The King's Actions

Congress's Version:

A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Jefferson's Version:

A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a people who mean to be free. Future ages will scarce believe that the hardiness of one man, adventured within the short compass of twelve years only, on so many acts of tyranny without a mask, over a people fostered and fixed in principles of liberty.

Commentary:

This is an example of one of the many times that Congress condensed sentences or sections of Jefferson's draft. Many of Congress's changes show this concerted effort to make the Declaration as concise and to the point as possible

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Commentary Provided By: D.J. Mason