A copy of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand is on public view at The New York Public Library. Accompanying it are several of the very first printed versions known to have survived.

Standing in the presence of these yellowing pages is like glimpsing the face of God, for they are the foundation of American democracy, and their core idea underlies all human rights struggles, liberation movements, and emergent democracies around the world.

The version in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand is fascinating not only because it’s in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand, but also because it contains passages that would have ended slavery at the birth of the American nation. But those passages had to be deleted before the Declaration could be signed by representatives of states where slavery was practiced.

Put another way, the client bought a document intended to liberate all humanity, but demanded changes that kept part of humanity in chains. It would take another 100 years and hundreds of thousands of deaths before slavery ended, and the tragic legacy of African enslavement plagues the U.S. to this day. (At The New York Times: a slide show of Freedom Rider portraits, a work in progress by my friend Eric Etheridge.)

So the next time a client requests changes that make your work less beautiful, less usable, or less smart, remember that greater people than you have lost bigger battles over far more important matters.

The Declaration of Independence is on view at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue now through 5 August and admission to the Library is of course free. If you’re in New York City this summer, the exhibit is worth a look. (Plug: And if you’re in town next week for An Event Apart, the Library is just a few blocks away from the Scandinavia House venue.)

Filed under: An Event Apart, Design, Ideas, cities, events, people, war, peace, and justice, writing

16 Responses to “We hold most of these truths”

1. Toronto’s Leading Web Designers » Maifith Design inc said on 26 June 2007 at 8:33 pm:

   of compromises, especially when things are in a state of transition. The best thing you can do to ensure compromises in your favor is to plan effectively. From time to time, though, you can expect to encounter situations where you will be forced tochoose between the lesser of two evils, or perhaps even situations where you will be given no choice at all. Sites that are incapable of passing accessibility or validity tests will result, and you will be forced to accept those outcomes even when your contrarian assertions are absolutely

2. this is the end, beautiful friend said on 1 June 2007 at 10:24 am:

   of compromises, especially when things are in a state of transition. The best thing you can do to ensure compromises in your favor is to plan effectively. From time to time, though, you can expect to encounter situations where you will be forced tochoose between the lesser of two evils, or perhaps even situations where you will be given no choice at all. Sites that are incapable of passing accessibility or validity tests will result, and you will be forced to accept those outcomes even when your contrarian assertions are absolutely

3. Jennifner.com said on 10 May 2007 at 7:05 pm:

   into a document, I find myself in a foul mood. A really foul mood. An “if I were a cartoon I’d have a huge black rain cloud above my head” foul mood. So fast forward to today, where in unrelated webdesign work, I came acrossthis post

4. CommaTrauma said on 10 May 2007 at 6:58 pm:

   into a document, I find myself in a foul mood. A really foul mood. An “if I were a cartoon I’d have a huge black rain cloud above my head” foul mood. So fast forward to today, where in unrelated webdesign work, I came acrossthis post

5. Basic Webstandards Workshop, Web, UI and CSS said on 3 May 2007 at 8:00 pm:

   of compromises, especially when things are in a state of transition. The best thing you can do to ensure compromises in your favor is to plan effectively. From time to time, though, you can expect to encounter situations where you will be forced tochoose between the lesser of two evils

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7. Talk about a slow newsday at The Blog Herald said on 8 July 2006 at 7:32 pm:

   [...] Jeff Zeldman writes about his experience in seeing a copy of the Declaration of Independence in New York: Standing in the presence of these yellowing pages is like glimpsing the face of God, for they are the foundation of American democracy, and their core idea underlies all human rights struggles, liberation movements, and emergent democracies around the world. [...]

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10. 
    Montoya said on 28 July 2006 at 10:23 am:

    “So the next time a client requests changes that make your work less beautiful, less usable, or less smart, remember that greater people than you have lost bigger battles over far more important matters.”

    That’s quite some way of relating to the topic!

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13. A List Apart Brasil: 12 Lições para Aqueles com Medo do CSS e dos Padrões said on 30 October 2006 at 11:24 am:

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14. Web design articles » Blog Archive » 12 Lessons for Those Afraid of CSS and Standards said on 22 February 2007 at 5:45 pm:

    [...] From time to time, though, you can expect to encounter situations where you will be forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, or perhaps even situations where you will be given no choice at all. Sites that are incapable of passing accessibility or validity tests will result, and you will be forced to accept those outcomes even when your contrarian assertions are absolutely correct. [...]

15. Maifith Design inc » Blog Archive » 12 Lessons for Those Afraid of CSS and Standards ~ alistapart.com said on 22 September 2008 at 10:47 am:

    [...] time to time, though, you can expect to encounter situations where you will be forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, or perhaps even situations where you will be given no choice at all. Sites that are incapable of [...]