Common Read: 2021-2022 Our Declaration: The Declaration & Related Documents

Second Treatise of Government by John Locke

Most scholars today believe that Jefferson derived the most famous ideas in the Declaration of Independence from the writings of English philosopher John Locke. Locke wrote his Second Treatise of Government in 1689 at the time of England's Glorious Revolution, which overthrew the rule of James II.

Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain "inalienable" natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even given away. Among these fundamental natural rights, Locke said, are "life, liberty, and property."

English Bill of Rights, 1689

Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, October 14, 1774

Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms, June 26-July 6, 1775

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

Full-text version of Common Sense.

The Lee Resolution

Acting under the instruction of the Virginia Convention in the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution proposing independence from England for the American colonies.

The Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason

Virginia's Declaration of Rights was drawn upon by Thomas Jefferson for the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. It was widely copied by the other colonies and became the basis of the Bill of Rights. Written by George Mason, it was adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776.

Strictures upon the Declaration of the Congress at Philadelphia in a Letter to a Noble Lord, &c. by Thomas Hutchinson, former Governor of Massachusetts

London, 1776

The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence by Jack N. Rakove

Here in a newly annotated edition are the two founding documents of the United States of America: the Declaration of Independence (1776), our great revolutionary manifesto, and the Constitution (1787–88), in which “We the People” forged a new nation and built the framework for our federal republic. Together with the Bill of Rights and the Civil War amendments, these documents constitute what James Madison called our “political scriptures” and have come to define us as a people.

Housed at the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester, United Kingdom, and uncovered by the Declaration Resources Project in August, 2015, the Sussex Declaration is the only known parchment manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence apart from the engrossed and signed parchment in the National Archives.

• Reuell, P. (2017, Apr 21). A hidden Declaration. The Harvard Gazette [Arts & Humanities].
• US National Archives YouTube Channel. (2017, Jul 6). Discovering the Sussex Declaration. (1 hour)
  • Harvard University researchers Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff will discuss the recent identification of a second parchment manuscript of the Declaration of Independence in Chichester, England. The manuscript, dating from the 1780s, is written in the hand of a single clerk.
  • Alternate video: American History TV, C-SPAN3. (2017, Jul 6.). Declaration of Independence Manuscript Discovery. (1 hour)
• Lawrence, K. (2017, Jul 10). Historians Discuss Their Discovery of "Sussex Declaration." National Archives News.
• Reuell, P. (2018, Jul 2). Declaration of authenticity. The Harvard Gazette [Arts & Humanities].
• West Sussex County Council. (2018, Jul 2). Harvard University researchers confirm authenticity of the Sussex Declaration.
• Khoo, A. (2018, Jul 3). Rare US Declaration of Independence found in Sussex. iNews UK.
• Noack, R. (2018, Jul 4). Thanks to a pro-American 'radical duke,' England has its own copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The Washington Post [WorldViews].
• Steele, J. (2018, Jul 4). The 'Sussex Declaration' of Independence held at West Sussex Record Office. West Sussex Record Office.

• Salisbury, S. (2021, Jun 23). They thought they had a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence. Turns out it's even more special. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Salisbury, S. (2021, Jun 24). Rare engravings of the Declaration of Independence are raining like cats and dogs in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer.