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 are life, 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.The CBE Scroll says:
The mention made of ‘men’ above refers to both men and women; right? Wrong! When Thomas Jefferson and those who helped him draft the Declaration of Independence wrote of governments deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, they did not include women. In fact, in 1787 they gave white male property owners over the age of twenty-one the right to vote, and they did not give the same right to women. That would have to wait until 1920.I assumed, I guess, that "all men" was an inclusive term in the Declaration of Independence. But what the CBE Scroll claims makes sense in light of property ownership, lack of women's suffrage, etc.
Do you think that the authors of the Declaration of Independence included women with "all men"?
