Videos

Learn more about the Declaration of Independence from such leading historians as David Armitage, James Oliver Horton, Pauline Maier, and Gordon S. Wood. You can watch full lectures (45 minutes to an hour) or short clips that introduce related topics and are particularly suited for classroom use.

Book Breaks

Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks features the most exciting history scholars in America discussing their books live with a Gilder Lehrman host, followed by a Q&A with home audiences. This hourlong program runs every Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. To access these videos of past programs, subscribe to Book Breaks (free for Affiliate School teachers and their students).

Here are some of our recent programs focused on the Declaration of Independence.

• The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation: 1760–1840 with Akhil Amar, Yale University
• The Declaration of Independence: A Global History with David Armitage, Harvard University 
• Give Me Liberty with Richard Brookhiser, National Review
• The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773–1783 with Joseph J. Ellis, Mount Holyoke College
• Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution with Woody Holton, University of South Carolina
• Patriotism and Profit: Washington, Hamilton, Schuyler & the Rivalry for America’s Capital City with Susan Nagel, Independent Scholar
• 1774: Long Year of Revolution with Mary Beth Norton, Cornell University
• American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783–1850 with Alan Taylor, University of Virginia
• Thomas Jefferson’s Education with Alan Taylor, University of Virginia
• American Enlightenments with Caroline Winterer, Stanford University

Short Takes (one to 4 minutes)

• “The Independence of the States” by David Armitage, Harvard University
• “The International Influence of the Declaration” by David Armitage, Harvard University
• “Slavery and the American Revolution” by James Oliver Horton, George Washington University
• “What Caused the American Revolution?” by Pauline Maier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• “Two American Revolutions” by Andrew Robertson, Lehman College
• “The Significance of the American Revolution” by Gordon Wood, Brown University

Lectures (up to one hour)

• “The Global History of the Declaration of Independence” by David Armitage, Harvard University
• “American Scripture: The Making of the Declaration of Independence” by Pauline Maier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• “Declaring Independence” by Denver Brunsman, George Washington University (Resources that accompany the lecture can be found here.)