Thomas Jefferson, our third president, (1801-1809) took the sacred text of scripture, and cut out or deleted parts of the Bible which he did not like or disagreed with. It is known as the Jefferson Bible. In the same way, allow me to edit our politically sacred text, the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson, along with four other Framers, also contributed to the writing of the U.S. Constitution. Be forewarned! If we find a bias or prejudice in the Declaration of Independence, we can be assured we will find that same bias or prejudice in our U.S. Constitution. In another Recorder column, I also propose to amend the U.S. Constitution, according to what I consider to be the true principles on which our country rests.

In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, we read these powerful words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Wow! Beautiful!

However, in a long list of grievances against King George, justifying freedom and independence from Great Britain, the writers provide the following justification: “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” Wow! “Merciless Indian savages?” Wow! What bias, what prejudice!

I thought I just read that “all men are created equal”? What is going on here?

In the late 1400s, a series of papal bulls or decrees were issued formulating what has been called “The Doctrine of Discovery.” Essentially, these decrees gave a papal blessing for “discovery” of non-Christian (savage or pagan) peoples and their lands, allowing the discoverers to claim ownership of the land, and to encourage conversion from “savagery” to Christianity.

These papal decrees opened wide the doors of colonialism and encouraged the expansion of Western empires around the globe. Slogans like this were common: “Kill the Indian to save the Indian!”

Clearly, the words “all men” in the Declaration of Independence means, “White men only, educated, land-owning aristocrats; the elite, ordained by God to rule over those destined to be ruled.” The “All men” in the phrase, “All men are created equal” excluded Indigenous men, Black men, especially slaves, and all women. I am reminded of the famous sentence from George Orwell’s satire “Animal Farm”: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

But what about land ownership to qualify and include Indigenous males as belonging to the category of “all men?” No problem. Divest the Indigenous males of their land. The Treaty of Paris (1793) ending our war with Great Britain, allowed the “magnanimous” British to cede all land west of the Mississippi River to the 13 colonies, which in no way was theirs to give away.

As if that were not enough of a betrayal of Indigenous land rights, in 1803, with President Jefferson’s blessing, “magnanimous” France gave away also what was not theirs to give: the Louisiana Purchase, which consisted of 15 state territories, for about 4 cents an acre. Again, no consideration or consultation with Indigenous peoples. It was all about trade and expansion. The war with Mexico (1848) ended with more territory gained: the Southwestern states, including Texas.

Once the Civil War ended in 1865, Civil War veterans were sent west to settle “the Indian problem,” which meant to subdue the “merciless Indian savages” who had the audacity to fight for what was rightfully theirs. Following the “Trail of Tears” and the massacre at Wounded Knee (1890), the Indigenous knee was permanently bowed and bent, and those who refused to assimilate were forced onto reservations.

To be fair to Jefferson, he originally tried to be at peace with the Indigenous tribes, but he was a white elitist, and he felt they were unworthy of claiming ownership of their lands. Indeed, they believed that the land was a gift of the Great Spirit to be nurtured and cared for. They had no understanding of “owning” land. They thought the land was the Great Spirit’s gift for all to use and share. Such naivete!

Jefferson was caught in the expansionist movement of the times, known as “Manifest Destiny,” God’s blessing to expand U.S. borders from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Jefferson was a politician, a scientist and clearly brilliant. But like most us, and our country at large, he was full of contradictions. He said all men are equal, but spoke disparaging about Native Americans; he helped appropriate and exploit their lands, he owned slaves. He was a living bundle of contradictions. Thomas Jefferson is us.

It is 2023, not 1803. The contradictions inherent in Jefferson, in our Declaration of Independence, indeed in our Constitution, are part of our history, part and parcel of who we are, woke or not. The question is who we shall become. Clearly, we are a long way away from “All men are created equal,” which includes all men and women and people of all colors.

Next: Editing the U.S. Constitution.

The Rev. Lloyd Parrill lives in Northfield.

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