Join us in the Community Room of the Conshohocken Free Library as we discuss Walter Issacson’s “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written”. In this 2026 release, Issacson dissects the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. This founding document was adopted on July 4, 1776 as a press release for the Continental Army, announcing their intention of fighting the war with British Empire to become “free and independent states.” The second sentence is the most recognizable of the document today.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. The book explores the sentence’s origins, its philosophical underpinnings in Enlightenment thought, and its ongoing relevance as an “unfinished project” for the United States, timed for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Isaacson examines the sentence’s components, including the contributions of Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin, while also addressing the hypocrisy of the founders, such as slave ownership.
A limited number of copies will be available at the beginning of August from the circulation desk of the Conshohocken Free Library, with a special loan date of August 25, the day after our meeting.