
Lesson Plan
The words “all men are created equal” have echoed throughout history. Since 1776, there have been approximately 120 declarations of independence made by different countries and different peoples. This activity...

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This document is an excerpt of Thomas Jefferson’s only book-length publication. Jefferson wrote the work during the early 1780s in response to a series of questions from Frenchman Francois de...

Lesson Plan
Students will be using Primary Source Analysis tools and prepared excerpts of various letters from Thomas Jefferson on the subject of education. Through the facilitation of discussion and questioning techniques...

Lesson Plan
This is a document analysis lesson where students will use Jefferson’s ideas to learn about the benefits of pursuing higher education. In a college preparatory course (AVID), this lesson will...

Lesson Plan
Students will evaluate primary sources for point of view in order to create a CEA (Claim, Evidence, Argument) statement on why Thomas Jefferson held such high expectations for citizens and...

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In this July 4 naturalization ceremony speech at Monticello, author Frank McCourt shares his love for America and its diversity. This love for America drove him to move back to...

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In this July 4 naturalization ceremony speech at Monticello, President George W. Bush briefly reviews some of Jefferson’s accomplishments, then argues that Jefferson believed the rights to life, liberty, and...

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In 1784, Patrick Henry proposed this bill, which would have provided tax-supported religious instruction for Virginians. Henry believed that Christian morality made people better citizens. He also thought that the...

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This image is from A New and Universal History of the Arts and Sciences, shewing their Origins, Progress, Theory, Use and Practice, and Exhibiting the Invention, Structure, Improvement, and Uses...

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Benjamin Franklin gave this speech to a Philadelphia anti-slavery society in 1789. As president of the society, Franklin argued for the abolition, or end, of slavery and also for the...