The Long Revolution

“Illuminating. … [Perl-Rosenthal] writes with clarity and a welcome lack of cant, and he has an eye for the telling detail.”

—Wall Street Journal

“A precise history of commemorations of the Declaration [and] a radical redefinition.”

—Financial Times

“Wonderful … The Long Revolution makes a smart and convincing case that the Revolution remained alive in the minds of Americans longer than we might assume.”

—The New Republic

“A compelling vision of a Revolution that early generations of Americans viewed as fragile and incomplete.”

—The Christian Science Monitor

“This timely and thoughtful study of the evolving meanings of the American Revolution and its place in public memory and civil discourse is highly recommended.”

—Library Journal

“An unexpected source of historical insights.”—Kirkus

“Well-organized and well-illustrated... Perl-Rosenthal’s descriptions of bygone July 4th celebrations can be so vivid readers will feel as though they were there.”

—Booklist

"Nathan Perl-Rosenthal's delightful The Long Revolution shows how much the story of America remains unsettled—and ours to make anew. Through his remarkably close, detailed, and ultimately inspiring study of the changing meaning of the Fourth of July, he shows how the true strength of the United States isn't in any piece of parchment, but in the thousands of small towns and big cities where decade by decade Americans made the Founders' vision their own."—Garrett M. Graff, bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky

“Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, a brilliant young historian, has figured out a way of performing a CT scan on the early American soul: by reviewing almost 2,500 Fourth of July orations delivered during the first hundred years of the United States. The result is a memorable, and clarifying, portrait of a nation that was still figuring out what it was—an urgent project back then, and one that we might revive now.”—Nicholas Lemann, author of Redemption

“The Long Revolution is a timely and elegant national birthday present. At a time of backlash and complacency, Nathan Perl-Rosenthal shows us how generative and questioning the Fourth of July could be—and for whom.”—David Waldstreicher, author of The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

“On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it is a very good idea to explore how July Fourth was celebrated in its first century. In this clever and surprising book, Nathan Perl-Rosenthal shows us that orators from all walks of life used the occasion to tell the story of the American Revolution not as something over and done but as an ongoing and unfinished transformation.”—Sophia Rosenfeld, author of The Age of Choice

“By mining a trove of Fourth of July speeches delivered in our nation’s first century, historian Nathan Perl-Rosenthal has unearthed some enduring preoccupations that Americans have had about their republic—their pride, their fears, their aspirations, but above all their conviction that the republic is an experiment requiring unremitting care. In a low, dishonest period in our history, this surprisingly timely book reminds us of our responsibilities."—Mark Lilla, author of The Once and Future Liberal