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The quotation "all men are created equal" is found in theUnited States Declaration of Independence and is a phrase that has come to be seen as emblematic ofAmerica's founding ideals. The final form of the sentence was stylized byBenjamin Franklin, and penned byThomas Jefferson during the beginning of theRevolutionary War in 1776.[1] It reads:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by theirCreator with certainunalienable Rights, that among these areLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Drawing fromEnlightenment philosophy, the phrase reflects the influence ofJohn Locke'ssecond treatise on government, particularly his belief in theinherent equality andindividual liberty. Similar ideas can be traced back to earlier works, including medieval and classical sources, which emphasized thedignity andworth of all human beings. Jefferson applied the concept in hisoriginal draft of the declaration.[2][3] The phrase was subsequently quoted and incorporated into the speeches and writings of prominent figures throughout American political and social history. It has been called an "immortal declaration", and "perhaps [the] single phrase" of theAmerican Revolutionary period with the greatest "continuing importance."[4][5]
The phrase is attested as early as popeGregory the Great in book XXI of hisMoralia in Job (c. 578 – c. 595).[6] and was picked up byThomas Aquinas,[7]Azo,Hervaeus Natalis, and other medieval thinkers.[8]
Thomas Jefferson, a key figure in drafting theDeclaration of Independence, was heavily influenced by FrenchEnlightenment philosophers such asVoltaire,Rousseau andMontesquieu, largely through his friendship with theMarquis de Lafayette. These philosophers, whose writings were often censored, advocated that men were born free and equal. Their ideas profoundly impacted theFrench Revolution of 1789 and the development of the concept ofhuman rights (droits de l'homme). At the age of 33, Jefferson may also have drawn inspiration from his Italian friend and neighborFilippo Mazzei, as claimed byJohn F. Kennedy inA Nation of Immigrants and by Joint Resolution 175 of the103rd Congress.[9][10][11] Additionally, Jefferson might have been influenced byThomas Paine'sCommon Sense, which was published in early 1776.
In English history there exist earlier uses of nearly the same phrase. First by the medieval priestJohn Ball who at the outbreak of the 1381Peasants Revolt in his famous sermon posited the question "When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman?" and proclaimed "From the beginning all men by nature were created alike".[12] In his 1690 workSecond Treatise of Government the philosopherJohn Locke argues that in the "state of nature" that existed before the formation of governments all men were created equal.[13] Another example is inJohn Milton's 1649 book calledThe Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, written after theFirst English Civil War to defend the actions and rights of the Parliamentary cause, in the wake of the execution of kingCharles I. The English poet says: "No man who knows ought, can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally were borne free, being the image and resemblance of God himself ... born to command and not to obey: and that they liv'd so".[14]
In 1776, theSecond Continental Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,John Adams,Robert Livingston, andRoger Sherman to write the Declaration of Independence. ThisCommittee of Five voted to have Thomas Jefferson write the document. After Jefferson finished he gave the document to Franklin to proof. Franklin suggested minor changes, one of which stands out far more than the others: "We hold these truths to be sacred and un-deniable..." became "We hold these truths to be self-evident."[15]
The second paragraph of theUnited States Declaration of Independence starts: "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 areLife, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.-- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."[16]
TheVirginia Declaration of Rights, chiefly authored byGeorge Mason and approved by theVirginia Convention on June 12, 1776, contains the wording: "all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights of which . . . they cannot deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."[17] George Mason was an elder-planter who had originally statedJohn Locke's theory of natural rights: "All men are born equally free and independent and have certain inherent natural rights of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."[18] Mason's draft was accepted by a small committee and then rejected by the Virginia Convention. Thomas Jefferson, a competent Virginia lawyer, saw this as a problem in legal writing and chose words that were more acceptable to the Second Continental Congress.
TheMassachusetts Constitution, chiefly authored byJohn Adams in 1780, contains in itsDeclaration of Rights the wording: "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness."[19]
The plaintiffs in the cases ofBrom and Bett v. John Ashley andCommonwealth v. Nathaniel Jennison argued that this provision abolished slavery in Massachusetts.[20] The latter case resulted in a "sweeping declaration . . . that the institution of slavery was incompatible with the principles of liberty and legal equality articulated in the new Massachusetts Constitution".[21]
The phrase has since been considered a hallmark statement in democratic constitutions and similar human rights instruments, many of which have adopted the phrase or variants thereof.[23]
In the early 19th century, SenatorJohn Randolph of Roanoke criticized the phrase, stating that it is "a falsehood, and a most pernicious falsehood, even though I find it in the Declaration of Independence".John C. Calhoun agreed, saying that there was "not a word of truth" in the phrase.[24] In 1853 and in the context of theKansas-Nebraska Act, SenatorJohn Pettit, said that the phrase was not a "self-evident truth" but a "self-evident lie".[24] These men were all either slave owners or supporters ofslavery.
