Preview

What Does It Mean To Say All Men Are Created Equal Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1090 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Does It Mean To Say All Men Are Created Equal Essay
The most famous words the United States highly hold on to is “All men are created equal”. These profound words to any citizen and individuals ring a sentiment of patriotism. Similarly, these words hold the value and the struggle that this country lived through to obtain its freedom. These words symbolize the freedom and equality that the colors of our flag have. It reflects the history that this country has grown upon to. However, as magnificent, and patriotic these words sound it is not all true. Yes, Americans declared freedom from England but not all Americans obtain their freedom. Specifically, slaves and African men who contribute to the victory of Americas were still going to be slaves. Thus, the declaration of independence is deceptive …show more content…
The words, “all men are created equal,” automatically it is false. The first reason is Thomas Jefferson initially wrote the declaration of independence, in which a paragraph exemplifies that slavery, is a violation to human rights. For instances “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.” The original paragraph exemplifies that slavery is wrong and is not morally correct. Similarly, by the diction and the connotation of the words shows that slavery should terminate and slaves should be treated as the human being they are. Nevertheless, what makes the declaration of independence hypocritical is Jefferson and the other officials in the congressional convention knew that slavery was wrong and instead of allowing the passage to be included in the declaration of independence, they opt for all men are created equal. This is disturbing and outrageous because knowing that not all men are created equal and not all men have the life and pursuit of happiness is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Apush Chapter 9 Summary

    • 1702 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Only about 1/4 of the adult white males in the country (mainly those with land) had voted for the ratifying…

    • 1702 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Personal Response: I applaud Mr. Jefferson for standing up to the king of Great Brittan for the rights of man but I am appalled that he never stood up nor mentions the rights of women. In every line he refers to men, but never once does he refer to women. I am fully aware that during the time period women didn’t have rights but if Jefferson had added women to The Declaration of Independence it may have sparked rights for women earlier in history thus changing the…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “All men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” This excerpt shows that in the Declaration of Independence all men were created equal. However, Benjamin Banneker being the son of former slaves has seen the effects of slavery all around him. In his letter to Thomas Jefferson he uses allusion to the bible to portray the life of the slaves, adjectives to emphasize the inequality, and parallel structure to highlight his concerns.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of unique grammar, antithesis, and passive diction all has a persuasive impact on the implications that The Declaration of Independence beseeches. The entirety of the Declaration’s argument is based on the notion that “All men are created equal” (1). However, that is not proper grammar, proper grammar would call for ‘equal’ to be an adverb ‘equally’ modifying created. But, Jefferson wants to explain that all men are equal. Traditionally, the ‘equal’ would then come after ‘men’ instead of ‘created.’ This grammatically construct now appears like ‘equal’ is modifying both verb and noun. This alludes to an equal creation and being. And due to its man’s equality in all forms, the government does not have a right to be tyrannical. This assumption…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence describes how the British government was in the way of the Americans’ freedom and rights. The ideas that all men were created…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jefferson vs. Macheveli

    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all mean are created equal....” One of Thomas Jefferson's examples of function of government. Jefferson's meaning would be, men have the right to the preservation of life & liberty , & the spirit of happiness. If you read much more further into his text you could read that these rights are endowed by our creator, our creator being god. Jefferson's piece being more of a religious philosophy. Jefferson's text; “..all men are created equal..”. Jefferson wrote this while he owned over 2000 African American slaves. Going to the event when the slavery issue back then would have resulted in a clash between the Southerners and Northerners that would have sabotaged the attempt to free the colonialists from the British rule. What he was addressing was the concept of nobility, the basis of the feudal society that Britain was living under the time. In other words, it was an attack on the British monarchy, which is why the British reacted so strongly against the colonialists. To suggest otherwise is simply misleading and deceptive. Equality is not some thing that a government can grant or deny a body of citizens, for this tight is unalienable. Meaning that our Deceleration of Independence states that each individual has certain basic rights, on the other hand which neither conferred by not derived from the…

