We Hold These Truths

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.

This quote is from arguably the most famous document in American History: The Declaration of Indenpendence. Thomas Jefferson wrote it in 1776, and the document declared our independence from Britain.

All men are created equal. This line was revolutionary. This was an Enlightenment thought that said every man, no matter who you are, you are equal to everyone else. During this time, however, it only meant white men with property and free of debt. In order for a man to become a gentlemen in society, he could not work with his hands. Here is the conflicting idea behind author of the Declaration and the Declaration itself-- Thomas Jefferson himself at one point had of 276 slaves. This only a small part of the 100,000 slaves in America had the time of the Declaration. This Declaration of Indepence was widely accepted, so why weren't slaves emancipated? Why did it take until 1863 fro slaves to emancipated? The very life that the Thomas Jefferson enjoyed was because of slave labor. If all men are truely created equal, why did it not apply to blacks? Jefferson later said that blacks were endowed with the same natural rights as whites. Slavery took away the rights and property of blacks. If the country was really where all men are created equal-- the idea that our country was based on-- why weren't all men truely created equal?