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Thomas Jefferson Wanted To End Slavery
But the Committee of Five wouldn’t do it
Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. He was a flawed human being.
However, in the draft of the Declaration of Independence that he submitted in 1776, he called for freeing slaves. In this document, he recognized that the idea of human freedom could not logically co-exist with the idea of slavery.
He was considered a young radical at the time. All the founding fathers were revolutionaries, but not all of them shared Jefferson’s idealism.
It’s unfortunate that his final draft went before a committee which changed it. As always, committees often make things worse.
How the Declaration was made
Delegates from each of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. It was a difficult time. The Colonies believed their rights were being trampled on by the British. They wanted their freedom.
The Second Continental Congress therefore met, and on July 4th, John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence. Other delegates signed their name on August 2nd, and the last person to sign, Matthew Thornton, did so on November 4, 1776.
The Lee Resolution was proposed on June 7, 1776. It is actually the earliest draft of the…
