Jefferson consulted with Washington and the Virginia delegation, then drafted the following words, which, apart from the Declaration of Independence, were the most consequential he ever wrote: “The Territories so called shall be laid out and formed into States…and the states so formed shall be distinct Republican States and admitted members of the Federal Union, having the same rights of Sovereignty, Freedom, and Independence as the other States.” He also added that neither slavery nor hereditary titles would be permitted in the new states, but Congress by a narrow vote chose to delete those
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