Jefferson drew the draft Declaration from the prior month’s Virginia documents

Evidence

For these ideas, Jefferson may not have looked beyond those expressed at the Virginia Convention during the prior month, which would explain his later comment regarding the Declaration, “I turned to neither book or pamphlet while writing it.” … The Virginia Constitution instead began with a declaration of rights before adding Jefferson’s list of grievances. Jefferson followed this format for his draft Declaration of Independence by borrowing from the first three propositions of the Virginia Declaration of Rights for the opening and then repurposing his list of grievances from the Virginia Constitution for part two. … A final part declaring independence then quoted directly from Virginia’s resolution on independence. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 209

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to ‘competing values’ among founders — shows the Virginia Declaration of Rights as the immediate legal-political source text shaping articulations of equality and rights. — connects to: Virginia’s three constitutional documents each shaped the American Declaration of Independence — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 192; Jefferson composed the Declaration from pre-existing congressional ideas, not new ones. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 208; The Declaration’s tri-part structure came from the Virginia Constitution and rights declaration. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 209

Broader Connections

• The Declaration’s tri-part structure came from the Virginia Constitution and rights declaration. #expands (0.95) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 209