4 July 1776
Declaration of Independence proclaims equality while slavery continues
United States
Adopted on July 4, 1776, the Declaration asserted human equality and independence without abolishing slavery. Its final grievance used a racial slur against Indigenous peoples and accused the king of encouraging frontier attacks and domestic insurrections. Congress omitted Jefferson’s draft passage condemning the slave trade, which also condemned enslaved people’s armed resistance.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
July 2 was the independence vote; July 4 was adoption of the Declaration. The deleted passage was an accusation against the king, not a provision emancipating enslaved people. The adopted text established neither equal voting rights nor a citizenship code. Its claims about Indigenous warfare are the authors’ hostile allegations, not a neutral account.
Sources
- National Archives: Declaration of Independence, text and history ↗
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 4, pp. 71–73; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, preamble, final grievance and conclusion; National Archives transcription ↗
- Jefferson’s original rough draft; Julian Boyd’s reconstruction before committee and congressional revision, especially the slave-trade grievance; Library of Congress ↗
- National Archives, The Declaration of Independence: A History, Committee of Five and adoption chronology ↗