Declaration of Independence

Tiberge's post at Gallia Watch reminded me that I have seen:

...a fair copy (clean, full-text version without corrections or alterations) of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's hand.

Here is information from the exhibition brochure, which took place at the New York Public Library's Celest Bartos Forum from June 27 to July 3, 2014:

The Declaration of Independence
At the New York Public Library
Thomas Jefferson’s Autograph Copy

The New York Public Library holds in its vast collections one of the rarest and most important documents in American history:an original copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. In addition to being a cornerstone of American civilization, the Declaration of Independence is one of the great documents of the human intellect and has formed the foundation of democratic movements that have transformed the world for more than two centuries.

On June 28, 1776, the finished draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson was submitted to the Continental Congress. Before it was ratified on July 4, a number of changes were made, the most significant of which was the removal of Jefferson’s lengthy condemnation of the slave trade, an excision intended to appease delegates from Georgia and South Carolina. Jefferson was distressed by these alterations, and in the days immediately following July 4, he handwrote several copies of the original text, underlining passages to which changes had been made. He then sent these documents to five or six friends. The New York Public Library is privileged to safeguard one of just two copies of this renowned historical document that remain intact.

Here is more on this copy, including:
- a pdf file
- the transcript
- and other interesting links

I took photographs of the exhibition, one of which I've posted here, and the rest can be viewed here, at my blog New York Reflections.

Here is a closer, legible view of the first paragraph:


And here is Larry Auster's commentary from July 3, 2012:

On every July Fourth since I was in my twenties I have read aloud the Declaration of Independence, no matter where or with whom I was, whether people shared the reading or I read it by myself.
How can I—how can anyone—read the Declaration aloud this year in honor of American existence and American liberty? The colonies that were acting in unison as “one people,” and in the act named themselves the United States of America, the free country that brought itself into existence with that Declaration on the basis of God-ordained limits on government power, has, as of June 28, 2012, officially come to an end. As a commenter at Lucianne.com has put it, “Think of Obamacare as the Declaration of Dependence.”

The Declaration of Independence no longer represents what our country actually is. It represents our past country, and, perhaps, a future country. If we are to read the Declaration together, it can only be in that spirit, as patriotism to a non-existent country. As I said on the morning of June 28, patriotism to the United States as it now actually exists “is simply subscription to, loyalty to, patriotism to, obedience to, a leftist unlimited state.”