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Brad Birzer’s new book explores the ideas and events that led Americans to independence in 1776.
Jonathan Fortier talks with Brad Birzer about his recent book, The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Experiment in Liberty.
Drawing heavily on the letters, pamphlets, and political arguments of the era, Birzer’s book traces how a series of imperial crises gradually transformed colonial resistance into a revolutionary movement. Along the way, it reveals how debates about liberty, authority, and the rights of Englishmen shaped the political consciousness of the American colonies.
Bradley J. Birzer holds the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, where he has taught for over two decades.
Jonathan Fortier is the director of Libertarianism.org. Over the past twenty-five years, he has worked to promote the principles of a free society with many organizations, including Liberty Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Fraser Institute. He earned his MPhil and his doctorate at the University of Oxford.