Page 49 - ASM Book 9/2020

Where Jefferson Wrote the Declaration
43
During his stay in Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson rented a two room suite on the second floor in the Graff House.
He wrote the Declaration of Independence in the parlor on the portable desk he had designed, using the small silver fountain pen he purchased from a Richmond watchmaker. The Graff House was a new residence owned by Jacob Graff, Jr.,
a local bricklayer.
Portable Desk
From Subjects to Citizens
Silver Fountain Pen
“Jefferson was almost finished with the middle section that listed the grievances against King George III. He carefully began to write the next to last grievance. ‘He
. . . has . . . incited . . . treasonable . . . insurrections . . .
of . . . our . . . fellow . . . subjects.’ He suddenly stopped.
‘NO!’ He realized, ‘Subjects is not the correct word. As a free people, we will not be subjects of the British monarchy any longer. We will be citizens of our own country – a new country.’ While the ink was still wet, he used his finger to wipe out the word ‘subjects.’ He finished writing the sentence with ‘citizens’ inserted.”
- Excerpt from Jefferson’s Masterpiece, page 30
Parlor