Self-Evident: Discovering the Ideas and Events That Made the Declaration of Independence Possible

by Tim Patrick

America’s Declaration of Independence is one of the most important statements on human freedom ever published. We laud Thomas Jefferson for penning the document’s flowing prose, but most of its lofty themes did not spring anew from his mind. Instead, he relied on the powerful concepts evoked by the Enlightenment, ancient Greek and Latin writings, and what he termed the “harmonizing sentiments of the day.”

There is much less harmonizing in twenty-first century America. Although united in name, divisions abound, in part because we have forgotten the core messages written in our nation’s birth certificate. Self-Evident returns the discussion to the foundational rights and Enlightenment beliefs of mankind’s place in history. It does this by examining the primary sources and key events that united a nation. In a world with instant access to endless entertainments and divisive arguments, Self-Evident will guide you back to the ideas that extended liberty across the globe.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2017

About the author

Tim Patrick is an author, software architect, and lover of history. He has published a dozen books, mostly on technology topics, and is a regular magazine contributor. As the founder and host of the Well-Read Man Project, he spent years offering regular commentary on current events, politics, history, and books old and new.

For more than three decades, Tim has spent each day developing custom software applications for small- and medium-sized businesses. Way back in 2007, Microsoft welcomed Tim into its Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program thanks to the assistance he provides to beginning and intermediate developers. He earned his computer science degree from Seattle Pacific University, and began work on his very first book while sitting in a class at that prestigious institution.