Did Thomas Jefferson Steal the Declaration of Independence?

About this episode

The episode explores the possibility that Thomas Jefferson borrowed language from an earlier Declaration of Independence written by North Carolinians and discusses the historical implications of this claim.

Good artists borrow, great artists steal. Apparently, Thomas Jefferson got the memo. It turns out some North Carolinians penned their own Declaration of Independence nearly a year before TJ scribed his.  So, if Thomas Jefferson stole (borrowed/homaged) the language for the Declaration of Independence, why have we never talked about this? Well, there was one heck of cover up!  To get the full story, we call up David Fleming, author of Who's Your Founding Father?: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence .  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Guest: David Fleming

Topics covered

• Thomas Jefferson
• Declaration of Independence
• North Carolina
• historical cover-up
• American history

Keywords

• Thomas Jefferson
• Declaration of Independence
• David Fleming
• North Carolina
• historical cover-up

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Who's Your Founding Father?: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence

Places: North Carolina

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