In this episode of Creating America: The Documents and Speeches That Shaped the United States, host and narrator Will Sarris presents a powerful historical reading of a landmark speech delivered by John Quincy Adams on the 45th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Delivered in 1821, Adams’s address is both a sweeping interpretation of the causes, meaning, and legacy of the Declaration and a profound meditation on the origins of legitimate government. In this speech, Adams argues that the United States was the first nation founded on universal principles of natural rights, rather than conquest, inheritance, or divine monarchy—an idea that would later be called American exceptionalism.

Adams traces the intellectual roots of the Declaration to the Protestant Reformation, contending that the restoration of reason in religion made its application to politics inevitable. He connects the ideas of individual conscience, human equality, social compact, and popular sovereignty to the founding of the American republic, while also revealing how these beliefs shaped 19th-century American political culture.

This episode features:

• John Quincy Adams’s explanation of the moral foundation of the Declaration of Independence
• A critique of governments founded on conquest and hereditary power
• Reflections on natural rights, civil society, and popular sovereignty
• Insight into how Americans have interpreted the Declaration across generations

Presented as a dramatic narrated reading, this episode allows listeners to experience the speech as it was meant to be heard—spoken aloud, rich in rhetoric, and alive with ideas that continue to shape debates about what the United States is and what it ought to be.

🎧 Related episode: Hear the Declaration of Independence itself, read aloud, in the previous episode of Creating America.

About the Podcast
Creating America is an American history podcast dedicated to reading and preserving the documents and speeches that shaped the United States, from iconic texts to lesser-known works that influenced the nation’s development.

Host & Narrator: Will Sarris
📩 Contact: [email protected]
💬 Support the show: patreon.com/williamsarris
🌐 More about Will: williamsarris.net

In this episode of Creating America: The Documents and Speeches That Shaped the United States, host and narrator Will Sarris continues the dramatic reading of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, one of the most influential pamphlets in American history.

We hear Part IV: “Of the Present Ability of America; with Some Miscellaneous Reflections,” along with the Appendix to Common Sense, in which Paine delivers a forceful, wide-ranging argument for American independence. From military readiness and naval power to economics, governance, religion, representation, and national character, Paine lays out why the moment for independence is not coming—it is already here.

Written to be heard rather than read, Common Sense was originally consumed aloud by a largely illiterate population. In keeping with that tradition, this podcast presents Paine’s words as a living performance, allowing modern listeners to experience the urgency, logic, and passion that helped ignite the American Revolution.

This episode follows the previous readings of:

• “Of the Present Ability of America: with Some Miscellaneous Reflections"
• "Appendix to Common Sense"

Whether inspirational, provocative, or unsettling, these founding-era texts reveal not only what America was—but what it aspired to become.

About the Podcast
Creating America is a narrated American history podcast dedicated to reading and preserving the documents and speeches that shaped the United States, from famous texts to nearly forgotten works.

Host: Will Sarris
📩 Contact: [email protected]
💬 Support the show: patreon.com/williamsarris
🌐 More about Will: williamsarris.net
Bluesky: Reply on Bluesky

This episode continues our chronological journey through Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, one of the most influential political pamphlets in American history and a powerful argument for American independence.

In this installment, we explore Section 3: “Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs,” in which Paine dismantles the case for reconciliation with Great Britain and makes a passionate, reasoned appeal for independence. Written in 1776 and read aloud here as it was originally intended, Paine’s words confront monarchy, inherited power, and political fear—urging Americans to think beyond the present moment and consider the fate of future generations.

With minimal commentary and careful historical context, Creating America allows these foundational texts to speak for themselves. Through professional narration and performance, the podcast brings clarity, urgency, and emotional weight to the ideas that helped ignite the American Revolution.

Whether you are a student of history, a lifelong learner, or hearing these words in full for the first time, this episode offers a deeper understanding of what America was, what it became, and what it aspired to be.

🎙️ Next episode: We conclude Common Sense with Sections 4 and 5.
Host: Will Sarris
📩 Contact: [email protected]
💬 Support the show: patreon.com/williamsarris
🌐 More about Will: williamsarris.net
Will on Bluesky: Reply on Bluesky

In this episode of Creating America: The Documents and Speeches That Shaped the United States, host and narrator Will Sarris presents a dramatic reading of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense—the most influential political pamphlet of the American Revolution.

Written in January 1776, Common Sense made the bold, radical case for full independence from Great Britain at a time when many American colonists still hoped for reconciliation with the Crown. Paine’s plain language and powerful arguments against monarchy, hereditary succession, and the English constitution helped transform public opinion and paved the way for the Declaration of Independence.

In Part 1, we explore Paine’s opening sections on:

• The origin and purpose of government
• The difference between society and government
• Why monarchy is inherently flawed
• The dangers of hereditary rule
• Early arguments for republican government and liberty

Because Common Sense was meant to be heard rather than read, this podcast presents the text as it would have been experienced in taverns, meeting halls, and public gatherings throughout colonial America—brought to life through professional voice performance.

