A Critique Of The Declaration Of Independence - 1008 Words

I wrote this on three hours of sleep (A Critique of The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson) In 1776, the Continental congress elected that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston help write what many now know today to be The Declaration of Independence. The whole point of this document being written was to declare to Great Britain and King George III that the British colonies in North America would no longer be a part of Great Britain, but rather of their own free states, thus creating the United States of America and declaring independence from Great Britain. Because of what The Declaration of Independence stood for, it has been regarded highly throughout American†¦show more content†¦For countless years after this document was presented, women were still lesser, and had to fight for basic rights that men had and worked hard to make their way to the top. This is a huge fault in The Declaration that government is restricted to a single gender . Continuing on with what exactly â€Å"men† means, what men were allowed to have the power in the situation given at the time The Declaration was written? Well, let’s take a look at the main author of this document, Thomas Jefferson. He was male, white, educated, a lawyer, and many other things. In other words, he had power. He had a recognizable position in government. Benjamin Franklin was male, white, educated, a well respected man, and other things. He also had power; he was appointed by the Continental Congress to help write The Declaration. Then there are men like John Hancock who signed the document itself, who were obviously important to be signing such an important piece of paper to the United States of America. What about the men who didn’t mean as much? The merchants? The farmers? The slaves? The blacks? When Jefferson states in the second paragraph â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal† does he really m ean all men? Or only the men who matter? Obviously anyone of a skin color other than white were not equal. Slaves weren’t free until almost a century later when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. EvenShow MoreRelatedThe Declaration Of Independence By Thomas Jefferson1455 Words   |  6 PagesThe Declaration of Independence is viewed by just about every patriotic American citizen as one of the most ideologically appropriate documents encapsulating the beliefs for which the United States of America stands. Written in 1776, it encompasses the themes of freedom for every man in the world, a concept and belief that is still the central idea and goal in this country well over 200 years later. Much credit is due to those who authored such an inspirational and monumental document. 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