The American Republic: An Experiment Begun 250 Years Ago

Illustration representing the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the constitutional principles that shaped the United States into one of the world's most influential republics.

It is the night of July 4, 1776. In a printing shop on Market Street in Philadelphia, a young apprentice sets type letter by letter for a document that has just arrived from the Continental Congress. His employer, John Dunlap, has asked him to work through the night: the text must be printed before sunrise. […]