Mark A. Graber is the Regents Professor at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, one of only seven professors to hold the highest honor in the University of Maryland system. He has published fifteen books and over 100 articles. In 2023, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association. Michael Zuckert is the Nancy R. Dreux Professor, Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame and Clinical Professor at Arizona State University. He has worked extensively in the area of American political thought. He was the founding editor of the journal American Political Thought and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Political Thought section of the American Political Science Association. His many books include The Natural Rights Republic (1994).

• Introduction Michael Zuckert; 1. European antecedents to the Declaration of Independence S. Adam Seagrave; 2. The twenty-six grievances Woody Holton; 3. The process of writing and procedures for adopting the Declaration Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hoffer; 4. The Declaration as political rhetoric Matthew Crow; 5. Equality, liberty, and rights in the Declaration of Independence Michael Zuckert; 6. The 'stubborn' Declaration: less dissent than alienation in black political thought and the Declaration of Independence Saladin Ambar; 7. 'Popular sovereignty' and the Declaration of Independence Sanford Levinson; 8. Slavery and the Declaration: a re-interpretation Richard Newman; 9. A theological interpretation of the Declaration of Independence Barbara A. McGraw; 10. The Declaration versus the Constitution Tom Cutterham; 11. Getting 'the hang of the Declaration': The Declaration in American nationalism Brian Steele; 12. Native nations and Declarations of Independence Jonathan Todd Hancock; 13. The Declaration in anti-slavery and African Americans thought Thomas J. Davis; 14. The Declaration of Independence and women Leslie F. Goldstein; 15. Aspirational reliance of the Declaration of Independence: labor and woman's suffrage Alexander Tsesis; 16. Presidents and the Declaration of Independence Mark A. Graber; Conclusion – four children, sixteen essays, and the Declaration of Independence Mark A. Graber.

'This book provides a kaleidoscope of perspectives on the Declaration from distinguished experts. The lively chapters invite deeper understandings of the history, political theory, and uses over time of this foundational text. They also encourage readers to think critically about it, including considering the gaps between its universal language and the many people and groups who did not have a share in its vision in 1776. There's something in here for almost anyone who wants a deeper encounter with the Declaration and its fulfilled and unfulfilled promises!' Keith E. Whittington, Yale Law School