A vivid, hour-by-hour account of the events leading to the most dramatic decision in American history-the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The author re-creates the people, the actions, the entire scene so well that you perspire in the heat of the humid July weather in Philadelphia, wait in breathless anticipation for the arrival of a crucial Delaware delagate, cringe with Jefferson as his manuscript is freely edited by the entire Continental Congress, look over the shoulders of the buttonholers out of doors, understand and sympathize with the moderates opposing independence, yet stand up and cheer when the Congress votes to declare the independence of the just-born United States.