American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address

by Stephen Puleo

Stephen Puleo's American Treasures is a narrative history of America's secret efforts to hide its founding documents from Axis powers, and its national tradition of uniting to defend the definition of democracy.

A Boston Globe Bestseller

On December 26, 1941, Secret Service agent Harry E. Neal stood on a platform at Washington’s Union Station watching a train chug off into the dark and feeling at once relieved and inexorably anxious. These were dire times. With Hitler’s armies plowing across Europe―seizing or destroying historic artifacts at will―and Japan’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor just three weeks prior, American officials now feared an enemy attack on Washington, D.C.

So, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set about hiding the country’s valuables. On the train speeding away from Neal sat four plain-wrapped cases containing the documentary history of America―including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address―guarded by a battery of agents and bound for safekeeping in the nation’s most impenetrable hiding place.

American Treasures charts the creation and little-known journeys of these priceless documents. From the risky and audacious adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to our modern Fourth of July celebrations, American Treasures shows how the ideas captured in these papers underscore the nation’s strengths and hopes, and embody its fundamental values of liberty and equality. Stephen Puleo weaves exciting stories of freedom under fire―from the smuggling of these documents out of Washington days before the British burned the capital in 1814, to their covert relocation during World War II―crafting a sweeping history of a nation united to preserve its democracy and the values inherent in its founding documents.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, World War II

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2016

About the author

Stephen Puleo is an author, historian, teacher, public speaker, and communications professional. His eighth book, The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union, was published by St. Martin’s Press in April, 2024.

Follow Steve on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stephenpuleo...) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/puleosteve/) or visit his website (https://www.stephenpuleo.com/) for current news and events.

Steve's previously published books are:
• Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America’s First Humanitarian Mission (2020)
• American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address (2016)
• The Caning: The Assault That Drove America to Civil War (2012)
• A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900 (2010)
• The Boston Italians: A Story of Pride, Perseverance and Paesani, from the Years of the Great Immigration to the Present Day (2007)
• Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56 (2005)
• Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 (2003)

All of Steve’s books have been Boston regional bestsellers and have received national recognition. His work has been reviewed favorably by the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, the Boston Globe, the New York Post, Parade magazine, The National Review, Forbes.com, C-SPAN, the Associated Press, the Portland Press Herald, the Providence Journal, the Hartford Courant, Kirkus Reviews, Barnes and Noble Review.com, Library Journal, Booklist, History.com, and Publishers Weekly. Numerous national media outlets have interviewed Steve, including NBC, the New York Times, Parade magazine, History.com, C-SPAN, the History Channel, the Associated Press, and regional and national radio and television outlets.

An experienced, dynamic, and in-demand speaker and presenter, Steve has made nearly 700 appearances before thousands of readers – including bookstore signings, keynote addresses, library presentations, historical societies, industry events, book clubs, and appearances at universities and public and private schools. His showcase appearances include: speaking events at both the National Archives and the National Constitution Center; as a keynote for the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Massachusetts Superior Court; and as a participant with Italian-American and Jewish-American scholars on a panel entitled, Italy and the Holocaust, presented at UMass-Boston. If you would like more information about having Steve appear at your event, please contact him at spuleo@aol.com.

A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor of articles and book reviews to publications and organizations that include American History magazine, Politico, the Boston Globe, and the Bill of Rights Institute, Steve has also taught history at Suffolk University in Boston and at UMass-Boston. He has developed and taught numerous writing workshops for high school and college students, as well as for adults who aspire to be writers. His books have been woven into the curricula of numerous high schools and colleges, and more than 30 communities have selected his books as “community-wide reads.” Steve also conducts book-club tours of Boston’s North End, one of the nation’s most historic neighborhoods.

Steve holds a master’s degree in history from UMass-Boston, where he received the Dean’s Award for Academic Achievement and was the Graduate Convocation keynote speaker. His master’s thesis, From Italy to Boston’s North End: Italian Immigration and Settlement, 1890-1910, has been downloaded nearly 30,000 times by scholars and readers around the world.

