“Arguably, referencing slavery as a justification for the Declaration of Independence was immoral.”
Where did that happen? I just read the DOI, albeit quickly, and didn’t see the word “slave” or “slavery”. I did a word search of it and it won’t search past “sla”. The search box turns red at “slav”.
Do you mean the words “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us...” to include slave insurrections? If so, which slave insurrections did “He” excite, and how did he “excite” them so as to provide grounds for the complaint?
You apparently know more about this than I, so give me a convincing argument.
KrisKrinkle: "Where did that happen? I just read the DOI, albeit quickly, and didn’t see the word 'slave' or 'slavery'."
Please see my post #263 above.
The word "slavery" or any variation of it is certainly not in the Declaration of Independence.
What is there are about 35 different complaints, of which one mentions "domestic insurrections" and that is the hanger on which our jeffersondem places his hat.
But "domestic insurrections" in 1777 could refer to almost anything, including Dunmore's proclamation of 1775, rumors of slave revolts or any other uprising against local authorities such as the burning of Norfolk in January 1776.
That had nothing to do with either slaves or Indians.
So jeffersondem's claim that the Declaration of Independence has something, anything, specific to do with protecting slavey is simply bogus.
Indeed, Thomas Jefferson's true feelings on the subject can be found in the one item his fellow slave-holders forced him to delete: it accuses the King of forcing slavery on the colonies and of refusing to let them abolish it.
Royal Governor of Virginia Lord Dunmore. Start with that.
“…I do require every Person capable of bearing Arms, to resort to His MAJESTY’S STANDARD, or be looked upon as Traitors to His MAJESTY’S Crown and Government, and thereby become liable to the Penalty the Law inflicts upon such Offenses; such as forfeiture of Life, confiscation of Lands, &. &. And I do hereby further declare all indented Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY’S Troops as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper Sense of their Duty, to His MAJESTY’S Crown and Dignity.”–Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, Nov 7 1775.
You might search “excited domestic insurrections”; I think you'll find something.
Or, if you look at the text of Jefferson's draft DOI you will find: “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and 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 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, by murdering the people on whom he has obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed again the Liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another.”
Note well the words “he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us.” In the context of this paragraph it is too clear to deny he is speaking of slaves and slave revolts.
Jefferson's long paragraph was edited by his colleagues to remove the stinging references to the slave trade;to shorten “he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us” to simply “excited domestic insurrections”; and to raise the specter of “merciless Indian Savages” which Jefferson did not originally include.
You may not like the fact that the signers all agreed to include stopping slave rebellions as a cause of separation from England, but its in the DOI. And of course, later all the states would vote - 13 of the 13 states - to incorporate slavery into the constitution itself.