The Declaration of Independence | Interview: Michael Auslin

The year is 2004. Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes, young and clean shaven, stride through the National Archives. Stopping, they gaze down at a yellowed leaf of parchment. “I’m gonna steal it.” Jonah mutters. “What?” Steve asks. Jonah clenches his jaw. “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.”  Fortunately, Steve talked Jonah out of his hairbrained scheme and both men remained free, unincarcerated citizens. Unfortunately, the many secrets of the Declaration that Jonah hoped to uncover remained lost to history … until now. To mark and celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, Jonah is joined by Michael Auslin, author of National Treasure:How the Declaration of Independence Made America, to dive into the oft-forgotten history of our founding document, including: who didn’t sign the Declaration, Button Gwinnett’s signature, the Confederate view of the Declaration, America’s enlightened consensus, Declaration historiography, George III, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Paine v. Burke, and what it means to be a credal country.  Show Notes: —Michael Auslin - National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America —Allen Guelzo Remnant —Pauline Maier - American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence —Gordon Wood - The Radicalism of the American Revolution —Andrew Roberts - The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III —AEI Archive: Distinguished Lecture Series on the Bicentennial of the United States The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant, audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah’s twice-weekly G-File—⁠click here⁠. Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here, and if you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices