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.
“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.”
Whether the north had strong opinions, or weak opinions, the northern states voted to adopt a DOI that did not include the condemnation of the slave trade, and did include the King’s exciting slave rebellions as a cause for the revolution.
Later the northern states would adopt a constitution that provided for slavery. The reason: they decided it was in their best interest.
Northern apologists on this site have quoted Jefferson as a source of high credibility. Now that I quote Jefferson he is suddenly suspect?
Thomas Jefferson was human and capable of exculpatory explanations. You might want to remember that human characteristic the next time you quote Lincoln, Grant, or Sherman.