Then you would understand it differently than people would have understood it at the time. When were those early draft first released to the public?
"Domestic" has different meanings. "Domestic affairs" doesn't refer to sex with relatives or servants, but to inland, as opposed to foreign matters. If a nineteenth century American wanted to talk about an uprising of slaves, he or she might use the phrase "servile insurrection."
Eighteenth century is a little trickier, but the phrase "domestic insurrection" first came into usage in English in 1745. Why was that? You can look up what happened in that year in Britain.
In American English, the phrase "domestic insurrection spiked in frequency in the 1770s, again in the late 1780s, again around 1800. That last might refer to the Haitian Revolution or an foiled slave uprising in Virginia, but also to the attempted revolution in Ireland.
It's less likely that others had much to do with slavery. More likely, it was the Revolution and then Shays's Rebellion. You can find the phrase "domestic insurrections" in the Federalist Papers, and it's not used in connection with slave uprising. I believe Washington also used the phrase in connection with the Whiskey Rebellion.
"Domestic insurrection" had its highest frequency in the 1860s, but the phrase "servile insurrection," introduced around 1797, was far more frequent.
“Then you would understand it differently than people would have understood it at the time. When were those early draft first released to the public?”
It is my understanding a committee consisting of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman and Robert R. Livingston was appointed to prepare a declaration of independence on June 11, 1776.
Between June 11 and July 4, when Congress approved the final wording, there was, reportedly, a Composition Draft, a Rough Draft, and a Fair Copy - maybe more, I don’t know.
On the night of July 4 a printer made copies of the approved DOI and began public distribution.
From June 11 to July 4 is a time period of 23 days by my count. Are you thinking the English language changed significantly during the 23 days when the drafts may have leaked and the final printed version became public?
I’m not following your thinking.
“You can find the phrase “domestic insurrections” in the Federalist Papers, and it’s not used in connection with slave uprising.”
I think I see what you are referencing in Federalist Paper #9 and #10 but I’m not sure.
Are #9 and #10 what you are referencing, or is there something else?