These Truths

Written in elegiac prose, Lepore?s groundbreaking investigation places truth itself - a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence - at the center of the nation?s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas - "these truths," Jefferson called them - political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, on a fearless dedication to inquiry, Lepore argues, because self-government depends on it. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that pro ...