A centuries-old secret document might unravel the origin story of
America and reveal the intellectual crime of the millennia in this epic
dive into our country's history to discover the first, true Declaration
of Independence.
In 1819 John Adams came across a stunning story in his hometown Essex
Register that he breathlessly described to his political frenemy Thomas
Jefferson as "one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest
mysteries that ever occurred to me...entitled the Mecklenburg
Declaration of Independence. The genuine sense of America at that moment
was never so well expressed before, nor since." The story claimed that a
full 14 months before Jefferson crafted his own Declaration of
Independence, a misfit band of zealous Scots-Irish patriots,
whiskey-loving Princeton scholars and a fanatical frontier preacher in a
remote corner of North Carolina had become the first Americans to
formally declare themselves "free and independent" from England.
Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte
courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration was signed on May 20, 1775--a
date that's still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. A year
later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have plagiarized the MecDec
while composing his own, slightly more famous Declaration and then, as
he was wont to do, covered the whole thing up. Which is exactly why
Adams always insisted the MecDec needed to be "thoroughly investigated"
and "more universally made known to the present and future generation."
Eleven U.S. Presidents and many of today's most respected historical
scholars agree.
Now, with Who's Your Founding Father?, David Fleming picks up where
Adams left off, leaving no archive, no cemetery, no bizarre clue or wild
character (and definitely no Dunkin' Donuts) unexplored while traveling
the globe to bring to life one of the most fantastic, important--and
controversial--stories in American history.In 1819 John Adams came
across a stunning story in his hometown Essex Register. He
breathlessly described it to his political frenemy Thomas Jefferson as
"one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest mysteries that
ever occurred to me...entitled the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence. The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so
well expressed before, nor since." The story claimed that a full 14
months before Jefferson crafted his own Declaration of Independence, a
misfit band of zealous Scots-Irish patriots, whiskey-loving Princeton
scholars, and a fanatical frontier preacher had joined forces in a
remote corner of North Carolina to become the first Americans to
formally declare themselves "free and independent" from England.
Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte
courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration, aka the MecDec, was signed on
May 20, 1775--a date that's still featured on the state flag of North
Carolina. About a year later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have
plagiarized the MecDec while composing his own, slightly more famous
Declaration, and then, as he was wont to do, covered the whole thing up.
Which is why Adams always insisted the MecDec needed to be "thoroughly
investigated" and "more universally made known to the present and future
generation." Eleven U.S. Presidents and many of today's most respected
historical scholars agree. Now, with Who's Your Founding Father?,
David Fleming picks up where Adams' investigation left off. Fleming
leaves no archive, cemetery, bizarre clue, conspiracy theory, or wild
character unexplored as he travels the globe and shines new light on one
of the most fantastic, important--and controversial--stories in American
history.