Steve and his wife Kate live south of Boston and donate a portion of his book proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

Reviews

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book and it was interesting, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The protection of the Documents during WW2 is covered very clearly and thoroughly. Thankfully, those were very uneventful days for our founding documents, but that was a very small part of this book. Instead, it’s the life story of the official copies of the Declaration, the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address.
The author’s stated goal is to help us appreciate our founding documents more fully. Rather than focusing on the political, social, or economic importance of these documents. He helps us see the extraordinary lengths people have gone to while preserving the originals for us. To give us the setting around the creation of each of these documents, he also includes large sections of history about the writers and signers of each one. I did find those parts a bit slow, but informative.
There a couple of curse words and crude jokes. All were parts of quoted letters.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I knew much of the history behind the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address, I did learn a lot about the lengths taken to save these documents from potential destruction during WWII. I also liked the discussion toward the end of the transfer of the Declaration and Constitution from the Library of Congress to the National Archives.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book more in the beginning, but as the author reiterated the story of the Declaration of Independence, I grew impatient, having read a great deal of McCullough and Chernow. I skipped ahead to the part about the Gettysburg address, about which I knew less. And I read each chapter about stashing these documents in Fort Know during WWII.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was slow reading, but worth it. It's a great book for archivists. Not only does it give very detailed history of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Gettysburg Address, but it also tells the stories of how the documents survived and, at times, were saved. Lots of information about document preservation and conservation treatment over the centuries. Fascinating story about moving the documents during World War II. The stories of the people who preserved the documents are as interesting as the stories about the documents.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I wish it had more about the journey to secure the documents' safety during World War II.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to review this book because on the one hand, it's a well-written history of the birth, debate, and execution of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (and subsequent Bill of Rights) that I enjoyed revisiting, but on the other hand, I expected something completely different based on the title of this book. I really feel the title does this a disservice as I thought, based on the description of the book, I would be reading about efforts to save these documents during WWII. And I did, it's just that this portion of the book was maybe 1/10 of the total book.

A full half of the book was taken up with the events of the 1770's in Philadelphia and elsewhere, which is fine, except that it isn't what I expected, so I found myself wondering the entire first half when exactly we'd be getting to the "secret efforts to save" the documents.

That being said, I enjoyed how the author went back & forth between the 1770's, early 1800's, and various other points in time such as 1942. I very much enjoyed the smallish portion on the Gettysburg Address including the intrigue as to what became of the original copies written in Lincoln's hand. I did enjoy learning about the care, preservation, and protection of the founding documents. So there was a lot of great information here, it's just that I'm not sure it made for a full book (which I'm sure is why the author spent so much time on the history of the documents).

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me a while because I only read it when I went somewhere and was waiting but I must say it was quite enjoyable. The reason it gets 4 and not 5 is because I think I am giving out too many 5's for just liking the book. It wasn't a page turner where I was up all night but when I did read it I had a great time. I wish I could give it a 1/2 star to make it 4 1/2 stars.

Being a nerd for history surrounding our founding documents this book appealed to me in a big way. I already knew a lot of the information going in but I did learn some new stuff as well, especially dealing with evacuation and storage during WWII. The histories of these documents and the people who were involved will forever be my favorite subject in U.S. History.

If anyone wants to learn about the Charters of Freedom and how close we came at times to losing them forever you will love this. If you are interested in learning about a little known episode of WWII history then check this out. I will read this again I'm sure in the future. I am being a little more judicious on what books I keep and what gets donated, resold or given away. I know people like having mega libraries but I hate clutter so I only keep books I think I will re-read or I want my son to read. This is one of those.

[Kimberly Fields · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but I was surprised by how much of the book was dedicated to background history of the documents that were being preserved. Probably 80% of the book was historical background to the documents. I enjoy history, so it was interesting to hear all the background, but the ratio of historical background to actual story of the documents being hidden was seriously skewed in the wrong direction. In fact, there didn't seem to be that much of a story to the documents being hidden at all. I was hoping for a lot more excitement in that story, but it was basically just "here's the places they considered hiding the documents and here's where they ended up." There wasn't much drama to it at all. So, I'd say this is an interesting book if you are seriously interested in the history of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg address, and you don't mind that it moves a bit slowly. But if you're looking for a good dramatic war story, you'd better look somewhere else.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given to me by a good friend, I didn't know if I wanted to read an entire book on preserving the founding documents. However, the book is about so much more than the protection of the documents. Mr. Puleo does a great job flashing back and telling a fresh narrative surrounding the creation of the documents. He also does a great job of building up the characters that surround the great story.

The books greatest atribute is the ability to connect the importance of lesser known players alongside our Jeffersons, Hamiltons and Washingtons.

I highly recomend to any fan of history or politics and would recomend to readers that enjoy non-fiction books that read like a good fiction (i.e. Candice Millard fans).

[Stephanie Cahalan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an incredibly frustrating book to rate and I found the blurb (and subtitle) pretty misleading. Only a few interspersed chapters were actually about the the efforts to save these documents, while the rest was dedicated to the history of the documents. If the reader is anything like me, then they'll already know the history of the Declaration of Independence. I would say this book needed less of a high school history lesson, and more of what was actually promised.

