“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.”
–Thomas Jefferson 1776
The founding fathers who signed the declaration of independence from Great Britain said that all man are created equal, but these men had slaves. All men are created equal is just a saying because people back then and now don’t follow it. Inequalities are still happening. It is so hypocritical for Thomas Jefferson because he owned slaves even as he thought and wrote about these ideals.
How did the founding fathers treat women, foreigners, poor people and people of color? How do we treat them today? The civil rights movement in America is based on the pursuit of these ideals first stated in the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776.
What do we do with this ideal of equality in our history as a nation? Have we made progress?
zoneout96 • Oct 20, 2014 at 9:17 am
It is said every day that everyone is “equal” but we are not. we cannot be because history repeats itself. If the people that stated these rules didn’t go by them how can they expect it to reflect on others that didn’t write it or think that way, they can’t.
chino967 • Sep 30, 2014 at 12:57 am
I think it was definitely an ideal back then just as it still is today. The founding fathers only did their best to give the country a basis for human rights as well as everything else. Yes they were definitely hypocritical, but for them to start the movement by expanding rights of all white property owners was a start. If they had banned slavery from the beginning, many states may not have ratified the constitution.
ARALE. • Sep 26, 2014 at 8:56 pm
Sadly, the perfect idea that All Men are Created Equal is not working in reality even now.The unequal treatment of the slaves we would never forget.
One of the reason to study history is to learn what happened in the past, which can help us to understand why things are the way they are in the present day. Also, We can learn from the mistakes how not to repeat them again.
TheQueen54 • Sep 26, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Good job on writing this article. I believe that it’s profoundly depressing that racism is still happening today. As we mature we develop a preconditioned discrimination towards those different from us. Racism is build into our systems. Yes, slavery isn’t abolished but we have to work really hard to not be racist.
era47 • Sep 26, 2014 at 8:39 am
The only thing stopping us from treating them the same as we did back then are the laws. It’s illegal to kill a black man, unlike in the 1700s I’m sure they saw it like killing an animal. The world is a cruel place and only over time will ignorance cease to exist. My guess is a couple thousand years. By then racism won’t even be in our dictionaries let alone our society. Education is a big factor in this. If a boy would go to an all white, rich school of course there’s a chance that he’ll think himself better then the minorities at a public school. After many generations our earth will become more and more diverse and our people will be exposed to less and less discrimination that it will no longer be an issue.