Even the best of us can make mistakes – including that renown Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson.
In a press release on July 2, research chemist Dr. Fenella France and Librian of Congress James Billington pointed out that Jefferson had made, then soon caught and corrected, a slip in wording.
While listing the grievances against King George III, Jefferson had written: “He has incited treasonable Insurrections of our Fellow Subjects, with the allurement of Forfeiture and Confiscation of our Property.”
He realized his error almost immediately, as evidenced by the fact
that the still wet ink was smudged. France thinks that Jefferson wiped over the original word with his hand, then wrote “Citizens” over the brown smudge he had created. Although the discovery was made last year, it was only revealed recently. The word was found through the use of digital imaging technology and other scientific tests. The camera also revealed erased text and fingerprints from the Founding Fathers who handled the document. France called it a “spine-tingling” find.
France stated: "This has been a very exciting development".
The rough draft includes other corrections made by the committee (Including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams) on Jefferson’s work – a lined through word here, notes in the margin, smaller writing in the spaces between the lines… all the work of an editorial committee.
But the smudge is different – corrected by the man who made it, before it went before the committee. Oddly enough, the sentence did not make it into the final version of the Declaration of Independence.
There is now a debate being generated among historians as to whether it was a Freudian slip by a man who had been born under the rule of an English monarchy, or if it was taken from a draft of Virginia’s constitution, which includes the word “subjects” – or any of a number of other possible reasons.
According to Librarian of Congress James Billington:
Of course, this inspired me to read the original draft to compare it to the final draft – just out of an interest as to what other changes might have been edited in, as well as trying to find other ‘smears’. While I have neither the original document nor the scientific equipment for analyzing it, I can ‘suppose’….
WEB RESOURCES:
AOL News
The Huffington Press
Library of Congress (Look at page three of the draft document)
Newser
Yahoo News
PHOTO SOURCE:
Library of Congress
Yahoo News Slideshow
In a press release on July 2, research chemist Dr. Fenella France and Librian of Congress James Billington pointed out that Jefferson had made, then soon caught and corrected, a slip in wording.
While listing the grievances against King George III, Jefferson had written: “He has incited treasonable Insurrections of our Fellow Subjects, with the allurement of Forfeiture and Confiscation of our Property.”
He realized his error almost immediately, as evidenced by the fact
that the still wet ink was smudged. France thinks that Jefferson wiped over the original word with his hand, then wrote “Citizens” over the brown smudge he had created. Although the discovery was made last year, it was only revealed recently. The word was found through the use of digital imaging technology and other scientific tests. The camera also revealed erased text and fingerprints from the Founding Fathers who handled the document. France called it a “spine-tingling” find.France stated: "This has been a very exciting development".
The rough draft includes other corrections made by the committee (Including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams) on Jefferson’s work – a lined through word here, notes in the margin, smaller writing in the spaces between the lines… all the work of an editorial committee.But the smudge is different – corrected by the man who made it, before it went before the committee. Oddly enough, the sentence did not make it into the final version of the Declaration of Independence.
There is now a debate being generated among historians as to whether it was a Freudian slip by a man who had been born under the rule of an English monarchy, or if it was taken from a draft of Virginia’s constitution, which includes the word “subjects” – or any of a number of other possible reasons.
According to Librarian of Congress James Billington:
“It shows the progress of his mind. This was a decisive moment. We recovered a magic moment that was otherwise lost to history.”What does this show us? How about… we are human and make mistakes???
Of course, this inspired me to read the original draft to compare it to the final draft – just out of an interest as to what other changes might have been edited in, as well as trying to find other ‘smears’. While I have neither the original document nor the scientific equipment for analyzing it, I can ‘suppose’….
WEB RESOURCES:
AOL News
The Huffington Press
Library of Congress (Look at page three of the draft document)
Newser
Yahoo News
PHOTO SOURCE:
Library of Congress
Yahoo News Slideshow
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