Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence will undergo several dozen deletions and edits before it was agreed upon unanimously in 1776. The portion that we were given that begins "He has waged cruel war..." was the one change Jefferson fought against harder than any other suggestion made by his colleagues in the Second Continental Congress.
Share in the comments why you believe that Thomas Jefferson, a captor of enslaved Americans himself, fought to keep this alleged grievance against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence.
As is our practice well will respond to at least two of our classmates.
I think that Thomas Jefferson may have done this to try and attract slaves to the rebel cause. The British had already offered them freedom if they fought for them, so Jefferson probably thought he needed to do something to counteract the British offer of freedom. Even though he owned slaves, he probably would have released them after the war in order to stay true to his word.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It was all means of countering what the British were offering to slaves. Otherwise, many within the colonies would've potentially switched sides, and cost the colonists greatly.
DeleteEthan lader
I totally agree because, as I said in my post, the DOT was made to get people fired up to fight against the British and having it appeal the enslaved people gave them a reason to fight for too.
DeleteI agree with this, and I had not thought about the part where the British made their own appeal to slaves, and Jefferson had to fight that.
DeleteI completely agree, and I think it's important that you mentioned what Britain had offered the enslaved people. I think Jefferson realized that they were already outnumbered, and enslaved people made up a large percentage of the population in the colonies, so he realized the importance of getting them on his side.
DeleteI agree with this, Jefferson was trying to counteract the British offer so that the enslaved people would fight with the Patriots.
DeleteInteresting analysis. It does make sense that Jefferson would want to combat pro-British slave revolts with pro-American ones. This declaration does seem to be an attempt to create anti-British sentiment among slave populations.
DeleteI found your point that Jefferson might release his slaves if they won very interesting. I wonder if black rights in America would have taken a different path if they had kept this in the Declaration of Independence.
DeleteSakari
DeleteThis is an interesting take i didn't think about, but it seems pretty likely, since in the wars to come this was a tactic that seemed to be used sadly
I agree, he most likely did it to be able to give the enslaved people a reason to side with the americans.
DeleteI completely agree. I think it is also important to note that enslaved people were not just trying to be won over by the Americans, but by the British as well.
DeleteI think that this may have been true, maybe Jefferson knew Slavery was wrong but continued to have slaves because of the economic advantage of having them. Counteracting the British's offer seems like it would be a strong move, and it seems like it would be the only logical one as well.
DeleteThomas Jefferson probably was tasked with countering Britain's promises to slaves, as to not forfeit was was deemed at the time an important economic asset, which is disturbing considering they were real people. However, by declaring what he did in the declaration of independence, he was able to successfully counter the British' appeal.
ReplyDeleteEthan Lader
DeleteI agree, because Britain was able to get the enslaved people in America to rise up, so Thomas Jefferson wanted to do the same to Britain.
DeleteThe Declaration of Independence was made to rally up people to fight against the British government, so Thomas Jefferson thought that if he could get the enslaved people in Britain to join them it could offer a huge advantage. This is why I think Thomas J fought to keep this grievance in the DOT.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree. Jefferson wanted as many people with his cause as possible, and that meant the slaves as well.
DeleteEthan Lader.
DeleteDefinitely. Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of independence to charge people's feelings against the British into a physical nation. He likely considered how the document would also slow or stop slaves from defecting to the British.
What many people fail to realize is that, unlike the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence was written with (what would be) current interests at mind. What you wrote is indicative of this, as Jefferson was probably not thinking about the long-term future, only what would allow the nation to survive.
DeleteI agree. He also says that slavery violates "the most sacred rights of life and liberty." I think that Jefferson sees the contradiction if the Declaration claims "all men are created equal", but enslaved people aren't included. He assumes that many enslaved people will side with the British if they see that they aren't promised freedom.
DeleteThis is a very interesting way to look at this passage, and I have to say, it is clauseable that Jefferson wrote this piece to try and gather African American support.
