In commemorating America’s 250th anniversary, we are paying particular attention to the Declaration of Independence in the Annotated Declaration. This resource helps you explore the three key sections of the Declaration. Each page provides historical context for that section and offers advice on what to look for when reading the document. Annotations highlight notable phrases in the text and offer deeper explanations about what they mean. Each page includes a ten-question quiz that you can use to guide your reading.
Image: “The Manner in which the American Colonies Declared Themselves Independent of the King of England, throughout the Different Provinces, on July 4, 1776,” by Noble (engraver), after Hamilton (painter), for Edward Barnard, The New, Comprehensive, Impartial and Complete History of England…, London, 1783. (Clements Library, University of Michigan)
Annotations are more than just notes that explain the meaning of certain words or phrases in a document. They’re also sparks for deeper thinking, conversation starters, and gateways into the text. Stay curious and be an active, questioning reader.
Annotating is for everyone. As a student, you annotate whenever you take notes on a text. The annotations in the Annotated Declaration were crafted with guidance from Prof. Eric Slauter (University of Chicago), author of the forthcoming Promises of the Declaration of Independence.
There’s no single right way to read an annotated document. You can start with the Declaration’s text, turning to the annotations whenever a word or phrase needs clarification. You could also start with the annotations—in whatever order you choose—or with the quiz-like tutorial at the bottom of each page.
As you read the annotations, evaluate what choices they reflect. Consider which phrases receive special attention, what themes these phrases have in common, and how the annotations illuminate the steps in a narrative.
Image: Frontspiece portrait of Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC06154)
In the Annotated Declaration, you’ll get the inside scoop about how a grounding in Enlightenment philosophy, distinctive American political culture, and the ongoing American Revolution all contributed to Congress’s message. The American people then breathed life into the Declaration’s promises.
Image: A View of the Town of Concord, by Amos Doolittle (Engraver) after Ralph Earl (Artist), 1775. (The New York Public Library)
Explore the ideas animating the opening paragraphs of the Declaration.
Read the complaints that Congress offered to justify the American Revolution.
Learn about Congress’s hopes for the future as it declared America to be an independent nation.