(5) Tree Line

The Declaration of Independence is only one parchment long, much of which is just signatures (John Hancock's alone takes up like a paragraph of space—way to be a showboat, Hancock). Yup: this massively important doc is actually pretty short.

Also, the few big ideas are pretty straightforward and easy to grasp: thanks, Founding Fathers.

Sure, Jefferson writes in a somewhat elevated language with long sentences, and in a bit of a fancier style than what we normally read now, and with some words in there that aren't used all that much today. It ain't "Good Night Moon," but it's also not Ulysses.