Which ethnic group of people did the leaders of the Ottoman Empire decide to target in an act of Genocide?

The Armenians

Explanation:

During the time when the Ottoman Empire was embroiled in World War I, a war which they lost and eventually caused the dissolution of the empire, the Ottoman authorities decided to target the Armenian population for genocide.

The Armenians inhabited not only what is now the country of Armenia, but also several other areas in the Caucasus region, and in Eastern Anatolia. They were targeted due to centuries of ethnic and religious hate (Armenians are orthodox Christians), and they were also blamed for the ills of the Empire in the war.

In total, around 2 million Armenians perished in the genocide.

the declaration states, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, 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….”