DeleteI think that Jefferson fought so hard for this passage so that he could appeal to slaves to fight for the cause. He wanted to convince slaves that the King was the reason that they were enslaved and that if they helped fight the king, they would be freed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, he was trying to turn the enslaved people against the king and against Britain.
DeleteI think that Jefferson added this section to the Declaration and fought so hard for it because he thinks that it is a strong argument that will further support his claim of the crimes of the King, and also get more enslaved people to join their side for the war. He writes that the king of Great Britain is to blame for the "pirate warfare" of slavery, and claims the king "prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce." I think that by claiming all issues in America as faults of the king, Jefferson is trying to paint England as the common enemy. He wants to make his argument for independent more appealing, and get more people, including enslaved people, on his side.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this could be an argument to give the new nation some legitimacy among other nations.
DeleteI totally agree, I think this piece was written not only to try and get enslaved African Americans on his side, but also to take another stab at the king and his crimes.
DeleteI agree with this. Jefferson wanted as many people as possible against the British because they had a much more powerful army. He was using the king as a scapegoat for American problems that could prevent someone from joining the revolution.
DeleteSakari
DeletePinning Great Britain as the cause for slavery is probably a smart move, since he wanted to convince everyone that Independence was the answer.
I think that this theory is a strong one, we know Jefferson is an intelligent man, and blaming Britain, and combining this with a counteroffer of sorts, slaves have a much harder choice when deciding who to join.
DeleteI think that Thomas Jefferson fought so hard to keep this grievance in the Declaration of Independence because he wanted more people to support the Revolution, and if the enslaved people joined the Patriots they would have an advantage. The Declaration of Independence was written to persuade people to fight for America's freedom so he added this section so that the enslaved people would fight as well.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Jefferson was likely just truing to appeal to the largest number of people he could. By criticizing slavery and the British responsibility for it, he could at least make an attempt to gain the support of slaves.
DeleteI also thought very similarly. The motives behind adding this passage did not have anything to do with Thomas Jefferson actually wanting to point out the horrifying reality of slavery.
DeleteI agree. I also think that the colonist needed as many people fighting as possible because even with the enslaved people fighting against the British, the British would still probably have a bigger army and navy.
DeleteI agree. I liked how you pointed out that the Declaration of Independence was meant to persuade people into fighting a revolution and how this statement fits very well into that.
DeleteI agree. The declaration wasn't a letter about wanting an apology for the wrongdoings, but instead an attempt to ponder to those who felt wronged by the British so that they can all unite against England.
DeleteI agree. It seems Jefferson was more interested in how enslaved people could help during the war, rather than actually helping them for moral reasons.
DeleteThomas Jefferson likely made this point as a rebuttal against the argument that the American rebels were being hypocritical. In his statement, he tries to turn this around and make the British seem to be the hypocritical ones. He writes that the British "...captivat[ed] and carr[ied] [Africans] into slavery in another hemisphere..." and are therefore at fault for the existence of slaves in the 13 colonies. Jefferson proceeds to attack the British "...now exciting [slaves] to rise
ReplyDeletein arms among us..." as being insincere as it was the British who brought enslaved Africans to the mainland colonies in the first place.
To me, it seems that Jefferson felt very strongly about this portion of the constitution, not really because he cared about enslaved Americans (he himself owned slaves,) but rather to call out the British who were recruiting slaves in their army, promising them freedom if they fought. He begins the portion by saying that the captivation and carrying of slaves was all the work of the British king, not only pinning these crimes on the king, but also getting America out of the equation and blame. He goes on to talk about his dislike of the British recruiting slaves and then freeing them. He basically says that these freedom-deprived slaves will do almost anything to gain said freedom, even fight in a war. Jefferson is suggesting that this is a very unfair and cruel way to recruit soldiers on Britain's part. Unfortunately, the ultimate goal of this passage was not to equalize or help African Americans, but rather another stab at the British and their king; in other words, another reason for America's freedom.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I think that the main goal was to villainize the British further.
