Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of
Self-Government introduces the reader to the major issues concerning America's statement
justifying independence. It covers the first controversy between loyalists and patriots
explores the document's intellectual sources evaluates the degree to which the Declaration's
ideals were fulfilled or rejected by the Constitution and concludes by investigating its
current political and legal implications. Readers will be intrigued by the author's argument
for approaching the Declaration with an understanding of eighteenth-century political economy
and ideas about a natural social order. The importance of Jefferson as a conduit through which
these ideas were expressed is defended against recent attempts to de-emphasize the centrality
of the Declaration's author. The work concludes that the Declaration's focus upon the abuses of
power is still relevant for understanding American political institutions.
