.  . . And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

So concludes The Declaration of Independence, one of the bravest documents in human history. No plea for reform, it demanded a divorce for the "Free and Independent States." Creating a brand new nation, the delegates, all white and all men, put everything at risk. Men of property, well educated and powerful, they knew full well that by signing it, they stood to lose everything, their property, their families, their very lives if the Declaration and their mission failed.

Hauntingly, Dr. Armitage includes a section that the delegates deleted. Here Jefferson speaks of the horrors of slavery, charging that the George III  ". . . waged cruel war against human nature itself . . . Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold . . . "

You can feel the sculptural quality of type impressed into the thick, handmade paper. Jon Goodman editioned the photogravure in his Massachusetts studio. The book was bound by hand in a homespun dark blue fabric that also covers the hinged and lined box.