Franklin’s word change made equality claims self-evident rather than sacred

Evidence

“We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent,” the second paragraph of Jefferson’s draft proclaimed in terms absorbed from Locke and drawn directly from the first proposition of Mason’s Declaration of Rights for Virginia. … Mason however merely stated these points without giving any authority for them. Jefferson declared them as “truths,” not ideas or beliefs, and depicted their source as at once both divine or “sacred” and human or “undeniable.” Reviewing Jefferson’s draft as a committee member, Franklin suggested making these truths “self-evident” rather than “sacred & undeniable”—a striking claim given their novelty in human history—and Jefferson accepted the change. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 211

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the conceptual shift from grounding human equality in divine authority to grounding it in self-evident reason — a foundational move in American legal-political first principles.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what later doctrine argued over whether equality claims are ‘self-evident’ truths versus contested values, e.g. slavery debates and Dred Scott.
• CANDY: That the iconic ‘self-evident’ phrasing was Franklin’s editing suggestion, not Jefferson’s original, is a light, tweetable piece of Founding trivia.
• XREF: connects to: Workers’ claims of equality express self-respect, not moral or spiritual beliefs — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2195; Sincerity rhetoric presupposed a sovereign secular self, not a religious product

Broader Connections

• Workers’ claims of equality express self-respect, not moral or spiritual beliefs #corroborates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2195
• Sincerity rhetoric presupposed a sovereign secular self, not a religious product #corroborates (0.75)