Early Draft in Declaration of Independence Abolished Slavery
The United States’ Declaration of Independence underwent a series of revisions before it was finally signed and submitted on July 4, 1776. One of the most important passages that were omitted in the final draft was one that attacked the cornerstone of the colonist’s economy: the enslavement and treatment of African-Americans. Many esteemed politicians in early North America were divided on the topic, they realized that the plantation system could not survive without a cheap source of labor, but they also saw how their newly written proclamation called for liberty and freedom for all mankind. The chief architect of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was among these political elite. Owning over one hundred slaves himself, Jefferson frequently spoke out against the enslavement of African-Americans, and included a passage in his Declaration that would make slavery impossible in the new United States of America. The hypocritical nature of Thomas Jefferson mirrors the attitude of the colonists during the Revolutionary War period, while many saw that slavery violated the human rights that they were fighting for, they could not continue to be economically successful without slavery and chose to omit a passage in the Declaration that challenged it.
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