All Men Are Created Equal

The phrase, “all men are created equal” found in the Declaration of Independence was used in many different contexts throughout the creation of the United States. First, people used this phrase as it relates to slavery by saying that slaves were not people, thus their rights were not being infringed. Then, this argument evolved to say that while slaves were held in different conditions, their treatment was not far from that of a white man, no matter how untrue that actually was. The views of the founders, and their intentions is very important when talking about the wording used because they were highly regarded at the time, and without the understanding their intention, the meaning can be completely changed. Looking at an early draft of the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson’s wording and intentions about slavery become more clear; originally saying, “we hold these …show more content…
This image, reproduced many times throughout history shows a slave on his knees with the question around him being “Am I not a Man or Bother?” (Wedgwood). This directly corresponds with the phrasing on the Deceleration of Independence, which says “all men are created equal”, so how can one man not be given the equal rights of another man. The picture seems to be asking an even larger question, not why they are not given equal rights, but if they are even considered men. It is very important to diagnose the views of the founding fathers because their views and intentions “might provide a viable foundation for helping blacks and whites to transcend the pathology of race” (D’Souza). This may mean many different things, as shown in D’Souza’s paper which indicates that their views are hard to develop, and may not be best for advancing our understanding of these