Panel spotlights Jefferson's draft and questions whether museums display early condemnations of slavery

A committee member told the panel that Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence included 28 grievances, with the 28th a "harsh condemnation of slavery in the slave trade," and asked whether that draft language is represented in museum exhibits.

"The 28th grievance being a harsh condemnation of slavery in the slave trade," the committee member said, adding that it is "hard to find that in any of the museums" he has visited. Mr. Gonzales agreed that he had not seen such representation and emphasized it is "hugely important." The exchange raised questions about how museums display the complexities of early American debate over slavery.

Mr. Gonzales quoted Jefferson's draft language describing the slave trade as keeping open "a market where men should be bought and sold," underlining his view that the draft acknowledges enslaved people as human beings. He also asserted, without documentary citation in the excerpt, that the founding generation "probably did more to overcome and eliminate slavery in this country than any other 1 except for the 1 that spilled blood during the civil war." The committee did not receive corroborating evidence during the segments provided.