EAN: 9781784743192

LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - PET...

Bestselling historian Peter Moore traces how Enlightenment ideas were exported from Britain and
put into practice in America - where they became the most successful export of all time  the
American Dream 'Absorbing... fascinating... eloquent' THE TIMES 'Engaging and thoroughly
reader-friendly' TELEGRAPH 'Wonderfully absorbing and stimulating' SARAH BAKEWELLEnlightenment
Britain was ablaze with ambition and energy. Great writers like Benjamin Franklin  Thomas Paine
Samuel Johnson  John Wilkes and Catharine Macaulay were part of a pioneering generation that
shaped and inspired the American Dream. For the first time  bestselling historian Peter Moore
vividly traces the transatlantic friendships and revolutionary ideas that inspired the
Declaration of Independence. 'Life  Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness' is the best-known
phrase from that document  which was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1776. Today
this line is evoked as a shorthand for that ideal we call the American Dream. But the vision it
encapsulates ¿ of a free and happy world ¿ has its roots in Great Britain. This book tells the
story of the years that preceded the Declaration. From the accession of King George III to the
astonishing tale of John Wilkes  from the notorious Stamp Act to the Boston Tea Party  it shows
how Britain and her American Colonies broke apart. Following a star cast of Enlightenment
characters  through their letters  arguments and rivalries  it reveals the rise of a rebellious
and daring ideology ¿ one that gave rise to the democratic birth of the United States and the
principles we live by to this day. 'Deft insights and in clear prose' ALAN TAYLOR'A gripping
account' STELLA TILLYARD'Rollicking...compulsive readability' WASHINGTON POST'A great read'
LADY HALE

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