Ann Arbor District Library, 343 South Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Considered the most excellent break-up letter of all time, the Declaration of Independence is an indictment of the King of England and the oppression the colonists felt under his rule. But as Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, embedded in the 27th grievance against the King, he writes of the “merciless Indian Savages” and forever painted Indigenous people as the enemy of the country. However, when broken down, the phrase reveals a deeper meaning and exposes the founders as land speculators. Learn what the phrase means and how it has shaped the course of United States history.