Almost every American can recite the first lines of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

But what do these words really mean? Walter Isaacson, Leonard Lauder Professor of American History and Values at Tulane University, hopes to figure that out in his newest book. 

Isaacson sat down with President Mike Fitts in front of a large crowd to discuss his upcoming book, “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written,” on Thursday in Dixon Hall.

Isaacson’s new book takes a different form than his others, going into a deep dive on the most famous sentence in the Declaration of Independence. The book is available for preorder and will officially be released on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

Isaacson said the book aims to investigate what the founding fathers’ original intent was behind those words and assess how they should shape the country’s direction today. 

“One of the things I’ve learned in all the books I’ve written is that collaboration is so integral, innovation is a team sport and creativity is a collaborative effort,” Isaacson said. “I wanted to look at how these three people sat in the room on Market Street for 10 days and went through five drafts of the declaration, and especially that sentence.”

In just 80 pages, Isaacson dives into how the narrative of America has expanded since its founding almost 250 years ago so that “more [people] are included in the Declaration’s promise.”

“I am hoping that we can calm down a bit as a nation, reflect on the values we share and make our 250th a real celebration of unity, not division,” Isaacson said.

His analysis starts at the beginning — with “we.”

“You can start with the word ‘we’, and it’s interesting because it’s the same word we start the Constitution with 11 years later: we, the people,” Isaacson said. “What do they mean by ‘we’? That’s a little complicated because there were 60 of them there, and they’re all white, landowning men, and it’s not quite as inclusive.”

“You got a lot of contradictions that you have to deal with, but that’s what I also try to teach, ” Isaacson said. “Not everything is binary, you have to deal with the complexity of humans.”

A large portion of “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” focuses on the final words of the statement, the ideas of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Isaacson described that the basis of the American character is a “balance of rugged individualism” and “bonding together for the community.” 

When Fitts asked about the role of social media in fueling division in America, Isaacson said the anonymity of the internet, as well as the role of algorithms, has furthered polarization by appealing to narrow — but passionate — audiences.

“We’re supposed to have our own opinions, but not our own facts; that’s also been broken down by the destruction of trust in institutions,” Isaacson said. “We have to find ways to get back to common facts, common truths, common grounds.”

When Fitts asked for Isaacson’s opinion on a solution to this issue, Isaacson spoke of the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary and the task of listening to others to reunify this nation. Isaacson said that this idea is the reason he wrote this new book. 

“That’s the hardest thing in the world to do, is to know when to stand for your principles and when to find common ground with others,” Isaacson said.