Patrick Geoghegan
speaker
1,107 appearances
10 recordings
1 series
first heard May 2026
last heard 7 Aug
Patrick Geoghegan’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 10 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 4.
Appearances
Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan · 250: The US Declaration of Independence · 5 Jul 2026
podcast
And then suddenly on the 4th of July, you have the publication of this revolutionary document.
And Elijah that very much connects with your work on this being a diplomatic document as well as a revolutionary radical document and in a way the declaration was showing the world that the colonies were treaty worthy they were deserving of an agreement or some kind of treaty that would give them that international recognition and support.
Well, Elijah, maybe let's talk about that committee of five and maybe the actual drafting, because you've added some complications to the story now, because even though there was that, you know, committee and the people working on it, and there was, I think, a lot of editing of Jefferson's draft.
This really is Thomas Jefferson's document, isn't it?
And then it gets signed by very many people, including some with strong Irish connections and some born in Ireland.
And John Hancock is the giant signature on it.
And that goes into the popular culture then and the lexicon that put your signature on something.
Give us your John Hancock.
And Elijah, the language itself, some of those phrases, I think they're remembered because it's an iconic document and it's declaring independence and independence is achieved.
It's studied.
But some of the lines, I think, are remembered because they are so...
beautifully written.
They're somewhat enigmatic.
They're striking.
They do capture the imagination.
They're written and phrased in a way that they are memorable.
We hold these truths to be self-evident.
You know, there's a hundred different ways you could have phrased that sentence and perhaps you could have done it in a clearer way or an easier way, but not as striking a way.
And they talk about in unalienable rights.
And even then, but they're putting the three ideas together, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Showing 501–520 of 1,107 · page 26 of 56
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