In-Text References

Literary and Philosophical References

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (2-5)
Jefferson's ideas about the purpose and responsibility of government are drawn from Locke's philosophical writing during the Enlightenment.

Historical Events

British government leaving troops in the colonies after the French and Indian War (20).
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 (30).
Remember that the Royal Proclamation forbade colonists from settling in the land won from the French in the French and Indian War, denying them land for expansion of the colonies.
Stamp Act, Coercive Acts, the Tea Act, etc. (27).
King George III declaring the colonies in a state of rebellion (33).
King George III hiring Hessians (German mercenaries) to fight the colonists (35).
Richard Henry Lee, Robert Livingston, and Edmund Randolph, "An Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain," 1775 (40-45).
This is the address sent to the people of Great Britain to try and gain their support against British oppression, which Jefferson mentions (not by name) because the British people did not respond.

References to This Text

Historical and Political References

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, "The Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
Abraham Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
Charles Sumner, Promises of the Declaration of Independence, and Abraham Lincoln (1865)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream speech (1963)

Pop Culture References

Independence Day (movie, 1996)
National Treasure (movie, 2003)
Assassin's Creed III (video game).
There is a side quest in this game involving Benjamin Franklin, and cutaway scenes showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Liberty's Kids, #13, "The First Fourth of July" (2002). This animated children's show looking at the American Revolution through the eyes of teenagers included, unsurprisingly, an episode about the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
Hamilton (musical, 2015)
Although the events in the musical take place after the Declaration of Independence was completed, it's quoted in a couple of songs, including "The Schuyler Sisters" and "Cabinet Battle #1."