But in a moment when history took a sharp turn, Jefferson sought quite methodically to expunge the word, to wipe it out of existence and write over it. Many words were crossed out and replaced in the draft, but only one was obliterated.
Over the smudge, Jefferson then wrote the word "citizens."
No longer subjects to the crown, the colonists became something different: a people whose allegiance was to one another, not to a faraway monarch.
Scholars of the revolution have long speculated about the "citizens" smear -- wondering whether the erased word was "patriots" or "residents" -- but now the Library of Congress has determined that the change was far more dramatic.
Using a modified version of the kind of spectral imaging technology developed for the military and for monitoring agriculture, research scientists teased apart the mystery and reconstructed the word that Jefferson banished in 1776.
"Seldom can we re-create a moment in history in such a dramatic and living way," Library of Congress preservation director Dianne van der Reyden said at Friday's announcement of the discovery.
Thomas Jefferson replacing the word "subjects" with "citizens" in the Declaration of Independence was significant because it emphasized the idea of self-governance and individual rights. It shifted the focus from a monarchy and a population ruled by a king to a nation of individuals with inherent rights and the power to govern themselves. This change reflected the broader ideals of democracy and was a fundamental shift in the conceptualization of government.
There were no "citizens"; there were "subjects". Subjects obey, or die.
Subjects of the King (or Queen).
There is no specific proportion: the answer depends on the level of significance beyond which subjects are considered to be outliers.
The French subjects, or "sujets" in French, refer to the different topics or themes that are studied in school or discussed in conversations. These subjects can include mathematics, history, literature, science, and more.
Dictators prefer unarmed subjects over armed citizens.
Jefferson was a polymath who was interested - and attained a high degree of mastery - in many subjects: Languages, Music, architecture, farming, animal husbandry, government, of course, and many more.
There were no Canadian citizens when England won control of North America. Citizenship didn't come for centuries. The colonists were British subjects.
Nation-state :a sovereign state; citizens or subjects seem relatively homogeneous in language or common descent.
Nation-state :a sovereign state; citizens or subjects seem relatively homogeneous in language or common descent.
Only Australian citizens can vote in a Australian election. People who were British subjects on a Commonwealth electoral roll at 25 January 1984 may also vote without being Australian citizens.
There is no "true citizen" in Saudi Arabia. A citizen, by definition has a responsibility to the government AND has a role in his own governance. While Saudi citizens certainly have a responsibility to their government, the King of Saudi Arabia has not delegated any authority to his people. Properly understood, the citizens of Saudi Arabia are "Subjects of the King".
Artists and writers created extraordinary art and literature that combined new and traditional subjects with classical styles and new ideas.