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Spectral Imaging Reveals Jefferson Nixed 'Subjects' for 'Citizens'

Posted by timothy on from the this-is-cooler-than-unredacting-pdfs dept.

Jamie points out this excellent piece, well timed for America's Independence Day, that says spectrographic evidence has established that the one word Thomas Jefferson fully blotted out from an early draft of the Declaration of Independence was not "resident," or "patriot," but rather "subject." This, he replaced with "citizen."

7 of 360 comments (clear)

  1. When will the government ever learn... by Kaenneth · · Score: 5, Funny

    That redacting documents by simply putting a opaque block over them dosn't removing the unlaying data?

  2. Don't worry by roman_mir · · Score: 5, Interesting

    they have correct that correction some time ago now, you are not citizens, you are consumers - inmates - terrorists - child molesters - unique serial numbers - organ donors.

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    You can't handle the truth.
  3. Considering the mindset of the era by linumax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Considering the mindset of the era, this actually is a good indicator of how Jefferson and other founding fathers understood that there was something wrong with the status quo and managed to change it.

    1. Re:Considering the mindset of the era by insufflate10mg · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Absolutely. You would think more people on /. would be replying seriously to this article. It's incredible to think that that one ink blot had such a profound effect on the US today. Think of how much of a core element the word "citizen" has become; it's like a symbol of our freedom and unity.

    2. Re:Considering the mindset of the era by Alsee · · Score: 5, Funny

      when was the last time you wrote code that lasted more than two centuries with less than 30 patches?

      Six thousand years ago.

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      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  4. Morphing by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tthe task was made more difficult by the way Jefferson sought to match the lines and curves of the underlying smudged letters with the new letters he wrote on top of them.

    "It's quite amazing how he morphed 'subjects' into 'citizens,' " she said. "We did the reverse morphing back to 'subjects.' "

    Figures. The government has been trying to do that for years ...

  5. Re:The Irony is.... by insufflate10mg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    LOL, really? When has a "Federal Officer" ever stopped you as you were travelling within the state and asserted his authority to make you turn around and go home?