In June of 1776, the Continental Congress had an important job to assign, but few people wanted it—drafting a declaration stating the reasons for the colonies' separation from England. This task was difficult, thankless, and potentially dangerous. The author of the document would find his work scrutinized by everyone in the Americas and England without necessarily receiving any credit. However, the British would consider the person a major enemy.
The Declaration was written by the "Committee of Five"--,,, Sherman, and Livingston--with 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson serving as the primary author.
Quick Reflection: Have you ever been assigned a task that you did not want because you were the youngest person in the room? Have you ever given someone such a task?
Writing mostly at night after his other duties were finished for the day, Jefferson produced a beautiful statement that became part of the core principles of American society. How did he do that?
Jefferson had help. As one of the most well-read men in the colonies, he drew inspiration from over 500 years of British and colonial political writings to explain the rights thatInteractive popup. Assistance may be required. had violated and why the people of America had the duty to rebel.
The Tree of Liberty graphic below illustrates the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence and the sources that Jefferson used to formulate and express those ideas. It shows the American fruit borne from political ideas rooted in the history of the Western world. You will see the following graphic throughout the resource to help show the connections among the source documents, the Declaration of Independence, and its principles.
Important documents and political philosophers form the roots of our Tree of Liberty. They support the trunk, which is the Declaration of Independence, which bears the fruit of principles like limited government and popular sovereignty.
Quick Thought: When you use other documents to support an argument you are writing, you need to cite your sources, or else you are guilty of plagiarism. By this standard, Jefferson might be the most successful plagiarist in world history. Consider this resource an opportunity to go back and cite his sources for him. In your notes, write down how each of the political fruits is associated with the root philosophers and documents. Of course, in the 18th century, the rules of crediting sources were different, and it would have been inappropriate to cite sources in the Declaration of Independence. As a student, however, you always must cite your sources.
