Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography: Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence “The Constitution of the United s of America.” http www.america.gov/publications/books/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america-with-explanatory-notes.html (accessed October 30, 2010). The is the official U.S. Government version of “The Constitution of the United States of America”. Its provenance, authority and reliability are implicit in the source. It is the legally authoritative version of the ratified document. According to the government website, “This illustrated publication includes the complete text of the U.S. Constitution (preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments), as well an updated introduction and explanatory notes by J.W. Peltason, author of Understanding the Constitution and Government by the People.” Historians debate the similarities and differences between “The Declaration of Independence” and “The Constitution of the United States of America” and the role of Jefferson in the composition of both. Therefore it is necessary to consult this document to compare and contrast “The Declaration of Independence” and “The Constitution of the United States of America”. “The Declaration of Independence.” http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2009/March/20090320112038jmnamdeirf0.352688.html (accessed October 30, 2010). The is the official U.S. Government version of “The Declaration of Independence”. Its provenance, authority and reliability are implicit in the source. It is the legally authoritative version of the ratified document. It is also the core document for this research assignment. Therefore, a reputable copy of it is absolutely essential. To understand Jeffersons role in the composition of the “The Declaration of Independence” it is essential to begin with an authoritative copy of the document. This document is also easily and widely accessible. Bernstein, R. B. The Founding Fathers Revisited New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford University Press is a very reputable academic publishing house affiliated with the esteemed Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The author, R. B. Berstein is an authority on the American Revolutionary era and has published many academic books and peer reviewed journal articles in the area. This book is particularly useful because it covers the founding fathers. Therefore, it assesses Jeffersons role in the period and in the composition of “The Declaration of Independence”. It also then compares and contrasts his views and role with those of Washington, Adams, Franklin and others. It provides context for Jeffersons views by placing them in the intellectual milieu of the era. It also provides assistance in determining which phrases and paragraphs of “The Declaration of Independence” were Jeffersons work and which were authored or more influenced by other founding fathers. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Oxford University Press is a very reputable academic publishing house affiliated with the esteemed Oxford University. The author, R. B. Berstein is an authority on the American Revolutionary era and has published many academic works in the area. This a valuable biography because it is a synthesis of many biographies and rather than advocating a strong and specific thesis it presents an overview of the various interpretations of Jeffersons life and writing. It thoroughly explores the slave owning advocate of personal liberty and the atheist who authored a document that frequently refers to God and God-given rights. It is an important counterpoint to Willss polemic, Inventing America: Jeffersons Declaration of Independence, and responses to it. It considers this debate but also takes a wider look at the scholorship on Jefferson. Boyd, J.P. “The Declaration of Independence: The Mystery of the Lost Original” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 1976. Both the Constitution and the Declaration are bedeviled by debates over the revisions of the various versions and the provenance of each copy or version. This article explores these issues with particular relevance to the Declaration of Independence. As such it provides insight into the drafting of the document and the way it evolved over time, from the first tentative drafts to the final document now enshrined in American history and government and represented by the second entry in this annotated bibliography. In this sense it augments ones understanding of the final document referred to earlier in this annotated bibliography. (I am unsure as this is categorized as a peer reviewed journal and would appreciate some guidance on this issue. All other journal articles included in this annotated bibliography, I believe, are from peer reviewed scholarly journals.) Howell, Wilbur Samuel. “The Declaration of Independence and Eighteenth-Century Logic” The William and Mary Quarterly, 1961. The author was a professor of rhetoric and logic at Princeton University when he wrote this article. That position succinctly establishes his qualifications to write on “The Declaration of Independence” and its place in American intellectual history. Therefore, although this article is now almost fifty years old it still remains a valuable and informative addition to the debate around Jeffersons role in the drafting of “The Declaratioin of Independance”. This article is also invaluable as it places the declaration in the context of eighteenth century intellectual and philosophical debate. As such it explains how a slave owner (Jefferson) could write about God-given and unalienable rights while owning human chattel. It attempts to offer insight into what is often seen as a fundamental contradiction in Jeffersons worldview. Namowy, Ronald. “Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Willss Inventing America: Jeffersons Declaration of Independence”. The William and Mary Quarterly, 3: (4), October 1979, pp. pp. 503-523. Two aspects of this selection attest to its importance. First, it is published in a widely respected academic journal that focuses on America, and particularly American colonial history. Second, it is written as an extended critical book review and the book that it focuses on is an important, contentious and relatively recent revisionist addition to the scholarship of Thomas Jefferson and the Revolutionary Era. In this sense, it challenges Willss radical thesis that Jefferson was not a Lockean liberal but rather a product of the Scottish enlightenment. Willss book is extremely valuable but this is an important counterpoint to Willss persuasive argument. It offers some balance to Wills views and some insight into the underlying assumptions in Inventing America: Jeffersons Declaration of Independence” Murrin, John M., Paul E. Johnson, James M. McPherson, Gary Gerstle, Emily S. Rosenberg and Norman L. Rosenberg. (2008) Liberty, Equality, Power A History of the American People New York: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008. This is a basic overview or survey text of American history. It is published by a respectable publisher and used in many American universities. This attests to its reliability. It provides a necessary overview of the United States in the eighteenth century and of Jeffersons role in American history during that period. It provides a general overview and background as a framework for considering more specific questions about Jeffersons role in the composition of the “Declaration of Independence”. Powell, H. Jefferson. “The Original Understanding of Original Intent”. Harvard Law Review, 98: (5), March 1985. The term original intent is frequently heard in debate about the intentions of the founding fathers. Specifically, original intent means that the founding fathers always intended for their interpretation of a phrase or expression to be maintained ad infinitum. This article argues that this is a false position and that the founding fathers understood their intentions where historically specific in terms of meaning and application. The author contents that original intent is not an academic or intellectual argument but rather an expression of faith and that it should not carry excessive weight in current political debates. Wills, Gary. Inventing America: Jeffersons Declaration of Independence. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978. Gary Wills is one of the leading revisioinist historians of the American experience. He has published books on topics as diverse as John Wayne and American cultural history, religion in American politics, and biographies of Presidents Nixon and Reagan as well as numerous books on Jefferson. Willss radical thesis is that Jefferson was not a Lockean liberal but rather a product of the Scottish enlightenment. This is a contentious argument: Arguably the book is an extended polemic. Nonetheless, it is impossible to consider Jefferson and the intellectual roots of “The Declaration of Independence” without taking note of Wills argument. Therefore, this volume must be included in any consideration of Jefferson although an astute reader must be aware of Willss viewpoint and of responses to it such as Ronald Namowys, “Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment: A Critique of Garry Willss Inventing America: Jeffersons Declaration of Independence”. 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