On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution by Richard Henry Lee. It stated that the States were declaring independence. The Committee of Five was appointed to draft the declaration. It consisted of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Adams was the logical choice to right the rough draft, but he modestly turned over the task to Jefferson. Jefferson presented his draft the next day and the committee proceeded to edit it. Most famously, the Preamble was improved. Jefferson’s “we hold these truths to be sacrsed and undeniable” was changed to “we hold these truths to be self-evident”. “All men are created equal and independent” was shortened by removing “and independent.” The phrase “rights inherent and inalienable” became “unalienable rights.” Jefferson’s list of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was retained as the other four agreed that it was an improvement of John Locke’s life, liberty, and estate (property). There were adjustments to Jefferson’s list of grievances against King George III. The biggest controversy came with the elimination of Jefferson’s anti-slavery grievance. This passage was 168-words long! Jefferson accused the King of foisting the slave trade on the Colonies and then encouraging the slaves to rise up and kill their masters. 1/3 of the signers owned slaves, including Jefferson, so the reference to slavery as being evil did not sit well with many and specifically some of the southern delegations insisted it be removed. Jefferson was unhappy with the deletion. Perhaps he had been hoping to cleanse his soul. The passage was replaced with one that accused the King of inciting Indian attacks. “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions”. Boy, that King sure was dastardly. He was the supervillain the colonists needed to convince themselves that independence was necessary.
https://www.history.com/news/declaration-of-independence-deleted-anti-slavery-clause-jefferson
https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/the-deleted-slavery-passage-from-the-declaration-of-independence
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