No event in American history was more pivotal — or more contested — than the decision by Congress to declare independence in July 1776. Even months after American blood had been shed at Lexington and Concord, many colonists remained loyal to Britain. John Adams said bringing the fractious colonies together was like getting “13 clocks to strike at once.” Other books have been written about the Declaration, but no author has traced the political journey from protest to Revolution with the narrative scope and flair of John Ferling, who draws on a lifetime of scholarship to bring this passionate struggle to life as no other historian could.

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