The Declaration of Independence is one of the most revered documents in American history, and Thomas Jefferson is credited as its author. Decades after the signing of the Declaration, however, Thomas Jefferson faced rumors that he had plagiarized a declaration of independence written by residents of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1775. In this lesson, students analyze excerpts from both declarations and other historical documents to answer the question: Did Thomas Jefferson commit plagiarism when writing the Declaration of Independence?
Image: Reprint of the Mecklenburg Declaration. From the Library of Congress.
