Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - Britain and the American Dream

Sep 29, 2026

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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness traces how the famous American phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” took shape through contested revisions and transatlantic debate. Centered on the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and William Strahan and featuring figures such as Samuel Johnson, Catharine Macaulay, John Wilkes, and Thomas Paine, it follows ideas before the 1776 Declaration and shows how nascent ideals traveled across the ocean to help spark revolution.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages616

Reading Time15 h 49 min

AccessFree to download

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Britain and the American Dream

hpurm.(Pnlichr rh Sunglund mwBY Iyngrhn # L I F E,L I B E RTY, AND THE # PU R SU I T OF # H A PPIN E S S Britain and the American Dream PET E R M OO R E U.S.A.$35.00 CANADA $47.00 “A scintillating read.Atmospheric yet analytical,well-paced yet deeply probing,Peter Moore's bookdelivers striking new perspectives with the stylisticgrace of the Founding Fathers.” —DAISY DUNN,author of The ShadowofVesuvius:A Life of Pliny The most famous phrase in American history oncelooked quite different.“The preservation of life,&liberty,&the pursuit ofhappiness"was how ThomasJefferson put it in the initial draft of the Declarationof Independence,before the first ampersand wasscratched out,along with “the preservation of.”Ina statement as pithy—and contested—as this,smalldeletions matter.And indeed,that final revision tothe iconic formulation was the last in a long chainof revisions stretching across the Atlantic and back.The precise contours of these three rights have neverbeen pinned down,and yet in making those wordsinto rights,Jefferson reified the hopes (and debates)of not only a group of rebel-statesmen,but also ageneration of British thinkers who could barelyimagine a country like the United States of America Peter Moore's Life,Liberty,and the Pursuit ofHappiness tells the true story of what may be themost successful importin US history:the “Americandream."Centered on the friendship between Ben-jamin Franklin and the British publisher WilliamStrahan,and featuring figures including the cul-tural giant Samuel Johnson,the groundbreakinghistorian Catharine Macaulay,the firebrand pol-itician John Wilkes,and the revolutionary activistThomas Paine,this book looks at the generationthat preceded the Declaration in 1776.Everyone,itseemed,had “life,liberty,and the pursuit of happi-ness"on their mind;Moore shows why,and revealshow these still-nascent ideals made their way acrossan ocean and started a revolution. https://archive.org/details/lifelibertypursu0000moor ALSO BY PETER MOORE Endeavour:The Ship That Changed the World The Weather Experiment:The Pioneers Who Sought to See the Future Damn His Blood: Being a True and Detailed History of the Most Barbarous andInhumane Murder at Oddingley # 2.1ty nd h Pensuiteg foepineos # LI FE,LI BERTY, AND T HE PU R SU ITOFH A PPINES S Britain and the American Dream WITH BENJAMIN FRANKLIN—WILLIAM STRAHAN—SAMUEL JoHNSON—JoHN WILKES—CATHARINE MACAULAY—THOMAS PAINE PETER MOORE Farrar,Straus and GirouxNew York Farrar,Straus and Giroux120 Broadway,New York 10271 Copyright C2023 by Peter MooreAll rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published simultaneously in Great Britain by Chatto &Windus and in theUnited States by Farrar,Straus and GirouxFirst American edition,2023 Image on title page and part openers:Philadelphia viewed from the great tree atKensington,under which the Treaty of Shackamaxon was signed in 1682;fromthe Miriam and Ira D.Wallach Division of Art,Prints and Photographs:PrintsCollection,the New York Public Library(1801);https://digitalcollectionsnypl.org/items/510d47d9-7b30-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names:Moore,Peter,1983-author. Title:Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness:Britain and the Americandream /Peter Moore. Description:First American.|New York:Farrar,Straus and Giroux,2023.|Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers:LCCN 2023001279|ISBN 9780374600594(hardcover) Subjects:LCSH:Enlightenment.|Political science—Great Britain— Philosophy—History—18th century.|United States—Civilization—Influences,British.|American Dream.|Philosophers—GreatBritain—Biography. Classification:LCC B802.M6432023|DDC 194.1—dc23/eng/20230328 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023001279 Designed by Patrice Sheridan Our books may be purchased in bulk for promotional,educational,or businessuse.Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmilla

FAQs

What does the book examine about the American phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?

It follows how the wording was revised and debated and how the three rights were shaped before and around the Declaration of Independence.

Which relationship and network does the book use as its organizing focus?

It centers on the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and the British publisher William Strahan, then expands through key Enlightenment and political figures.

Who are some of the major historical figures featured in the narrative?

The text highlights Samuel Johnson, Catharine Macaulay, John Wilkes, and Thomas Paine among others connected to the period preceding 1776.

Sep 29, 2026

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