448 The Declaration of Independence as American Scripture

The engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence is on display at the National Archives building in Washington, DC. Millions of visitors flock to see it and the other Charters of Freedom. But how did it end up there and why do people approach it with religious reverence?

In this episode, we explore how the Declaration took on its symbolic role as the founding text of the United States.

Pauline's Book

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/403

EPISODE OUTLINE

00:00:00 Introduction

00:06:30 Introducing Mary Beth Norton

00:07:17 American Scripture: Pauline Maier

00:10:00 Graduate School with Pauline Maier

00:13:36 The State of Historians' Thinking in the 1990s

00:15:23 Other Declarations of Independence

00:21:08 Thomas Jefferson's Drafting of the Declaration