs of our Founding Father's.
Without going into all the writings of pre-revolutionary thinkers, this writer gives a concise description of what the founders thoughts on the governance of free men. A most excellent book for one's edification.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-24-21
Excellent study of Revolutionary Thinking
This book is very heady and well-paced for so much to soak in. If you enjoy a deep study of the thinking behind the American Revolution, this book is for you.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-02-21
Educational, Interesting, and Well Sourced
This book was full of information, quotes, philosophy; It should be mandatory reading in schools.
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- Bob P.
- 08-11-21
Thorough Discussion of the Colonial American Mind
The first several chapters of this book reminded me of Chicago DJ Larry Lujack who said there could be no rock'n'roll without repetition. Some of the quotations, especially those from John Locke, are pretty repetitious at the start. But Mr. Thompson does a detailed job of explaining the philosophy and mindset that prevailed in colonial America during the decade and a half that preceded the Revolutionary War. American intellectuals like Jefferson and Adams were concerned with nature, nature's God and man's rights, and their thoughts permeated down to the common men of their time. The Declaration of Independence''s key passage, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…" is thoroughly explicated. At the end, the author brings his inquiry up to date, explaining that the universal, timeless truths of the Declaration were countered first by advocates of slavery and later by the collectivists, subjectivists and socialists who considered groups/societies superior to the individual. Unfortunately, today's Americans give little, if any, thought to natural law, the rights of man or the proper function of government.
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