Thomas Jefferson - Indictment of Slavery in the Declaration

A man of contrasts who owned slaves, Thomas Jefferson declared that all men were born equal. He included a scathing indictment of slavery in the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams agreed with his position, but Benjamin Franklin believed it would never be approved by the full Congress.  Franklin urged that the anti-slavery phrases be removed - and they were.

In addition, Franklin made a significant edit to Jefferson's original version of the Declaration of Independence. It was he who changed the draft from “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent” to “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal.”

This video clip - from John Adams, the HBO mini-series - recreates those discussions and is based on historical evidence.

See, also:

Original Draft of the Declaration with Edits by Franklin

John Adams Supports Independence - First Reading of the Declaration of Independence

Credits

Clip from the HBO mini-series, "John Adams."  All copyrights/ownership rights belong to HBO.  DVD available from HBO.  Clip online, courtesy YouTube.  Provided here as "fair use" for educational purposes.