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Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founding fathers and key contributing author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, is responsibility for pinning the documents powerful and well known line, “all Men are created equal”. The concept that “all Men are created equal” is the foundation of America’s phiolosy. “Yet, it was written at a time when some inhabitants were held in bondage and other were being disposed of their lands” (Video).
America is the land of the free and home of the brave, but has it always been? If someone were to reference old documents like The Declaration of Independence or even The Constitution they would think so, but American history itself says otherwise. During the mid 1770’s slavery was an almost unquestioned normality and women had no rights, however when The Declaration of Independence was written, the statement, “all men are created equal” appeared while Thomas Jefferson stated the natural rights of every human. This statement is clearly not true in the eyes of the men who wrote and edited this document, hence proving that the statement “all men were created equal” is hypocritical. In accordance to primary sources gained from this period of intolerance and recreations of it, it is clear that not only were the women not treated as equal, but the African men and women treated as property were also stripped of the three main rights and liberties the Declaration argues for.
Thomas Jefferson wrote one of the most important and ironic phrases in the United States’s history: “...that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable right; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (652). The Declaration of Independence boasts that it supports that all men have a right to liberty. However, even though they declare it, it does not always hold truthful. The declaration only promotes the freedom and separation as a united country or for the men of the occupied countries. There is no reference to women, people of color, or children in regards to liberty.
William Jennings Brown was a beloved orator and political figure from the 1890’s till his death in the 1925. He was known for his abilities to capture a crowd and keep them enthralled for hours as he talked about anything. From an early age though he knew that he wanted to be like his father, following in his footsteps to the political realm. He made good use of his oratory skills and created a whole new way of running a presidential campaign. He also helped to create the bases for many new ideas that would lead to Franklin Roosevelts, New Deal Plan.
Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan.
Men and women worldwide, no matter the type of government or lifestyle they live under, believe in the ever infallible natural law, which dictates the rights of a person from birth, and how they ought to be treated until death. History however, has brutally shown us that those natural rights are not always respected- not for the lack of trying. Thomas Jefferson when writing the declaration of independence, believed that “all men are created equal”, but the actions of the country as a whole, shortly after that independence, showed otherwise. That phrase that has forever been imbedded in the American identity, and that to this day, continues to drive the political and social aspects of our society. Unfortunately, a few hundred years since that time, that phrase still holds close to weight nor meaning.
6 million African Americans moved from the rural South to the cities of the North during The Great Migration. The blacks wanted to escape the oppressive economic conditions in the south and the promise of greater fortune in the north. Some blacks was being paid to migrated from the south to the north for work and their expenses was being paid. The Pennsylvania Railroad paid the travel expenses of 12,000 blacks.
Even today in our society we still follow The Declaration of Independence. The quote "All men are created equally" for us mean that, All U.S citizen are the same, we have have the same equal rights and no one is differently when it comes to laws. In the novelette equality
African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.
Rights of African Americans in the 1930s African American rights in the 1930s were immensely limited, depending on where you were located. The US was vastly different, and had very diverse views on society. Each state had its own thoughts on what should and should not be permitted. After the Civil War, African Americans had more rights in the south then in the north.
Every since the 1600 's, white settlers either favored the displacement of Native Americans or wanted them to convert to Christianity to make them blend in with the white culture. Southern tribes such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek, and Chicksaw had begun to adopt the ways and beliefs of the Europeans.
In the 1950s there were several laws that kept African American people separated from White Americans. African Americans were not allowed to do anything with White Americans or even be close to them. The White Americans were so harsh toward them that they established laws that said that African Americans could not vote, could not enter the same building of White Americans, they was not even allowed to drink out of the same water fountain. The people of the South were very strict to their beliefs and laws and if any African American was caught breaking any of the laws they were punished and sometimes killed. Some African Americans that were not familiar with the dangers of the south were few of the unfortunate ones to lose their life.
The Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created equal,” meant that social class or background did not matter
However, there is a lurking contradiction in the affirmation of the founding fathers that all men were created with equal opportunities considering the many years that they kept African in the York of slavery. This aspect puts into sharp focus the integrity of the founding fathers with the question asked
In the Declaration of Independence, the most influential document in our nation’s history, is the phrase, “All men are created equal.” When the sentence was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson, it carried with it the idea of hope, equality, and freedom. However, the once awe inspiring phrase is empty and meaningless. It's once patriotic and equitable message was lost to the persistent and grotesque societal illness that is racial stereotyping. Racial stereotyping are beliefs and ideas that are about an individual based on their race.
