"Originally published in hardcover ... by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, in 1997"--Title page verso.

Historian Maier shows us the Declaration as both the defining statement of our national identity and the moral standard by which we live as a nation. She describes the transformation of the Second Continental Congress into a national government, unlike anything that preceded or followed it. She lets us hear the voice of the people as revealed in other "declarations" of 1776. 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. She also reveals what happened after the signing and celebration: how it was largely forgotten and then revived to buttress political arguments of the nineteenth century; and how Abraham Lincoln ensured its persistence as a living force in American society--From publisher description.

Introduction: Gathering at the shrine -- Independence: Congress ; Independence? ; Common sense ; A republic? ; Decision -- The "other" declarations of independence: In English ways ; Mobilizing the people ; Declaring independence ; Founding a republic -- Mr. Jefferson and his editors: The drafting committee ; Jefferson's draft : the charges against the King ; Jefferson's draft : a revolutionary manifesto ; Congress's declaration -- American scripture: Spreading the news ; An all-but-forgotten testament ; A partisan document ; Sacred text ; Equality and rights -- Epilogue: Reflecting at the memorials -- Appendix A: State and local declarations of independence, a log : April-July 1776 -- Appendix B: Local resolutions on independence : some examples -- Appendix C: The Declaration of Independence : the Jefferson draft with Congress's editorial changes.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-285) and index.