Jack Rakove, the William Robertson Coe professor of history and American studies and professor emeritus of political science and law at Stanford University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss why the United States declared independence in 1776 and its meaning for the country today. 

Mentioned on the Episode:

Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Paul Revere’s Ride”

Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution

Jack N. Rakove, Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America

Jack N. Rakove, The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress

1619 Project, New York Times

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/fourth-july-jack-rakove