The Declaration of Independence was written to give freedom to everyone who lived in America. It did just that with only one exception, African-Americans. They were still being enslaved and had no rights. In the original writing of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson tried to give free the slaves but he had to change that section because the South did not agree with it. Due to the Great Compromise, with counted each slave as 3/5 of a man, questions started to come up about what should be done with the slave trade. The South's economy was based on agriculture, so cheap labor was needed at all times. The North did not push on the slavery aspect because they were too focused on establishing a new government.
http://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/the-constitution-and-slavery
