|
THOMAS JEFFERSON and
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Thomas Jefferson, statesman and third President of the United States was chosen to be the chief writer and architect of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence. Though honored, he actually felt John Adams or Ben Franklin were better suited. But Franklin was ill at the time and Adams told Jefferson he was a better writer. So the job of writing the document, the first formal statement asserting the right of people to choose their own government, fell to Jefferson.
THOMAS JEFFERSON and the SLAVE TRADE
At the time of the writing of the Declaration of Independence, Britain had complete control of the world’s seas and was a chief promoter of the transportation of slaves.
Jefferson considered slavery to be one of the greatest threats to the new nation. He believed that even though slavery was allowed to one degree or another in the world as well as in the 13 colonies, this slave transportation was a main cause of the slavery entrenchment in America.
He argued that the abolition of the slave trade would be the first step in a plan that would weaken slavery and hasten its end. He included his appeal to abolish slave trade into the Declaration of Independence.
Unfortunately, on July 3, 1776, when Jefferson’s document was read by the second Continental Congress, some passages from the original were removed because they were considered to be overly inflammatory. One crucial item that was deleted in the original draft was his condemnation of the British promotion of the slave trade.
Jefferson was enraged but could do nothing. After these passages were removed, the Declaration was finally signed and approved on July 4, 1776.
THOMAS JEFFERSON-SLAVE OWNER and
SLAVERY ABOLITIONIST!
While Jefferson was very active in legislation during the American Revolution to abolish slavery, slave holding was very much legal and very entrenched in the original 13 colonies.
Jefferson, himself, owned slaves. It should seem quite odd that the man who wrote ‘all men are created equal,’ was the same man who enslaved more than 600 people throughout his life. The same man who called slavery a ‘moral depravity’ and a ‘hideous blot’ was the same man who profited directly from the institution of slavery and yet publicly opposed it.
JEFFERSON'S PLAN FOR THE END OF SLAVERY
Although Thomas Jefferson was outspoken about the need for the end of slavery, he was in favor of a gradual emancipation of slaves rather than an all-out anti-slavery law.
He had always maintained that the decision to emancipate slaves would have to be part of a democratic process and could not happen until all slave owners were ready to consent to free their human property at the same time.
If part of America was in favor of abolition and part of America was in favor of continuing slavery, Jefferson believed the result would be a civil war that would destroy the new union. History proved him right!
JEFFERSON'S AMELIORATION OF SLAVERY PLAN
Jefferson continued to fight for the end of slavery throughout his adult life, though the odds were not in his favor. As a prologue to total abolition, he introduced a plan for the amelioration of the living conditions and moderation of punishment applied to the enslaved blacks. He instituted this reform with his own slaves on his plantation, Monticello.
Unfortunately, this plan of Jefferson’s to abolish slavery by first improving its circumstances backfired after his death. Pro-slavery advocates felt if slavery could be improved, it did not need to be abolished.
JEFFERSON'S SLAVES
Please continue reading here for information about Jefferson's treatment of his own slaves as well as the state of racism still alive today in the United States after George Floyd.
| 
