How could the founding fathers sign the declaration of independence?

This, my friend, is a fine historical question that has often been the subject of debate. Were they, the founding fathers, champions of the people? OR, were they, once again the founding fathers, merely beer guzzling homophobic skirt chasers just out for a good time? Answer this question, my friend, and you will find the answers you seek.

Today's slaveowners are the liberals. Rather than enslaving blacks to whites, they want to enslave everyone to everyone else.

You do know something about Jefferson and I truthfully think "full of hypocrisy" is more accurate. What I said about Jefferson is true. Although he made and wrote many antislavery comments particularly early and to a lesser extent late in life, he fought very hard to support any legislation that would maintain slavery. He fought not to reduce importation of slaves, he fought hard to allow slavery in the west.I think he was the most influential and effective voice defeating the antislavery people.

mizuno fan wrote:

Not really true about Jefferson. Jefferson was full of contradictions, or to be less kind, hypocrisy. He was actually an emancipationist. He had wanted to emancipate his slaves upon his death (as Washington did) but couldn't due to being in debt.

Here is a quote from Jefferson:

"I think a change already perceptible, since the origin of the present revolution. The spirit of the master is abating, that of the slave rising from the dust, his condition mollifying, the way, I hope, preparing, under the auspices of heaven, for a total emancipation;

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Because at the time they had more pressing issues than slavery. Like creating their own country and breaking away from Britain. Then the WAR with Britain. At the time they need a united nation and to get the South to sign on they had to include slavery even if they didnt want to.

I’d like to point out that hundreds of thousands of white slaves were dispatched to the New World from Britain and Ireland, from all walks of society, but mainly the poor - and their arrival in the Americas pre-dated that of black slavery.

There’s a book about it (probably amongst many) called White Cargo for anyone that’s interested.

You miss a very obvious point, many of the founding fathers were from the south and beleived very strongly in slavery.

a moron wrote:

Because at the time they had more pressing issues than slavery. Like creating their own country and breaking away from Britain. Then the WAR with Britain. At the time they need a united nation and to get the South to sign on they had to include slavery even if they didnt want to.

Let me try to simplify this for you. If you were from the north and did not beleive in slavery you would have NO problem signing the declaration.If you were from the south then you might feel hypocritical signing it. Its just the opposite of how you looked at it.

a moron wrote:

Because at the time they had more pressing issues than slavery. Like creating their own country and breaking away from Britain. Then the WAR with Britain. At the time they need a united nation and to get the South to sign on they had to include slavery even if they didnt want to.

OP is a moron wrote:

Because at the time they had more pressing issues than slavery. Like creating their own country and breaking away from Britain. Then the WAR with Britain. At the time they need a united nation and to get the South to sign on they had to include slavery even if they didnt want to.

Way too simplistic. At the time of the Declaration of Independence slavery was legal in every colony. Every signer except two of the Declaration of Independence owned slaves at some point in his life. You make it sound as if the Northerners were holding their nose in repugnance. These men were comfortable with slavery.

True to some extent but it was the deep south and most of Virginia that fought for the laws of slavery. At the constitutional convention they at least were going to block further importation of slaves. Unfortunately southern states blocked it.

On a side note, the great Virginian, Patrick Henry, refused to participate in the constitutional convention, because he abhored slavery.

U.S. Slavery had the infamous Triangle of Death and Cowardice was the

1. The South made money on the cotton that slave labor produced and was sold to the North.

2. The North made money on textiles it sold to Europe.

3. Europe made money on slaves captured in Africa and sold to the South.

Views on slavery were also changing rapidly. For instance, Ben Franklin owned 2 slaves at one point, but later freed them and became a strong advocate of abolition by the end of his life. As someone else note, Washington owned slaves but came to believe it was wrong and freed his slaves on his death.

Many drafters of the Constitution were also embarrassed by the existence of slavery, and you will notice that the term "slave" never appears in the Constitution.

But to go back to the original question, if you really want to read a rationalization of how the DoI and the Constitution were compatible with slavery, just read the Dredd Scott decision, because that's just what Dredd Scott is about.