I grew up in Charlottesville, VA, in the shadow of Monticello and a few blocks from UVA, Mr.Jefferson's university, so I always felt a tad proprietary about the Fourth of July. Schoolchildren in Charlottesville were pretty much taught that the Revolution was Thomas Jefferson and some other guys against King George.
The thing is, every time I read the Declaration of Independence, I still marvel at Jefferson's command of rhetoric.
Read the Declaration and all about it at USHistory.org's DOI page.
