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How Did Jefferson Removed The Matter Of Slavery Dbq

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During the time the Declaration was written, slavery was a great issue among the states. Originally, Thomas Jefferson had included a passage laying into the matter of slavery in his draft of the document. It had seemed to be influenced by the views of King George as well as Lord Dunmore's 1775 Proclamation. However, it was removed before the final draft of the document was written. Jefferson's opinion on slavery and the backlash he received because of it, how Lord Dunmore's proclamation influenced this passage of the document, and how other attempts at abolition were present at the time, will be discussed in the following paragraphs to explain the reasons why Jefferson removed the matter of slavery from the draft of the Declaration. Back in …show more content…

Slave owners feared leaving for war because they felt threatened that their slaves would attempt to leave or would kill their families in their absence. The slaves wished to fight in the war to earn their freedom. Officers like loyalist, Alexander Hamilton, wanted to offer this chance to negroes. This served as a warning to the patriots that if they would not offer freedom to their slaves, they would; and their own slaves would fight against them along with the redcoats. British Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, agreed with the idea of letting negroes fight in exchange for freedom. In response, he printed a proclamation promising the freedom of any slave who joined the British army. He kept his promise after the war. This proclamation indeed had an influence on the deleted passage in Jefferson's draft of the Declaration. He stated," And he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he had deprived them..." Jefferson is critiquing King George as well as attacking the views of Lord Dunmore; who many had agreed with. Jefferson, however, clearly does not agree that slaves must risk their lives in battle, fighting for the freedom that was taken from them by the King in the first place. Surely Jefferson did not agree with the proclamation; therefore, it did not bring about a positive influence on the Declaration. However, he clearly states his opposition of the ideas stated in it within his draft, which is the way it had an

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