Only Men Are Created
Equal
Aleta Thomas
Mr. Lorge
American History – Period 2
10/8/15
In the late 18th century, the prodigious Founding Fathers of the United States of America orchestrated a war cry for many oppressed groups around the world with their declaration, “All men are created equal” (“Declaration”). The idea of overthrowing the system under the British government appealed to many people in the colonies, but it resulted in few legal or social advances for a huge chunk of colonists - women. The American colonists revolted against the king of England under the rationalization that a government should “[derive] their just powers from the consent of the governed” (“Declaration”) and properly represent citizens …show more content…
Famously, Abigail Adams, an important female figure in early America as the wife of Founding Father John Adams, wrote, “Remember the Ladies” (“Abigail”) in a letter to her husband. As a new country struggled into existence, Abigail Adams reminded her husband that it was dangerous to “put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands,” and to be wary of a large group of people who are “bound by Laws” where they “have no voice, or Representation” (“American, Experience”). This reference to the colonists under Britain’s rule further infuses the idea that women did not have equal legal rights. Women could not vote in important national elections until 1920 when “the House of Representatives voted to pass the 19th Amendment...nearly 150 years” after Abigail Adams’ letter (“Abigail”). Prohibiting women from voting for their favored representatives is a direct violation of the sentiments of colonialists who fought against Britain. The exclusion of women in political issues went against the fundamental foundations of the American government and the foundations of the Declaration of
Equal
Aleta Thomas
Mr. Lorge
American History – Period 2
10/8/15
In the late 18th century, the prodigious Founding Fathers of the United States of America orchestrated a war cry for many oppressed groups around the world with their declaration, “All men are created equal” (“Declaration”). The idea of overthrowing the system under the British government appealed to many people in the colonies, but it resulted in few legal or social advances for a huge chunk of colonists - women. The American colonists revolted against the king of England under the rationalization that a government should “[derive] their just powers from the consent of the governed” (“Declaration”) and properly represent citizens …show more content…
Famously, Abigail Adams, an important female figure in early America as the wife of Founding Father John Adams, wrote, “Remember the Ladies” (“Abigail”) in a letter to her husband. As a new country struggled into existence, Abigail Adams reminded her husband that it was dangerous to “put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands,” and to be wary of a large group of people who are “bound by Laws” where they “have no voice, or Representation” (“American, Experience”). This reference to the colonists under Britain’s rule further infuses the idea that women did not have equal legal rights. Women could not vote in important national elections until 1920 when “the House of Representatives voted to pass the 19th Amendment...nearly 150 years” after Abigail Adams’ letter (“Abigail”). Prohibiting women from voting for their favored representatives is a direct violation of the sentiments of colonialists who fought against Britain. The exclusion of women in political issues went against the fundamental foundations of the American government and the foundations of the Declaration of