Who's Your Founding Father?

One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence

By: David Fleming

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

A centuries-old secret document unravels the origin story of America and reveals the intellectual crime of the millennia in this "hugely entertaining" dive into our country’s history to discover the first, true Declaration of Independence (Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon and Churchill.

In 1819, John Adams came across a stunning story in his hometown Essex Register that he described to his political frenemy Thomas Jefferson as “one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest mysteries that ever occurred to me…entitled the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so well expressed before, nor since.” The story claimed that a full 14 months before Jefferson crafted his own Declaration of Independence, a misfit band of zealous Scots-Irish patriots, whiskey-loving Princeton scholars and a fanatical frontier preacher in a remote corner of North Carolina had become the first Americans to formally declare themselves “free and independent” from England.

Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration, aka the MecDec, was signed on May 20, 1775—a date that’s still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. About a year later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have plagiarized the MecDec while composing his own, slightly more famous Declaration, and then covered the whole thing up. Which is why Adams always insisted the MecDec needed to be “thoroughly investigated” and “more universally made known to the present and future generation.”

With Who’s Your Founding Father?, David Fleming picks up where Adams left off, leaving no archive, no cemetery, no bizarre clue or wild character (and definitely no Dunkin’ Donuts) unexplored while traveling the globe to bring to life one of the most fantastic, important—and controversial—stories in American history.

Critic reviews

“David Fleming can write about anything, literally anything, and it will be wonderful. But give him an enduring 250-year-old mystery about the founding of America, a spectacular cast of characters and a lot of caffeine (and donuts), and you get something hilarious, thought-provoking, and utterly unforgettable.” —Joe Posnanski, #1 New York Times bestselling author of six books, including The Baseball 100, Paterno, and The Secret of Golf

"In this hugely entertaining page-turner of a book, David Fleming proves beyond reasonable doubt that Thomas Jefferson plagiarized the Declaration of Independence, and then sought to cover it up. This is historical detective work at its best."—Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon, Churchill, and The Last King of America

“David Fleming is a modern master of the gonzo dive into a rabbit hole and he has done that bit of magic once again. You don't really know any of the things you know about the Declaration of Independence, which means you don't really know all the things you know about America. Dave’s book will fix that.”—Wright Thompson, ESPN senior writer and New York Times bestselling author of Pappyland

“If David Fleming was our professor, we'd all have been history majors. In the first few pages on our way to John Adams' birthplace and back into deep colonial history, we stop at the original Dunkin' Donuts in Quincy, MA, then go from there. As we look for a Declaration of Independence that predates the Declaration of Independence, we learn why the Charlotte Hornets are the Charlotte Hornets, spend a nice weekend in England, and develop a strong dislike for Mr. Thomas Jefferson. A grand trip, it is. A whole lot of fun. Five out of five stars.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam

"This is Columbo meets National Treasure meets gonzo journalism. Who's Your Founding Father? is the title. But the questions it poses most urgently are 1) Can we handle the truth? And 2) Do we need David Fleming on that wall? I say yes and oh, yes. If extreme obsessiveness in the pursuit of the actual facts surrounding the birth of the republic is a virtue, what Fleming gives us is a story unsurpassed in its virtuousness. I loved it.”—Jeremy Schaap, Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning ESPN anchor and New York Times bestselling author of Cinderella Man

Must read for all fans of US history

David Fleming meticulously researched America’s first Declaration of Independence. The book adds humor to enhance the presentation of why the document has been suppressed by most history books, and why it should be seriously considered.

The excellent documentation of the story made it much more interesting - as history, not just a story

The reader was very enjoyable - like a friend telling you of an adventure that they personally had.

Best history book I ever read

Think National Treasure but it’s real. It is thr riveting true story of first Declaration of Independence. But it is also a lot more. Conflict, Conspiracy, Chaos and the great mystery of Americas founding all wrapped in one epic tale that the reader will not soon forget. Thomas Jefferson was a hypocritical plagiarist and the Meck Deckers were America’s true patriotic authors of our first Declaration of Independence. Long live May 20,1775 and long live the Meck Deck 😎

I listened TWICE

I loved absolutely EVERYTHING about this book.

*THIS* is the history book I wanted to read in high school, but was instead given dates and names and boring information to memorize.

Learned some new things

This is a subject I knew almost nothing about so it was cool to learn the story of the “meck dec” in general. I also liked learning more about Thomas Jefferson’s sordid secrets. I wasn’t crazy about the narration, and at times it was a little boring but overall I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who loves history.