What is the defining expression of the American way? In a word,
it is "liberty." From liberty's famed appearance in the United
States Declaration of Independence through its role in
emancipation, no other word has so embraced and shaped the
country's distinct ethos. So what does it mean that the word
inhabits less real estate in American dictionaries and American
rhetoric?
"Lost Liberty: Recovering Historical Definitions of America's
Most Important Word "charts the substantial usage of the word in
America, drawing from primary sources such as dictionaries and
books to examine how it emerged, and why it has steadily receded.
From the pens of colonists fleeing religious persecution through
the framers of the Constitution, no single string of letters
garnered as much cultural currency or has spawned as many phrases
incorporating it. "Natural liberty," "religious liberty," "civil
liberty," and "liberty of the press" were mainstays, but we forged
other phrases, too: "celestial liberty," "federal liberty," "wild
liberty," and "savage liberty," among many others.
To paraphrase founding father Thomas Jefferson, new
circumstances call for new words. The singular circumstance that
forged this nation elevated the word "liberty" to such prominence
in the country's collective consciousness that entries in American
dictionaries exponentially surpassed British counterparts of the
same era. So why did its usage decline so dramatically?
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!