The Declaration of Independence is, to me, the founding document of America. It is what made America what it is and made Americans who they are. But it is also a controversial document, in that who were considered ‘men’ is unclear. Today, ‘men’ encompasses just about everyone, including women and minorities, in most aspects. Everyone has a right to liberty, unless they give up that right by breaking the law, and everyone can pursue a life that will make them happy, (though that doesn’t always happen!) This was not always true. In our nation’s beginning, the ‘men’ of the declaration only included white, property-owning males. Where did this leave the rest of America, and how did they feel about it? Two authors that answer this question are Frederick Douglass in his speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her Declaration of Sentiments.

First, the issue of manhood left many to question what the Declaration of Independence was all about. Who was a man, and what about those who

Though we may see these African Americans as ‘men’ today, pro-slavery Americans did not see them as that then. They were beasts, inhumane creatures. They were stolen, sold, and forced to work for little or no compensation.

“The manhood of the slave is conceded. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write. When you can point to any such laws, in reference to the beasts of the field, then I may consent to argue the manhood of the slave.”

This is how slaves were treated, because they were not seen as men, and they had no rights. So were they Americans? They lived here, worked here, slept here, died here. But were they here as Americans, or just as cattle, swine, or dogs? According to Douglass, they weren’t Americans. He was not an American, though he believed he should be. “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from you independence to us? I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine.” (1886-1887)

Today, women have these rights, as do African Americans and other minorities. It may seem strange to us that at one time, white, property-owning males were the only ones with any rights, and women and blacks were considered property. Yet women felt they were Americans, and blacks knew they weren’t. Today, all men are created equal, and if you ar

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