Women's Rights: The Declaration Of Independence

The Declaration of Independence, established on July 4, 1776, was a pivotal point in the thirteen colonies ' separation from Great Britain. While expressing a multitude of Britain 's violations and flaws, the Declaration presented fundamental principles and ideologies regarding how the American government should operate. One imperative in this document supported the philosophy that all men were created equal. However, it should have stated that white men were created equal; the Declaration of Independence, in the era during which it was established, was created solely for adult white landowning men because African Americans were enslaved, women were seen as inferior, and its authors were white landowners. Firstly, slavery denied African

It was clearly stated in the Declaration that "all men [were] created equal." The authors did not write men and women, or mankind, or humankind. Thus, their intentions in the usage of the word "men" were uncertain. However, John Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, wrote a series of letters to each other. In one particular letter, Abigail, who was a feminist, wrote to John, "in the new Code of Laws… I desire you would Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them… Do not put such unlimited power in the hands of the Husbands." To which John responds, "as to your extraordinary Code of Laws, I cannot but laugh." In Abigail 's letter, she was pleading with her husband to give women not only voting rights, but other rights as well. Abigail 's appeal for women 's rights revealed that women in this society were powerless, and consequently Abigail had to implore John. Moreover, John said he could not but laugh, which portrayed Abigail 's idea as outlandish. Therefore, John 's response demonstrated unfamiliarity with the concept of women 's rights or equality; through John 's letter, the colonial man 's frame of mind, which was ignorant to the idea of women 's rights, was exposed, and women would not receive voting rights until 1920. Essentially, Abigail and John 's series of letters served to enforce the idea that the men who helped to write the Declaration, like