Menu
Excerpts
Exhibits
Collections
Originals
Categories
Map
Search
Declaring Independence
Declaring Independence
Declaring Independence
A collection of resources about the meanings of the 1776 document in its own time – and in ours.
Explore Exhibit
Scroll to explore
The Document
View Connections
07
Core Principles
View Connections
14
The Limits of Citizenship
View Connections
12
Declaring Independence
The Limits of Citizenship
The Limits of Citizenship
The Captive Aliens Who Remain Our Shame
A review of Robert Parkinson’s book “The Common Cause: Creating Race and Nation in the American Revolution”.
by
Annette Gordon-Reed
Dreams of a Revolution Deferred
How African-Americans in Early America celebrated the Declaration of Independence's ideals, even as basic freedoms were denied to them.
by
Derrick R. Spires
America’s Original Sin
Slavery and the legacy of white supremacy.
by
Annette Gordon-Reed
Charlottesville: Why Jefferson Matters
Annette Gordon-Reed explores the ways in which the many paradoxes of Jefferson make him a potent figure for racists and anti-racists alike.
by
Annette Gordon-Reed
Race and the American Creed
Recovering black radicalism.
by
Aziz Rana
Pursuing the Pursuit of Happiness
Traditional Supreme Court precedent may depend too much on substantive due process to safeguard human rights.
by
Laurence H. Tribe
A Topic Best Avoided
After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln faced the issue of sorting out a nation divided over the issue of freed slaves. But what were his views on it?
by
Nicholas Guyatt
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Portraying a 19th-century president.
by
C. J. Bartunek
Doubting Thomas
Is Jefferson's Bible evidence that the Founding Fathers engaged with scripture to birth a Christian nation? Or that they sought to foster a new secular order?
by
Ed Simon
A Fiery Gospel
A conversation about changing the American story.
by
Lewis H. Lapham
,
Kermit Roosevelt III
A Forgotten Black Founding Father
Why I’ve made it my mission to teach others about Prince Hall.
by
Danielle Allen
The Shameful Final Grievance of the Declaration of Independence
The revolution wasn’t only an effort to establish independence from the British—it was also a push to preserve slavery and suppress Native American resistance.
by
Jeffrey Ostler