Declaration of Independence

In American Sphinx, the Declaration of Independence is Thomas Jefferson’s defining contribution and a document the book repeatedly circles back to. The biography notes the almost contingent way the assignment fell to him — “Jefferson was asked to draft the Declaration of Independence… in great part because the other eligible authors had more important things to do.” Its “natural rights section” is treated as Jefferson’s most famous political statement apart from his “We are all republicans—we are all federalists” line. Late in life, Jefferson himself listed “the drafting of the Declaration of Independence” alongside humbler accomplishments like dredging the Rivanna River — the book using that self-accounting to probe his characteristic mix of grandeur and modesty.

The Benjamin Franklin page supplies the human scene around the drafting: Franklin “soothing Jefferson during the editing of the Declaration with the parable of the sign painter and the hat,” consoling his co-drafter as the committee revised his text.

Context: The Declaration of Independence (adopted July 4, 1776) announced the thirteen colonies’ separation from Britain; Jefferson was its principal author, working within a committee that included Franklin and John Adams.

Where this appears

• American Sphinx — Jefferson’s authorship and the “natural rights section” as his defining contribution
• Benjamin Franklin — Franklin consoles Jefferson during the Declaration’s editing with the sign-painter-and-hat parable