![]() Two days later, it ratified the text of the Declaration. On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to declare independence. He was especially sorry they removed the part blaming King George III for the slave trade, although he knew the time wasn’t right to deal with the issue. He was not pleased when Congress “mangled” his composition by cutting and changing much of his carefully chosen wording. Jefferson later explained that “he was not striving for originality of principal or sentiment.” Instead, he hoped his words served as an “expression of the American mind.” Less than three weeks after he’d begun, he presented his draft to Congress. He borrowed freely from existing documents like the Virginia Declaration of Rights and incorporated accepted ideals of the Enlightenment. ![]() On June 11, 1776, Jefferson holed up in his Philadelphia boarding house and began to write. National Archives, Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention Writing the Declaration Enlarge The Dunlap Broadside, July 4, 1776 ![]()
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