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Work #1120 · Early

Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson
1776 (June drafted, July 4 adopted) · English
Political declaration · Anglo-American classical liberalism / Lockean natural rights

Jefferson's 1776 statement of American independence — the foundational text of the American polity

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Declaration of Independence (Early)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Declaration of Independence

The July 1776 moment of American political founding.

Space

Declaration of Independence

Philadelphia and the broader Atlantic-revolutionary geography.

Matter

Declaration of Independence

The thirteen colonies and the embodied political community they constituted.

Observer

Declaration of Independence

The Continental Congress as collective political subject.

Energy

Declaration of Independence

The revolutionary political energies of the American founding.

Information

Declaration of Independence

The natural-rights doctrine and the grievance-list of the Declaration.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration's "all men are created equal" sits in obvious tension with Jefferson's ownership of enslaved persons; the long debate over the actual extension of the founding promise is the core American political-historical argument.