My takeaway is that I miss my career as an archivist and also that I want to go watch National Treasure for the thousandth time.

[Kathy Maher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completely enjoyed this book and I had won it as a free read through GoodReads. I had learned about some of the items that had been written but honestly in High School I didn't have a real interest so to read it now - I learned so much more. The book goes into detail on how each document came to be - very interesting. There were parts of the book that seemed to repeat itself but a def. good read. I would strongly suggest this to anyone who is interested in learning a bit more about American history.

[Betty Shedd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent read. (Gave it **** because it was initially difficult to switch through the various times and the relevance of so switching.)

The greatest attribute provided by this book is the gift of reflection provided as to how, why, who and the continuity of how these priceless and timeless documents were written and have been preserved for and by ‘We the People’.

[Bruce Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puleo provides a nice combination of the historical development of these priceless artifacts with their survival over the years. The rescue from the British invasion and DC destruction of 1814 was a highlight for me. Also noteworthy was the closeness of the vote to enact the Constitution. I may have once knew these things, but that was long ago.

[Elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really different than the cover implies. It spends the majority of the book talking about how the documents came to be and very little on the rather uninteresting story of them being secretly hidden. I really wasn’t a fan of the way the author jumped from one thought to another every few paragraphs. It feels a lot like a history textbook.

[Adam Joyner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read, especially if you have not read much on Freedom Documents. However, title is a little bit misleading. I truly enjoyed the read and learned a good deal, but if you are expecting this to be a thriller with National Treasure type feels, you will be disappointed.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Does a good job of weaving the story about the documents most important to the USA were protected in WW2 with the creation of each document.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story, as Puleo is won't to tell it, with lots of information compiled in one place.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember liking this book as I read it about a year ago, but I don't remember that much about it now a year later, so it didn't have too much staying power

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and fun to read.

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never realized the Constitution was ever moved. This was a good book

[Jeff Rosendahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read much early American history, and this book is much more about how the founding documents came to be than the "secret" efforts to ensure their survival during WWII. There were parts of both the late-18th century and the mid-20th century stories that I found interesting, but there were also parts that were really a chore to get through. Hearing all the details from some of James Madison's diaries about the Constitutional Convention really don't advance the story in my opinion. Neither do excerpts from 1950s-era conversations about whether the documents should be stored at the Library of Congress or the National Archives. And I don't think there's much of a "secret" here either, although Puleo works hard throughout to keep up that pretense. Fans of Revolutionary American history might enjoy this more than I did.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really surprised me. I don't recall how I heard of it but I have to say it doesn't get the attention it deserves. This is one of the rare cases where a multi-history works to this degree. By telling the history of these documents Stephen Puleo does a very good job offering their importance to America. While we hear about the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Gettysburg address we also get a side history of the context of their times. The stories behind each one with both a chronological and societal framework combine with the epic tale of how the documents were protected during WWII and how they were stored, for better or worse, until they were preserved in the National Archives.

This is a great story and a unique history tale and I recommend it very strongly.

[victor harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid writing with the narrative, Puleo is always good and efficient with his prose. The title is a little deceptive though as barely half the book is about the project to preserve the documents. Much of it is a rehash of how the Dec. of Independ., Constitution, etc. came into being and the controversies surrounding them. That is basically textbook material and not much enlightening on that front. Would have liked much more on the main topic of the efforts to secure the safety of the documents during the war. Slightly lower than the four rating.

[Stacy Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the story that it told. I am overwhelmed by the patriotic duty of our country's forefathers. I don't know how the author decided what to share and what to leave out. I will being doing A lot more research on the history of our country, mainly Dollies Madison, and John Hancock.

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read books about the revolutionary period, you'll have ready half this book. I was hoping for a bit more of the saving of the documents, to be at the forefront, but that really is the backstory. The actually drafting of the documents and the struggle for adoption covers more of the book, which isn't what I was looking for.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book and interesting. It went into the history of the documents and the historical efforts to save and preserve them, some of which I knew the backstory to, but it was nice to learn more about the documents and those events.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very nice tribute to our founding fathers and a great reminder of the events that shaped our country's foundation. I have to say that the book lost my attention in the travel/preservation details of the actual documents. For me, if the book was shortened I would have preferred it.

[David M · Rating 3 out of 5]

tedious description of the historical hazards and efforts to save the founding documents

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I recommend it to everyone.

[Jane Gregga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for lovers of liberty and lovers of historic preservation.