Sales of the United States’ founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, have surged in recent months.
According to data tracker Circana, copies of the nation’s core documents are selling at their fastest rates since the organization began tracking the data in 2004. An estimated 162,000 combined copies have been sold through mid-April, according to the Associated Press. During this same period last year, 58,000 copies were cold. In 2023, the number was around 33,000.
Barnes & Noble’s senior director of book strategy, Shannon DeVito, explained, “We generally see increased sales of editions of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution every election cycle, but particularly this year.” DeVito noted that this may be “because next year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, or the fast and furious current political conversations and policy changes.”
Historian Jon Meacham told the AP that the surge in sales of the nation’s historical texts is a way to “address the chaos of the present time,” explaining that “what Saint Paul would call the ‘tribulations’ of the present time, is to re-engage with the essential texts that are about creating a system that is still worth defending.”
Amidst the increase in sales, book publisher Random House announced that it plans to publish a hardcover book combining the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution in July, followed by a hardcover copy of the Federalist Papers in November.
Bibles have also seen a surge in sales, increasing 22% between 2023 and 2024.
