Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Thomas Jefferson's Edit
It's easy to edit material in the twenty-first century. All you have to do is use the delete key or use a little Liquid Paper. Presto! The mistake is gone. Changing documents during the time of the American Revolution was a bit messier. Thomas Jefferson used his hand to wipe away wet ink when he changed his mind about a word in the Declaration of Independence!
Scientists at the Library of Congress found out that Thomas Jefferson used the word "subjects" instead of "citizens" in an early draft of the Declaration. This Founding Father's edit was invisible for many years. The announcement of this discovery was made on July 2, 2010.
The technology that made this discovery is called hyperspectral imaging. The lab used a high resolution digital camera that compiled a series of images. These images highlighted layers of the document that could then be viewed on a computer screen. Digital technology revealed the word "subjects."
