{"product_id":"9780300224443","title":"The Heart of the Declaration: The Founders' Case for an Activist Government","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn eye-opening, meticulously researched new perspective on the influences that shaped the Founders as well as the nation's founding document\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From one election cycle to the next, a defining question continues to divide the country’s political parties: Should the government play a major or a minor role in the lives of American citizens? The Declaration of Independence has long been invoked as a philosophical treatise in favor of limited government. Yet the bulk of the document is a discussion of policy, in which the Founders outlined the failures of the British imperial government. Above all, they declared, the British state since 1760 had done \u003ci\u003etoo little\u003c\/i\u003e to promote the prosperity of its American subjects. Looking beyond the Declaration’s frequently cited opening paragraphs, Steve Pincus reveals how the document is actually a blueprint for a government with extensive powers to promote and protect the people’s welfare. By examining the Declaration in the context of British imperial debates, Pincus offers a nuanced portrait of the Founders’ intentions with profound political implications for today.","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47182674526448,"sku":"9780300224443","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780300224443_p0.jpg?v=1763670610","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780300224443","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}