Cato Institute Book Discussion: "Proclaiming Liberty"

Event Title:
Online Book Forum: "Proclaiming Liberty: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence"

Registering for the Online Event:
To register for and watch this FREE event, go to: https://www.cato.org/events/proclaiming-liberty-john-adams-thomas-jefferson-declaration-independence

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Event Description:
As America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Proclaiming Liberty revisits the revolutionary year of 1776 through the minds of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two men whose words and ideas gave birth to modern liberty. Timothy Sandefur’s engaging narrative brings to life the “American mind” as those extraordinary Founders sought to express it—their arguments, ideals, and enduring beliefs in natural rights and self-government.

Sweeping from the English Civil War and the writings of Locke and Montesquieu to the colonial battles over the Stamp and Townshend Acts and the battlefields of Massachusetts and Virginia, Sandefur’s fast-paced narrative shows how the Declaration distilled centuries of debate about freedom, law, and human nature into one of history’s most enduring statements on justice. Blending biography, political thought, and legal history—from Sir Edward Coke and Edmund Burke to Tacitus and Frederick Douglass—Proclaiming Liberty traces the Declaration’s legacy through the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, and the modern age, documenting how its principles have continued to challenge tyranny, refute relativism, and inspire movements for justice.

As America marks a quarter millennium of independence, Proclaiming Liberty reminds us that the promise of 1776 remains both timeless and urgent and that freedom is not a historical accident but the birthright of every human being. The Declaration provided the means to ensure that all people can enjoy their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On his deathbed, John Adams offered a toast: “Independence forever!” Proclaiming Liberty shows why those are words all Americans should live by.

About the Speakers:
* Timothy Sandefur is vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute, where he holds the Clarence J. & Katherine P. Duncan Chair in Constitutional Government. He also holds the Barry Goldwater Chair in American Institutions at Arizona State University.
* Robert McDonald is a professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute. A specialist on Thomas Jefferson and the early American republic, he is author of Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time (2016).
* Roger Pilon is a senior fellow in the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies, which he founded in 1989 and directed until 2019, as well as the inaugural holder emeritus of Cato’s B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies.

About the Cato Institute:
Founded in 1976, the Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. The institute advocates for free market economic policies, protection of civil liberties, criminal justice reform, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. It publishes the annual "Human Freedom Index" that ranks countries based on their levels of personal & economic freedoms, and it hosts cross-partisan discussions monthly at "Cato Unbound". To learn more, go to https://www.cato.org/about

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