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“According to Jefferson's autobiography, Congress struck the passage from the final version of the Declaration in deference to South Carolina and Georgia, who wanted to continue the slave trade with Africa.”

Thomas Jefferson? Sure, why didn't I think of that.

Do you mind if I quote from Jefferson's notes made at the time of the debates over the DOI?

“The clause too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who on the contrary still wished to continue it. Our Northern brethren also I believe felt a little tender under those censures; for tho’ their people have very few slaves themselves yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others.”

There, the Man himself, identifies not just South Carolina and Georgia but “Our Northern brethren” for deleting the slave trade reference because they had been “pretty considerable carriers of them to others.”

It makes a difference in the debate when you read the entire paragraph. The North; slave ships; slave trading in the past; ongoing slave trading; future slave cargoes; more millions of dollars in northern profits.

It was probably easy for the northern state delegates to vote to wreck Jefferson's original paragraph and just focus on the need to stop the slave rebellions - err, I mean “domestic insurrections.”

Your turn.

So Jefferson said. He tells us that South Carolina and Georgia wanted the passage removed, and that he "believes" that Northerners "felt a little tender under those censures" -- meaning that he thought some Northerners weren't happy with the passage -- but he doesn't mention any strong opinions directed against the passage.

Jefferson may have been right. But he also had an amazing ability to deceive himself and others. It was in his interest to play up Northern opposition to the condemnation of the slave trade and downplay Southern opposition. Jefferson wrote the autobiography in 1821 after the first rift had begun to open between North and South over slavery, and he was definitely on the Southern side. His blaming George III for slavery and the slave trade in the first place was a good sign that maybe he isn't the most unbiased and clear-sighted judge when it came to slavery.

Well I'm happy for you that you've found yourself another little nugget of fools gold. I know you are quite pleased with yourself, however,........you are still avoiding the question, i.e., "who made the legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce, that Jefferson spoke of?" That was the question to you. I'll give you a hint: it was neither Georgia nor South Carolina. Meanwhile, let me throw the following into the mix ---- Jefferson much later said of the deletion: "Severe strictures on the conduct of the British King, in negativing our repeated repeals of the law which permitted the importation of slaves, were disapproved by some southern gentlemen, whose reflections were not yet matured to the full abhorrence of that traffic." 4 Dec 1818 letter to Robert Walsh, in Saul K. Padover, ed., A Jefferson Profile: As Revealed in his Letters. (New York, 1956) 300.