Confederate Vice PresidentAlexander Stephens also criticized the sentence in 1861 in hisCornerstone Speech, calling it a "false idea" and noting that theConfederate States were founded "upon exactly the opposite idea", specifically outlined as white supremacy and the position of African Americans as subordinate.[25]
Howard Zinn and others have written that the phrase is sexist. Zinn says that the use of the wordmen, to the exclusion of women, indicated the women were "beyond consideration as worthy of inclusion" and "they were simply overlooked in any consideration of political rights, any notions of civic equality".[26][27] However, others argue that in the 1700s, the wordmen was sometimes used to denote both genders.[28] According to theLibrary of Congress, most people have interpreted "all men" to mean humanity and, within the context of the times, it is clear that "all men" meant "humanity".[29]
It has also been criticised on grounds of racism.Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote inThe New York Times that "the white men who drafted those words did not believe them to be true for the hundreds of thousands of black people in their midst."[30][31][32] HistorianNicholas Guyatt has criticized the "long exile of blacks and Indians from 'all men are created equal'"[33] and historianJohn Hope Franklin also states that "Jefferson didn't mean it when he wrote that all men are created equal. We've never meant it. The truth is we're a bigoted people and always have been".[34]
Richard M. Weaver, in one of the cornerstone works of traditional conservatism,Ideas Have Consequences (1948), paraphrased a 19th-century writer, stating that "no man was ever created free and no two men [were] ever created equal". He continued: "The comity of peoples in groups large or small rests not upon this chimerical notion of equality but uponfraternity, a concept which long antedates it in history because it goes immeasurably deeper in human sentiment. The ancient feeling of brotherhood carries obligations of which equality knows nothing. It calls for respect and protection, for brotherhood is status in family, and family is by nature hierarchical."[35]
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The contradiction between the claim that "all men are created equal" and the existence of American slavery, includingThomas Jefferson himself owning slaves, attracted comment when the Declaration of Independence was first published. Before final approval, Congress, having made a few alterations to some of the wording, also deleted nearly a fourth of the draft, including a passage criticizing the slave trade. At that time many other members of Congress also owned slaves, which clearly factored into their decision to delete the controversial "anti-slavery" passage.[36][37]
Jefferson argued many cases to free enslaved people. InHowell v. Netherland (April 1770), the most famous of these, Jefferson argued for the freedom of Samuel Howell, a mixed-race indentured servant, but was unsuccessful.[38] In writing the declaration, Jefferson believed the phrase "all men are created equal" to be self-evident, and would ultimately resolve slavery.[citation needed] In 1776,abolitionistThomas Day wrote: "If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves."[36] The phrase was further used byMartin Luther King Jr. in his 1963I Have a Dream speech, emphasizing it as part of the "American dream" which he hoped would someday be fulfilled.[39]
SenatorBenjamin Wade defended the phrase in 1854, stating that all men are created equal in the sense that they are "equal in point of right" so "no man has a right to trample upon another".[24] According toAbraham Lincoln, the founders did not mean that "all were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity" but rather that everyone was equal in having "certain inalienable rights, among which arelife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".[24]
Also in defense of the phrase,Stanford University historianJack Rakove said that thefounders were not referring to the equality of individuals but to the right to self-government enjoyed by all peoples. It was only later, in the decades following the Revolution, said Rakove, that the statement came to be interpreted in reference to personal liberties.[40]
TheProclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, written in 1945, uses the phrase "all men are created equal" and also mentions theUnited States Declaration of Independence in it.[41]
TheRhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, ratified in November 1965, is based on the American one, however, it omits the phrase "all men are created equal", along with "the consent of the governed".[42][43][44]
The sentiment of the phrase, although not the exact wording, is echoed in numerous subsequent declarations of rights, including theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,[45] Germany'sBasic Laws,[46] theConstitution of Algeria,[47] and many other constitutions.
The phrase often serves as the first, or one of the first, rights listed in enumerations of rights, as a framing for all subsequent rights. Since Declarations of rights are often applied to all people, as naturalhuman rights, the phrase emphasizes that all rights listed after it apply equally to every person.[48][49]
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