Episode
440 Jefferson's Cut Grievance and the British Monarchy's Role in Slavery
- Podcast
- Ben Franklin's World
- Published
- May 5, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4592
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Summary
Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence contained 28 grievances against King George III — not 27. The final grievance, the one Congress cut before signing, accused the British king of waging cruel war against human nature by trafficking enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, forcing slavery onto unwilling American colonists, and then inciting those same enslaved people to rise up and kill their enslavers. Did King George III and the British monarchy actually bear responsibility for slavery in the 13 colonies? Or was Jefferson's grievance a strategic sleight of hand — an attempt to pin a uniquely American system onto the crown he wanted to escape? Historian Brooke Newman, author of The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery, joins us to find out. She traces the British monarchy's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade from Queen Elizabeth I through King George III, examines what Jefferson got right and what he got wrong, and delivers her verdict on one of the most explosive what-ifs in United States history. Brooke's Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/440 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:24 Episode Welcome and Jefferson's Cut Grievance00:03:15 Guest Introduction: Brooke Newman00:04:58 Jefferson's Claim and Brooke's Research Origins00:09:28 Timeline of Monarchies and Terminology00:12:03 England Enters the Slave Trade under Elizabeth I00:17:41 Crown Investments and Royal African Company00:30:15 Colonies Structured for Slavery00:37:02 Logistics of the Slave Trade by Revolution00:47:01 King George III's Views on Slavery00:52:20 Virginia's 1772 Slave Trade Ban and Royal Veto00:57:35 Dunmore's Proclamation: Not a Royal Act01:01:17 Was George III to Blame? Jefferson's Strategy01:04:2…