Beginning of Essay
The study sheets exploring political, religious, social, intellectual, and personal freedom can be printed out and distributed to students. (Study sheets are provided on PBS ONLINE courtesy of General Motors.) When using the study sheets in conjunction with the ....

Middle of Essay
.... style as the most distinctive feature of the Declaration, which for the most part, as Jefferson acknowledged, restated ideas that were commonplace at the time. A comparison between the most memorable passage of Jefferson's document and a parallel passage from George Mason's nearly simultaneous "Declaration of Rights" should help students appreciate that Jefferson was but one voice in a chorus reciting the reasons for self-government and, more importantly, help them tune into the special music of his voice, which has made his words seem the incantation that called our nation into being. A transcript of Jefferson's original draft for this passage is p ....