Problem: The texts that you had to read for this week were written directly before, during, or after the American Revolution and either helped shape or were shaped by current events. As discussed in the lecture, these texts are very much dependent on their physical forms to help give them meaning - Paine's pamphlets, the Adamses' letters, Jefferson's draft. These are also texts that straddle the line between public and private - we do, after all, find the draft of the Declaration of Independence in Jefferson's private journals. How are they considered private and public nature of two of the texts for this week. What glimpses of an inner, private life do we see in these texts? What juxtaposition is there between privacy and the very public nature of the Revolution and creation of a new government? How do these documents complicate our thinking about personal life, public responsibilities, spiritual obligations, and human relationships during such a tumultuous period in history?