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DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: EDITED BY CONGRESS
> I just found a webb site that claimed the Declaration of Independence > that we all know was an edited version of Jefferson's original. They > claim the original Dec of Ind. written by Jefferson was not acceptable > and had to be changed (they claim it had a long section against > slavery). > Do you think there's any truth to this? Absolutely!!! Jefferson's original of the Declaration included a long section castigating George III for forcing slavery on the colonists. There are also several other minor changes. For example, the final version has "they were endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights," but Jefferson's original had "endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights." Jefferson's original version is available in any copy of his autobiography. That copy also indicates the changes that were made by Congress.