NEW YORK — In a recent meeting at Random House, publisher Andrew Ward and his team of editors turned their discussion toward relevant current events and the ongoing Trump administration. They realized there was a growing need to delve into the nation’s foundational documents with a contemporary perspective. “We felt it was essential to revisit the core documents of our country,” Ward explained. “And we wanted to bring these out rapidly.”
On Wednesday, the publishing giant made public its plan to release a hardcover book in July that will include both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Later in November, they will follow up with a hardcover edition of the Federalist Papers. Each book will feature introductions by acclaimed historian Jon Meacham, who boasts Pulitzer Prize recognition and has penned insightful biographies of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson among others.
These works, set to be published under Random House’s Modern Library banner, are entering a marketplace that has seen notable growth recently. As tracked by Circana, a firm monitoring around 85% of the print retail sector, editions of these historical documents are currently witnessing their peak sales since Circana began keeping records in 2004. Sales figures show around 162,000 combined copies have sold by mid-April, compared to 58,000 during the same months the prior year and about 33,000 in 2023. Back in the early days of Trump’s presidency in 2017, sales soared to roughly 92,000, more than double that of 2016.
Book industry analyst Brenna Connor from Circana attributes this surge to the recent administrative changes and notes a rising interest in literature focusing on democracy and government. This trend can be observed in the popularity of titles such as Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” and “Who Is Government?”: a compilation of essays edited by Michael Lewis and featuring work by Dave Eggers, Geraldine Brooks, and others. “This pursuit of political understanding is unfolding across various arenas,” Connor remarked.
In a recent conversation, Jon Meacham reflected on how the founders initially navigated the revolutionary circumstances of their time—whether separating from England or conceptualizing a federal government that balances power without excess authority like the monarchal systems that had previously angered the colonies. He maintains that engaging with texts like the Declaration today can provide the public with similar foundational insights. “We are in a tumultuous era, to put it graciously,” Meacham noted. “Re-examining these essential texts could offer guidance for establishing a system worth preserving amid today’s uncertainties.”
These upcoming Modern Library editions will encounter substantial competition, as the 18th-century documents are public domain and accessible for free online. Various publishers, including Skyhorse, Penguin, and Barnes & Noble, have issued popular editions. Shannon DeVito, Barnes & Noble’s senior director of book strategy, observed, “Sales of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution tend to rise during election cycles, especially this year. This might be because the 250th anniversary of the Declaration is approaching,” she noted, “or due to the rapid developments and policy shifts in current political discourse.”