Deletei totally agree, his intentions to really free the enslaved people were not genuine but he was using this as a reason to make the British look badly
DeleteThomas Jefferson most likely fought so hard to keep this in the Declaration of Independence to unite all of the Americans against the British force. If this document is a persuasive piece, then he wants to try to persuade as many people as he possibly can against a common enemy, and inspire them to something such as the Revolution.
ReplyDeleteBy making the British seem like the bad guys of the situation he would then inspire a common enemy just like you were saying.
DeleteJefferson may have fought to include it in an attempt to get enslaved people to fight with the colonists rather than the British, who were trying to appeal to them. It also might have been because Jefferson did know how terrible slavery was, but he owned slaves because it made life easier for him - the personal benefits for him (in his view) outweighed his own ideals.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, he needed to get as many people to fight for America and I don't think his personal beliefs mattered as long as he could per sway as many people as possible.
DeleteI think that this was aimed at gaining black sympathy and shifting blame from the Americans to the British. If they could get the African Americans to fight on their side instead of Britain's side, then that would be very helpful in the revolution and give the Americans a better chance. It was a pro ideals and equality stance that likely would have had much impact on the enslaved people of America.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If he did not include this, slaves would have virtually no incentive to fight in the revolution as the outcome would be the same for this marginalized group.
DeleteI agree with this, because it was sort of obvious to many that Jefferson was just trying to pander to the enslaved Africans, trying to get them to join the colonials instead of the British, so they could fight in the revolution.
DeleteI agree with this because there is not really any reason for jefferson to be against slavery when he is an owner himself. He just wanted the help of a large community.
DeleteSakari
ReplyDeleteEveryone else has come to the conclusion that Thomas Jefferson did this to gain the support of African Americans and further paint Britain as the bad guy, and while those points are probably correct, I do want to mention something else as well. This was just a small theory that is probably wrong, but considering he's dead we won't know if it's true or not- unless anyone wants to try and pull out an Ouiji Board at his grave. I thought there was a possibility that Thomas Jefferson did not like slavery completely, as it's possible to live in a system and criticize it. That wouldn't really explain to me why he had slaves and I don't know how he treated them, but still. Capitalism was built on slavery and exploitation, so if you want to make money you gotta put someone down first to do it. It still exists today, just like how small businesses are still exploiting their workers to make a profit. But that's just a theory,,, an american history theory!
This is a very interesting take and we truly won't ever know his intentions. We can only draw conclusions from how events turned out following the Declaration.
DeleteI really agree with this, as even though the main purpose of the clause was probably to rally African American support it seems likely that elements like religion or anti-Britishness, as well as a simple moral objection to the idea of slavery, would also be important to him personally.
DeleteI believe that Thomas Jefferson fought to keep this particular grievance in the declaration, as the colonials needed soldiers to fight in the war, and the enslaved African peoples were there in large numbers already. However, since the British were offering freedom to those enslaved, they were starting to win over support from them particularly. Jefferson knew that if he had not done anything and offered something of similar value to the enslaved people, then they would all go towards the British side and it would be bad news for the colonials, which is why he fought to include this grievance.
ReplyDeleteI think that is also why he put so much emphasis on how not only would the revolutionaries free enslaved African Americans, but that the British were not as anti-slavery/pro-morality as they seemed in the first place.
DeleteI think Jefferson fought so hard to include this in the declaration because he wanted as much support as he could get. He wanted to get everyone to fight for American in the revolution, and in order to do so he needed to include this persuasive piece. He wanted to use his words to try and incite enslaved people to join his cause and fight for America.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Blaming the British for slavery would gain him more approval than acknowledging the racism of white Americans would.
