This activity can be used to support learning about the ideas in David Armitage's essay, The Declaration of Independence's Influence Around the World, from the America at 250 Civic Toolkit.
Read and annotate Thomas Jefferson’s last letter, written to the mayor of Washington in reply to an invitation to attend the celebration of the Jubilee of American Independence. Afterward, complete the graphic organizer based on the following prompt: David Armitage’s essay describes the Declaration of Independence as “the birth certificate of the United States of America,” and Jefferson’s letter describes the document as “an instrument pregnant with our own, and the fate of the world.” How did the Declaration of Independence represent the “birth” of the United States?