    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” (Document A). With these words, Jefferson begins the meaty part of the Declaration. Clearly, Jefferson believed that equality was a powerful idea. By saying “created equal”, Jefferson is separating the idea of equal opportunity from equal performance or equal reward. He is simply stating…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence, which stated the faults within the monarchy and how it mistreated the colonies, was a document that established a split between England and the American Colonies. The Declaration of Right of Man stated the rights that should and need to be given to men within the country it did not provoke a call for independence between two separate lands. Both The Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Right of Men stated ‘All Men are Created Equal.” The declaration of independence stated “All Man are created Equal”, to assure that Men get unalienable rights and among these are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The Declaration of Right of Man stated that “All Men are created Equal” because the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of men were the sole causes for corruption of the government. Both the Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of Right of Man chose to give rights to Men. (Declaration of the Rights of Men-1789. Artical 1.) States that “Men are born and remain free and equal”. . “All Men are Created Equal” can be found in both two documents because the purpose of the two documents was to emphasize that there was no divide…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author purposely used the Declaration of Independence as a mode to write the Declaration of Sentiments to show that the society was ridiculous. People admitted that the nation should be equal to everyone, but people did not behave equally to everyone, and the equality only appealed to men not women. In the Declaration of Independence, the author wrote, “……all men are created equal…….” Is it only for “men” or for mankind? When the United Stated won the independence from Britain, the truth was the independence only applied for men because women were not treated as equal as men. In addition, the parallelisms helped the…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Declaration of Independence, in 1776, written by Thomas Jefferson was the document that declared America wanted nothing to do with Great Britain and desired to be their own country. In the video, Jefferson includes key arguments about why the colonies needed to separate from the British. Jefferson believes that all people are born with the unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He says that when these rights are not given, the people have the right to abolish the government, and institute a new one. Also, it is a right of the people to provide new guards for future security if the unalienable rights are to be broken.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “the Declaration of Independence” (1776), Thomas Jefferson, argues that the colonies need to get their independence from Great Britain because instead of respecting them they have been abusing and taking advantage of the colonies. Thomas Jefferson reinforces his point of view by listing all the ways that King George has been abusing his powers, and he points out how all men deserve “ life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (95). Jefferson knows that his people aren’t happy with the way that they are being treated, so in order to stand up for his people and support them he declared independence from Britain. In a serious and furious tone he made it clear to King George and the british people that they didn’t want to keep being unhappy…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The founding fathers wanted American Liberty. In Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, he condemned the injustice of the slave trade and also blamed the presence of enslaved Africans in North America on the British. Jefferson therefore acknowledged that slavery violated the natural rights of the enslaved, while at the same time he excused Americans of any responsibility for owning slaves themselves. The Continental Congress rejected the tortured logic of this passage by deleting it from the final document, but this decision also signaled the…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    is wrong. Modern interpretations of the Declaration of Independence have affected the way our country has grown, is currently growning, and will continue to grow throughout a new age of understanding. The statement, "...that all men are created equal..." now encompases every sex, every race, every walk of life living in these United States of America. No longer do Americans fight the oppression from some distant kingdom. We are free to reach for the goals of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". A document whose meaning has withstood the test of time is our motivating force to grow and face…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a letter to Henry Lee in May 1825, Jefferson explained that the Declaration’s “authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the day,” and that “it was intended to be an expression of the American mind.” Although all men in the American nation were not, in fact, free and equal at the time the Declaration was written, according to the theory of natural rights, men have equality because they are men. Because we are all human, no one person should be able to rule another without the other’s consent. Where Calhoun views equality as sameness (same level in society, same physical and mental capacities, same level of wealth, etc.), Jefferson and the Founders intended equality to mean equal in natural rights, such as the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Equality of opportunity, regardless of one’s gender, race, ethnicity, or religion, and the idea that no one may claim the right to rule over others who are different in some way was the goal of including equality in the Declaration.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “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.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is how, in 1776, Thomas Jefferson began writing one of the most important documents in the History of the United States. This document is the Declaration of Independence. In these two sentences, Thomas Jefferson introduced a new outlook on the nation based on ideals. Since then, America as a nation has been trying to live up to the 5 American ideals; democracy, liberty, opportunity, rights and equality. People today strive to have the same opportunities as others. Women and African Americans fight for their rights and equality. And, America as a whole tries to live up to the ideal of Democracy. However, no matter how hard America tries, it is somehow still difficult to meet the ideals expressed for the people in the Declaration of Independence.…

    • 1384 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays