This. All 13 states were slave owning states. They were *NOT* trying to make a political statement on the issue of slavery. They were declaring their own independence was a human right, and they had no interest in side tracking their point by wading into the weeds of a completely separate issue.
This is exactly why the committee removed Jefferson's more clearly stated objections to slavery. It didn't help advance their cause, and it would have in fact blown apart the fledgling coalition they had created.
What was left was a Declaration that was slightly pro slavery, because one of the "causes" it listed was England's efforts to stoke slave rebellions.
"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us..."
But the point remains, the purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to justify the Independence of the 13 colonies from a Union that they felt no longer served their best interest.
None of the signers(who represented their states) intended to send a message on the topic of slavery, though I say Thomas Jefferson should be given full credit for the manner in which his words greatly boosted the subsequent anti-slavery movement.
People saw it as hypocritical to demand freedom for themselves why they were keeping other people in bondage.
Not just “This”.
People all over the world and throughout history have declared themsevles “free” of whatever power binds them, from the Jews versus the Egyptians to the South Sudanese versus the rest of Sudan.
Some win, some don’t.
What makes the DoI so important and so different is all those ideals and principles it is based on and articulates.
You can’t just relegate it to simple independence.