Independence For Whom?

Thomas Jefferson’s words "all men are created equal" have, almost from the start, been a source of controversy. What exactly did he mean? One must remember that colonial America, like Europe, was full of social, political, and economic inequalities. The delegates to the Continental Congress were not aware of these inequalities because they viewed issues of justices differently than are after the Revolution. Also, they were looking to justify a political, not a social revolution.

Nevertheless, the Declaration and the Revolution had social consequences. Many women organized boycotts and participated in street demonstrations. During the war women took over the work of their absent husbands, fathers, and brothers, or took care of the troops. As a result, some women urged for a greater voice in politics.

Abigail Adams appealed to her husband John, a delegate to the Continental Congress, saying, "I desire you would remember the ladies. Be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." John Adams did not agree. He believed, like most men of his days, that women’s power came from their influence over the men in their lives.

Whether the delegates meant for the words men and mankind to include women is debatable. But it most definitely did not intend the words to apply to slaves. This does not mean, however, that all of the delegates supported slavery, In Jefferson’s original draft, he accused the king of violating the "sacred rights of life and liberty" of blacks "who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere." But some of the southern delegates objected, and the passage was taken out from the final document. So America’s leaders for the first but not the last time evaded the explosive issue of slavery.