Whose Independence?

"The 33-year-old planter, who had left law practice just before Britain's imperial crisis began in earnest, needed to do nothing short of lay the groundwork for a new nation. He had to explain in both philosophical and legal terms the Second Continental Congress's decision to break away from Great Britain, provide a list of grievances against the Crown that justified complete separation as a remedy, and plant the seeds of diplomacy for the fledgling country."

"In the course of writing a document capacious enough to do all of that, Jefferson formulated the Declaration's second paragraph, with language that has become its most quotable passage: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.""

Thomas Jefferson, age 33 and recently out of law practice, was tasked with drafting a foundational document to justify separation from Great Britain and establish diplomatic foundations. He framed the Declaration in philosophical and legal terms, enumerated grievances against the Crown, and sought to place the new United States among the powers of the earth. He composed the Declaration's memorable line about equality and unalienable rights. Those lofty words coexisted with widespread slavery in the colonies: roughly 500,000 enslaved people among 2.5 million colonists, and Jefferson himself owned nearly 200 enslaved individuals.

Read at The Atlantic