This episode includes historical context but allows the primary source to speak for itself, inviting listeners to engage directly with the ideas that shaped the founding of the United States.

🎧 Next episode: We continue with the next section of Common Sense, “The Present State of American Affairs.”

About the Podcast
Creating America is a narrated American history podcast dedicated to reading and preserving the documents and speeches that shaped the United States, from famous texts to nearly forgotten works.

Host: Will Sarris
📩 Contact: [email protected]
💬 Support the show: patreon.com/williamsarris
🌐 More about Will: williamsarris.net

Welcome to the Creating America Podcast, the documents and speeches that shaped the United States

I’m Will Sarris. I’m an actor and media professional and I’ve always loved the study of history. I was thinking about the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States recently, and I realized that often I know ABOUT various speeches and documents that shaped the history of the US, but I’ve often never actually read them. And I thought that likely many of you were in the same place.

In addition, many of these texts were meant to be heard more than read (especially in the case of speeches), since many people were illiterate. And I’m a voice actor, so I hope I can not only bring you the text of the document or speech, but make it come alive.

So what I want to do is simply read to you these speeches and documents. Many of them are well known, others only known by name, and others almost entirely forgotten in the public consciousness. Some are inspirational, others will probably shock you.

A few quick things before we get going. I’m interested in and have studied history over my lifetime, but I am not a historian. So while I will provide some context for each speech or document, I will offer little commentary other than to point you to respected historians who can give some insight every once in a while.

Many of these documents and speeches were written by white men, but I want to try to bring in other diverse voices as we go. The country has always benefited from a diversity of opinions, and that should be reflected here.

So, I’ve tried to somewhat organize this chronologically, however I’m sure I will miss things that many of you think are relevant or that I simply don’t know exist. That’s ok! Contact me and I’ll try to bring in those texts as well as we go . The email address is [email protected].

It is my hope that as you listen to these documents and speeches you will gain an appreciation of what our country was, what it is, and what it hopes to be.

One of the most well known phrases to come from the pre-revolutionary war period of American history is “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” and I bet most of you know that it was uttered by Patrick Henry. 
What you may not know is exactly WHO Patrick Henry was and WHY he said that phrase, or indeed what the context was in which he said it.

Also...

In the Continental Congress, as the weeks turned into months and the situation in Boston and indeed the rest of the colonies grew more untenable, the delegates began to warm to the idea of independence, an idea that Patrick Henry, Samuel and John Adams of Massachusetts and Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, and a few others, had already realized was the inevitable path forward by this point.

If you'd like to support this podcast, head to Patreon.com/williamsarris

You can find us on social media by searching Creating America Podcast.
You can find Will by searching William Sarris.

#GiveMeLiberty
#PatrickHenry
#DeclarationOfIndependence
#AmericanHistory
#FoundingFathers

Welcome to the Creating America Podcast, the documents and speeches that shaped the United States

I’m Will Sarris. I’m an actor and media professional and I’ve always loved the study of history. I was thinking about the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States recently, and I realized that often I know ABOUT various speeches and documents that shaped the history of the US, but I’ve often never actually read them. And I thought that likely many of you were in the same place.

In addition, many of these texts were meant to be heard more than read (especially in the case of speeches), since many people were illiterate. And I’m a voice actor, so I hope I can not only bring you the text of the document or speech, but make it come alive.

So what I want to do is simply read to you these speeches and documents. Many of them are well known, others only known by name, and others almost entirely forgotten in the public consciousness. Some are inspirational, others will probably shock you.

A few quick things before we get going. I’m interested in and have studied history over my lifetime, but I am not a historian. So while I will provide some context for each speech or document, I will offer little commentary other than to point you to respected historians who can give some insight every once in a while.

Many of these documents and speeches were written by white men, but I want to try to bring in other diverse voices as we go. The country has always benefited from a diversity of opinions, and that should be reflected here.

So, I’ve tried to somewhat organize this chronologically, however I’m sure I will miss things that many of you think are relevant or that I simply don’t know exist. That’s ok! Contact me and I’ll try to bring in those texts as well as we go . The email address is [email protected].

It is my hope that as you listen to these documents and speeches you will gain an appreciation of what our country was, what it is, and what it hopes to be.

In this first episode I want to start in Massachusetts with two texts. The first is sort of a founding document, and the second is a speech. Both are from the colonial era.

First is the Mayflower Compact. The second is a speech by John Hancock on the anniversary of the Boston Massacre.

If you'd like to support his podcast, please head to Patreon.com/williamsarris

You can find us on social media! Search Creating America Podcast.
You can find Will by searching William Sarris.

#MayflowerCompact
#AmericanHistory
#BostonMassacre
#FoundingFathers
#HistoryPodcast