The Christian King
Jefferson's draft against slavery
Today I learned something I kind of wished for a long time ago, actually was written by Thomas Jefferson. I didn’t know. You probably didn’t either. The following is an excerpt from the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. In my early days as a race man, I thought, it would have made a great deal of difference if the Founders had only declared against slavery in that great document. Little did I know they actually had it in mind, and the Library of Congress has it in writing.
he has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. this piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce: and that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, & murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another.
If you have children in school, print this up for them to give to their teachers. Don’t believe me, believe the Library of Congress. Or don’t.
George III was the mad bully boy. It took several decades for Great Britain to correct themselves on that particular point. Great Britain abolished slavery through the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, passed during the reign of King William IV. It took effect on August 1, 1834, freeing enslaved people across most of the British Empire.
By the way, they were later than Mexico. I remember that in my lifetime I recall that. September 15, 1829 – President Vicente Guerrero issued a presidential decree formally abolishing slavery throughout Mexico. Guerrero, who was himself of African and Indigenous descent (Afromestizo), issued this as one of his signature acts during his brief presidency. This is generally cited as the definitive date of Mexican abolition. Also in Mexico’s favor was Cinco de Mayo which I learned was about the Battle of Puebla, essentially the last time any Europeans decided to war against countries in the New World. That would be 1862. I learned that from a military drill instructor when I was 57 years old.
You can live a very long time in ignorance, but a lot of things can change in one lifetime.
Cobb, thanks for this. We always suspected TJ's heart was in the right place ... but much as I esteem Messieur Jefferson et al. they really did chicken out when it came to slavery. My Modern Library copy of Jefferson's writing has him hemming and hawing in the laziest way about Black Americans; he pulls out every bonehead stereotype - we know them by heart - and pretends to give the whole 'issue' a good ol' think thot - another phrase for bu!!$hit. How did all these brave tough guys take on the mightiest army in the world - the Brits - and then not turn that courage inward to align their ideals with their very own country? 'O let's kick the can down the road aways; let the next generation figure it out.' Thanks Tom, et al ...
I'm 65 and you have just educated me about The Battle of Puebla.