Epoch Times - The Incredible Story of America’s Founding

Feb. 6, 2026 - Epoch Times

01:38

The Incredible Story of America’s Founding | Matthew Spalding

🔴 WATCH THE FULL EPISODE: https://ept.ms/3MdPx56Show more Here’s a fascinating anecdote from Hillsdale professor Matthew Spalding’s new book on the American founding: In 1776, Congress voted to declare independence on July 2nd, not July 4th. That same day, George Washington spots warships from Great Britain—the greatest military power on Earth at the time—arriving at New York harbor and landing troops on Staten Island to crush the rebellion. The Founders faced hanging as traitors. After two days of editing and deliberation, they finalize the text of the Declaration of Independence—words that would define America and reshape Western civilization. This is just one of the amazing stories in Spalding’s new book “The Making of The American Mind: The Story of the Declaration of Independence.” Show less
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Time	Text
John's Late Arrival 00:01:38
	I spend a lot of time in the book talking about the history at the beginning, which is how we got to the Declaration, how it was written.
	Jefferson actually arrives late.
	He's almost an add-on at the very end, but he's got a reputation of being a good writer.
	He's kind of brought in and eventually gets on this committee to write the Declaration.
	But on the committee, two other key people are Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, along with Jefferson and a couple of others.
	They decide he's going to be the pinman.
	There are debates I talk about, especially famous debates between John Adams and John Dickinson, who doesn't oppose it in principle, but doesn't think it's not the right time.
	We should wait.
	We want to do this.
	So all of that, kind of getting us to that point.
	Things start moving very rapidly once we learn that George III's hired Hessians, for instance, to fight against the Americans.
	The mercenaries.
	Mercenaries.
	They know that the British are literally coming.
	The ships.
	And indeed, one of the things in the book, which I just find an amazing story, is that July 2nd, which is the day they pass independence before they then spend two days debating and editing the written document of the Declaration, those days, those exact same days in 1776, Washington is in New York and they spot British ships arriving at the New York Harbor.
	And they're landing troops on Staten Island on July 2nd, the same exact day.

Time

Text

John's Late Arrival 00:01:38

I spend a lot of time in the book talking about the history at the beginning, which is how we got to the Declaration, how it was written.

Jefferson actually arrives late.

He's almost an add-on at the very end, but he's got a reputation of being a good writer.

He's kind of brought in and eventually gets on this committee to write the Declaration.

But on the committee, two other key people are Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, along with Jefferson and a couple of others.

They decide he's going to be the pinman.

There are debates I talk about, especially famous debates between John Adams and John Dickinson, who doesn't oppose it in principle, but doesn't think it's not the right time.

We should wait.

We want to do this.

So all of that, kind of getting us to that point.

Things start moving very rapidly once we learn that George III's hired Hessians, for instance, to fight against the Americans.

The mercenaries.

Mercenaries.

They know that the British are literally coming.

The ships.

And indeed, one of the things in the book, which I just find an amazing story, is that July 2nd, which is the day they pass independence before they then spend two days debating and editing the written document of the Declaration, those days, those exact same days in 1776, Washington is in New York and they spot British ships arriving at the New York Harbor.

And they're landing troops on Staten Island on July 2nd, the same exact day.