Declaration of Independence Resource Set

The "Original Rough Draft" of the Declaration of Independence, shows the evolution of the text from the initial "fair copy" draft by Thomas Jefferson to the final text adopted by Congress on the morning of July 4, 1776

Creating the United States (Interactive, Library of Congress) 

Connect particular phrases and ideas set down in the Declaration of Independence with texts that preceded it.

The Declaration of Independence at the National Archives (Image)

National Archives Declaration of Independence webpage with copies of the document

This image, which include Benjamin Franklin, is part of a timeline of events leading to the writing of the Declaration of Independence

A timeline of major events leading to and following the writing of the Declaration of Independence at the Library of Congress

A patriot’s letter to his loyalist father (Image)

In February 1778, Timothy Pickering Jr., a general in George Washington’s Continental Army, wrote his dying father this  moving letter of farewell on February 23, 1778, from his post in Yorktown, Virginia. Timothy Pickering Jr. revered his father but disagreed with him on one critical issue: colonial independence from Great Britain.

 

This image of King George III is part of an article highlighting Britain's reaction to the Declaration of Independence

 

Extravagant and Inadmissible Claim of Independency.  An article with the story of England's reaction to the Declaration of Independence including King George III address to Parliament Oct. 31, 1776.