TreVaughn Mayhue

U.S. Politics

February 25, 2016

African Americans Unfair Treatment during the Declaration of Independence

When the Declaration of Independence was written in June of 1776 by the

founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman,

and Robert Livingston not all groups were treated equally. The main phrase in the

Declaration of Independence stated, We hold these truths to be

self-evident: That all men are created equal However this was not true to all

men. One of the few groups that were discriminated by this phrase were African

Americans.

Thomas Jefferson one of the main founders of the Declaration of

Independence owned more than 170 slaves, and was known to believe that Whites

were higher above and better than African Americans. Slavery is not fair treatment

to men of any color, and if someone is a slave owner it is apparent that they dont

believe in the phrase all men are created equal. In this statement it does not state

any color of men, which would mean that men of all colors should have equal

treatment. However, blacks had to suffer through slavery. Throughout all years of

history African Americans have been treated differently than whites by our

governments system, which leaves the statement all men are created equal,

meaningless. During the Declaration of Independence it was decided to continue

allowing people to own slaves that were of African descent. It wasnt until years

later in the 1860s that slavery became abolished.

African American slaves were not even considered American citizens in the

United States during this time. A man being owned, by a white man just because
he is of an African origin is absolutely belittling to the human race. There is no

justice for these actions, and it shows just how much blacks meant to our

government. The Declaration of Independence really had no justification for blacks

whatsoever. The words imply that it is the same for all men, when in reality it is

focusing primarily on all white males. How is one allowed to receive equal treatment

when they do not have a say in our government, or even their own lives? Blacks

that were slaves were literally property of another, meaning they did whatever they

were instructed or they would be scolded. They were not allowed to even live a life.

There were three amendments that gave African Americans more rights than

before. The 13th amendment completely abolished slavery, 14th amendment gave

blacks citizenship, and the 15th amendment which allowed black males to be able to

vote. The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s or as many know it as the African

American Civil Rights movement was a big turnaround for African Americans. This

movement was sought out to end discrimination against African Americans, by them

gaining all of the rights that Whites were entitled to. According to Wikipedia.org, In

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race, color,

religion, sex, or national origin in employment practices and ended unequal

application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at

the workplace, and by public accommodations It shows that there were rights

gained to blacks that they were seeking during the Civil Rights movement. The main

person that people focus on that was a tremendous leader that helped fight for

these rights was Martin Luther King Jr. who served as an activist and spokesperson

for the black community. Martin had a very big impact on the civil rights movement

for African Americans.

 Now today, blacks still are suffering from unequal rights. Police brutality has

become awful for the black community in the past few years. Many blacks are being

shot dead without warning, leaving many African Americans dying one by one.

There needs to be a change once again for African Americans to gain back equality.

Although, things are nowhere near as bad as they once were racism, discrimination,

and segregation still exist in todays society. There are many rights that African

Americans are entitled to however, there are still issues involving racism striking

across the United States day by day.

Sources

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
http://www.libertarianism.org/columns/how-equal-rights-black-

americans-still-arent-equal-enough
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-

American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1954%E2%80%9368)
http://www.historynet.com/martin-luther-king-jr