Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
It was signed in July, "but only after its original denunciation of slavery had been cut out, not only to appease the South but because many in the North were not enthusiastic about it. . . . the document pronounced the 'self-evident truth' that 'all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'" [1001 Days]