It seems Nicholas Cage may have stolen the wrong document!
America turns 250 this year. As we all know, on July 4, 1776, our Founders “signed” the Declaration of Independence.
But apparently, when Nick Cage said he was going to steal the Declaration of Independence in the classic movie, “National Treasure,*” the correct response would have been: Which one?
I’m attending the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting this week. The most interesting presentation I’ve seen so far was by Professor Carlton Larson, who teaches legal history at University of California, Davis – School of Law.
If the image of the Declaration in this post looks different to you, it’s because it isn’t the handwritten version we’ve all come to think of as THE Declaration of Independence. Rather, it is the version that was immediately published in newspapers across the U.S. (See more about this version here.)
The handwritten version that is in the U.S. National Archives is what Professor Larson called the “ceremonial” draft, which was actually signed in the weeks and months after July 4, 1776.
He pointed out that there are subtle differences between the versions, such as capitalization of “United” in United States of America, and that these things have legal significance.
Really fascinating stuff…and it didn’t even require Hollywood to come up with it.
*For more on the law and classic movies, see this post from yesterday. I just added another movie to the list!