Charles Thomson - by McKinney-Whitaker (Paperback)

About the Book

At once biography, local history, and transatlantic reflection,

CHARLES THOMSON-Irish Emigrant, American Founder

shows how an immigrant life can bind communities-and

centuries-together.

Book Synopsis

An Irish emigrant who helped the United States of

America find its voice.

His hand attested the Declaration of Independence. From his

desk flowed the records that shaped a nation.

Born in Ulster, Charles Thomson crossed the Atlantic as a child

and became the quiet architect of the Continental Congress,

serving as Secretary from its first meeting in 1774 through the

American Revolution and the

establishment of a new government under the Constitution in

1789. Yet on both sides of the Atlantic, his name is too often

overlooked. This book restores Thomson to the story-linking

the townlands of his youth to the founding of the United States.

Marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of

Independence, this volume invites readers in Ireland and America

to rediscover a founder who embodied accuracy, integrity and

public service.

At once biography, local history, and transatlantic reflection,

CHARLES THOMSON-Irish Emigrant, American Founder

shows how an immigrant life can bind communities-and

centuries-together.

Review Quotes

"At a time when societies on both sides of the Atlantic are grappling with division, memory, and belonging, Charles Thomson: Irish Emigrant, American Founder offers a timely reminder that the ideals at the heart of democracy were never intended as settled slogans, but as living moral commitments." --Derry Now, Ireland Live

"This book is a timely and valuable contribution to reawakening interest in Thomson--the Maghera-born Secretary of the Continental Congress." --John Hume, Jnr.

"[N]ew book about Thomson is a great way for people to engage with the man, who he was and what he was about, and to learn about the key role he played in the creation of what would become a new nation." --Dayna Jost, Ulster-Scots Community Network

"Thomson's life reminds us that democracy is never self-sustaining; it must be tended, often in dark and uncertain times." --Don Mullan, author, humanitarian, and social innovator

"[A]n inspiring and uplifting publication, competently researched and engagingly told." --Rev. David Latimer, author and peace activist, Freeman of the City of London, Lead Liaison Derry-Londonderry International City of Peace