Question

Jefferson wrote that “all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights”. Do you think he was including women, slaves, Native Americans, and the poor in this quote? Why?

Answer 1

Answer:

In writing that "all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights", Jefferson was not in any way including women, slaves, Native Americans, or the poor.

On the contrary, the concept of citizenship in the 1700s (and therefore, the rights granted by the Constitution) was limited only to free, white men of a certain social status, who were the only ones who participated in politics and who they could exercise their rights without limitation.

Women, on the other hand, were in the background in the society of the time, being mere companions of the man, on whom they depended for most of the decisions. The natives and the poor resembled these, but they lacked their social status and were considered to be the last range of society. Ultimately, slaves were considered mere merchandise, and not people.

Although the American Revolution had among its main ideologies the idea of ​​equality and freedom, the truth is that its full application took several decades of social maturation and the struggle for rights.