One change to the Declaration of Independence that Thomas Jefferson was critical of was the removal of a passage he wrote condemning the transatlantic slave trade. Jefferson's original draft included a strong denunciation of King George III for waging a "cruel war against nature itself" by allowing the slave trade to continue and accusing the King of blocking colonial efforts to end it. However, this section was removed by the Continental Congress due to objections from delegates from southern states like Georgia and South Carolina, who had economic interests in the slave trade, as well as some northern states. Jefferson resented this removal and felt that the Congress had "mangled" his draft because it softened the condemnation of slavery and the King's responsibility for it.
