Drafting the Declaration: the Jefferson Desk and the Declaration of Independence
Activity 2: The Declaration of Independence: a fragile object which bears so great a weight of meaning
Watch the introductory movie together as a class [http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/desk/]. Discuss the information presented in the film about Thomas Jefferson and the significance of the desk.
Visit the Virtual Object section in the Introduction. Ask students to remember the importance of closely examining material culture objects when using them as historical evidence. Provide them with a few minutes to use the Quicktime Virtual Reality version of the Jefferson desk.
Allow students to spend time examining the sources in the Explore section of the Jefferson Desk activity [http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/explore/desk/]. Remind students that the Explore section contains primary and secondary sources, organized into three main categories:
The Object category contains sources related to the Jefferson desk as a piece of material culture.
The Object in History category contains sources related to the place of the Jefferson desk in the context of the Revolutionary era and the legacy of the Declaration.
The Object in the Museum contains containing information related to how NMAH acquired and displayed the Jefferson desk.
Remind students that the video clips of the curators discussing the objects constitute the secondary sources on the site. All other materials are primary sources. Remind students that each primary source is accompanied by supporting information that is essential to critical historical thinking. First, at the top of the source, is an annotation that provides contextual information. Second, at the bottom of the source, is the information, including author, title, and date. Instruct students to consider all of this information carefully as they work.
Inform students that the former Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish once referred to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as, "fragile objects which bear so great a weight of meaning to our people." Ask students what they think MacLeish meant by this statement and lead them in a brief discussion of their ideas.
Inform students that in the course of this activity they will:
examine the Declaration of Independence and documents central to the expansion of the rights of immigrants, African Americans; and women.
work in three teams to look for the influence of the Declaration in these documents
summarize their findings and sharing them with their classmates
Divide the class into three teams. Each team will look for the influence of the Declaration in one of the following documents.
Legacy of the Declaration: Seneca Falls Declaration (1848)
Legacy of the Declaration: Abolitionist Frederick Douglass' "The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro" (1852)
Legacy of the Declaration: Lincoln speaks to immigrants (1858)
Students should write a brief paragraph explaining the influence of the Declaration on their document.