DeleteI think that Jefferson fought to keep this alleged grievance against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence because of a variety of reasons; Because Britain had promised freedom to slaves who fought for them, Jefferson sought to appeal to slaves and use Britain's history of slavery against them. Additionally, Jefferson may have tried to keep this in to build criticism and highlight the weaknesses of the British, and to further demonstrate that the King of England was an inadequate leader.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that Thomas Jefferson truly disagreed with the act of slavery, and I instead think it was used as a persuasive argument to gain African American support. By talking down upon the King's view on slavery, any African American who can read would immediately join the fight for independence from Britain. If Jefferson did not include something like this, the African Americans would have no incentive to fight with the Americans, and rebellions against their owners may become more frequent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the last point that you made, saying how the enslaved Africans would find no point in fighting in the revolution on the colonial side, when the British were offering them freedom for fighting on their side. Jefferson had to find some way to gain favor, and did so by offering their own incentive for fighting with the colonials in the war.
DeleteIt is most likely that Thomas Jefferson did not genuinely want to free the enslaved people seeing as he was a slave owner himself. He used this argument to attract the enslaved people that had also been offered to fight with the British. He also most likely used this argument to make the British look badly in the enslaved people’s eyes.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. It seems like his goal was to turn as many people against the British as possible, not to free enslaved people.
DeleteI agree. It is one of those cases of deflecting the blame, by essentially saying, "Oh you thing we're bad? Well look at the people who we're fighting! Those people are even worse, so fight for us."
DeleteThomas Jefferson, a captor of enslaved Americans himself, fought to keep this alleged grievance against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence in order to turn all enslaved people away from the british and instead have them be more allied to americans, to help fight and contribute to the war, and later on be taken into advantage.
ReplyDeleteto add to the point I think he was giving false hope and stating that all men are created equal and standing by this point he was essentially the highest bidder for their help, they would be given equality.
DeleteI agree with Justin. He wanted to stress the point that the Americans were better than the British and that they would offer them something the British hadn't.
DeleteI agree with Justin. He wanted to stress the point that the Americans were better than the British and that they would offer them something the British hadn't.
DeleteThomas Jefferson fought to keep this grievance because he wanted to appeal to everyone. There were tens of thousands of enslaved people in the Americas, and many who wanted to free them. By shifting the blame for slavery entirely onto the King, he could solidify the British as a common enemy of all, and get those groups onto the Patriot side. I sincerely doubt he wanted to free enslaved individuals, he just didn't want the British to have their support.
ReplyDeleteJefferson fought to keep the grievance in the declaration because he wanted to unite Americans in the rebellion against the British. He wasn't against the idea of slavery though, being a slave owner himself. He wanted the help of the enslaved community because they have been wronged by the British. Essentially two reasons, unity of Americans and the support of the slaves.
ReplyDeleteI Kind of disagree you see if Jefferson wanted to unify the colonists and that if he cared for the African American community he would have freed his own slaves and would have tried to persuade others to do so.
DeleteJefferson fought to keep this in the declaration because he was trying to get the slave population on their side. He was trying to press the point of unity and the fact that the slaves were American, whether they liked it or not, and that they had to help the American cause.
ReplyDeleteJefferson could have also fought for this so that he could shift the blame onto the king while making it seem like the king is at fault all him, not them. With this he could ruin their chances to ally with the enslaved peoples and would be cut back in some military power and the ability to incite rebellions in America.
ReplyDeleteJefferson likely did have some moral qualms with slavery, as participating in an oppressive system does not necessarily mean you must fully support it, but he probably did do it mainly to gain additional support for the revolutionary cause from enslaved African Americans. The greatest point I see where he is more legitimately morally against slavery would be ironically his criticism of British hypocrisy, namely the conflict between a "Christian king" and the violent oppression of other human beings, and the relinquishing of guilt by not directly owning as many slaves yet still facilitating their trade.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence really intended to upset people and motivate them to fight for freedom. I think Thomas Jefferson saw the enslaved population important group that could help them in the war, and by including writing that would benefit enslaved people, they would be more likely to help America.
ReplyDeleteI think that it Is a possibility that Jefferson knew that Slavery was morally wrong and he wanted to include this in the Declaration to set a new standard for the young nation.
ReplyDelete