Why did Thomas Jefferson write "all men are created equal" when he owned slaves?!!!?

Question

Best Answer - 10 points
with 5 stars
requirements: it has to be long and smart

i already know that slaves werent considered "men" back in Jefferson's time.

Answer 1

Jefferson had very conflicted emotions when it came to slavery. He believed it was wrong, but didn't think we could do away with it just yet. He refused to free his own slaves but he treated them well. Slavery was a hotly contested issue at the time of the revolution and Constitutional Convention, but northerners left it legal in order to get southerners to join them in the union.

Jefferson's wording in the Declaration of Independence was not original or new, it was the standard thinking of the day, in fact it was the accepted philosophy in Britain too. During the 'Enlightenment' of the 17th century, great thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes wrote about the 'social contract'. Man was born free, they said. He forms governments and gives up some of his freedom to the government in return for social order. Governments are -of- the people, and when governments become abusive or corrupt and no longer serve the peoples' needs, the people have a right and a DUTY to abolish that government and replace it with one that meets their needs.

Jefferson wasn't -informing- the Brits of this, he was -reminding- them. It was THEIR philosophy first, and they even believed that the king was their servant, not vice versa.

The beginning of this was to declare that all men were created equal in their 'inalienable' rights of Life Liberty and the 'Purfuit of Happinefs'. Yes, Jefferson saw blacks as 'humans' too, he just conveniently left them out for this once.

Answer 2

Massachusetts outlawed slavery in 1755!

Until the peculiar institution was nationally outlawed in the rest of the other 12 colonies there was nothing for Thomas Jefferson to do about slavery since a large part of the agrarian colonial economy was slave dependent (but not the manufacturing north).

So to appease the powerful slave owners of the Southern colonies without alienating the abolitionist North, Thomas Jefferson had to make the rational statement that 'all men are created equal' in future recognition that slavery could not continue and that the 'black' man was also equal, though not at that particual time in Jefferson's day.

Answer 3

When Jefferson wrote "all men are created equal," he was only referring to white men. Keep in mind that in 1776 slaves were not "men," they were "property." The common view was that slaves were no different from farm equipment. Also, remember that Jefferson was only in his mid-30s when he wrote the most significant document in American history. This is a lot of pressure to be placed on a young man, particularly when you have bible-beating anti-slavery studs like Robert Livingston looking over your shoulder. (Livingston was a New York lawyer who was on the drafting commitee with Jefferson.) Most likely he wrote what he wrote in the spirit of the Continental Congress, not in his own spirit. He wanted the power of this line to reach London and other European cities. "All men are created equal except blacks" would only cause Europe to despise America more, since they themselves despised slavery.

Answer 4

Because, like Benjamin Rush, who owned hundreds of slaves yet formed the first antislavery foundation with Ben Franklin, he knew slavery was wrong but he didn't know what to do about it. Often times slaves who were released were in worse condition than they were with their owners. People would not hire slaves, and most were recaptured or left homeless and starving.

Answer 5

Just like Marx and Engels overlooked(perhaps intentionally)greed when piecing the Communist Manifesto together, Jefferson neglected to add the clause,"but some are more equal than others."

Answer 6

Because he was a humanist... a very rich, slave-owning humanist.

DO YOUR OWN BLOODY HOMEWORK !!

Answer 7

One more person looking for someone else to do their homework for them *sigh*.

Answer 8

He was testing out a new pen.