All men are created equal - wikipedia All men are created equal Part of a Philosophy series on Humanism History Renaissance humanism in Northern Europe in France Humanist Manifesto Secular humanism Center for Inquiry A Secular Humanist Declaration Amsterdam Declaration Religious humanism Christian Jewish Buddhist Other forms Cosmic Deistic Existential Integral Marxist Neo Personism Rationalist Trans Organizations International Humanist and Ethical Union ( IHEU ) American Humanist Association Humanists UK Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands Humanist Society Scotland Human - Etisk Forbund See also Antihumanism Posthumanism Ethical movement Outline List of secular humanists Philosophy portal Rights Theoretical distinctions Claim rights and liberty rights Individual and group rights Natural and legal rights Negative and positive rights Human rights Civil and political Economic, social and cultural Three generations Rights by beneficiary Animals Authors Children Consumers Creditors Elders Fathers Fetuses Gun owners Humans Natives Intersex Kings LGBT Men Minorities Mothers Patients Plants Prisoners Students Victims Women Workers Youth Disabled persons Other groups of rights Civil liberties Digital Linguistic Property Reproductive Self - determination of people Water and sanitation The quotation `` All men are created equal '' has been called an `` immortal declaration, '' and `` perhaps ( the ) single phrase '' of the American Revolutionary period with the greatest `` continuing importance. '' Thomas Jefferson first used the phrase in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, which he penned in 1776 during the beginning of the American Revolution. It was thereafter quoted and incorporated into speeches by a wide array of substantial figures in American political and social life in the United States. The final form of the phrase was stylized by Benjamin Franklin. Contents 1 Origin of Thomas Jefferson 's use of the phrase 2 Slavery and the phrase 3 Criticism 4 Legacy 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Origin of Thomas Jefferson 's Use of the phrase Thomas Jefferson, at the age of 33, may have also borrowed the expression from an Italian friend and neighbor, Philip Mazzei, as noted by Joint Resolution 175 of the 103rd Congress as well as by John F. Kennedy in A Nation of Immigrants. In 1776 the Second Continental Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman to write the Declaration of Independence. This Committee 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, and one of them stands out far more than the others. Jefferson had written, `` We hold these truths to be sacred and un-deniable... '' Franklin changed it to, `` We hold these truths to be self - evident. '' The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence starts as follows : 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 Virginia Declaration of Rights, chiefly authored by George Mason and approved by the Virginia 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 can not 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. George Mason was an elder - planter who had originally stated John Locke 's theory of natural rights : All men are born equally free and independent and have certain inherent natural rights of which they can not, 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. 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. The Massachusetts Constitution, chiefly authored by John Adams in 1780, contains in its Declaration of Rights the wording : Article I. 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. The plaintiffs in the cases of Brom and Bett v. John Ashley and Commonwealth v. Nathaniel Jennison argued that this provision abolished slavery in Massachusetts. 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 ''. 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. Slavery and the phrase The contradiction between the claim that `` all men are created equal '' and the existence of American slavery 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 critical of the slave trade. At that time many members of Congress, including Jefferson, owned slaves, which clearly factored into their decision to delete the controversial `` anti-slavery '' passage. In 1776, abolitionist Thomas Day responding to the hypocrisy in the Declaration wrote, though the first draft stated `` All free men are created equal '' : 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. Criticism The phrase `` all men are created equal '' has received criticism from elitists and traditional conservatives : Richard Weaver writing in one of the cornerstone works of traditional conservatism, Ideas Have Consequences ( 1948 ), paraphrased a 19th - century writer in writing that `` no man was ever created free and no two men ( were ) ever created equal ''. He continues : The comity of peoples in groups large or small rests not upon this chemerical notion of equality but upon fraternity, 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. Legacy The Vietnamese proclamation of independence, written in 1945, uses the phrase `` all men are created equal '' and mentions the U.S. Declaration of Independence in it as well. The Rhodesian 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 ''. See also Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ), article 1 : `` Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. '' Is - ought problem John Ball ( 1381 ), `` When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman ? '' Second - class citizen Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( 1948 ), article 1 : `` All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights... '' Equality before the law References Jump up ^ See, e.g., Jack P. Greene, All Men Are Created Equal : Some Reflections on the Character of the American Revolution ( 1000. p. 5 : `` Perhaps no single phrase from the Revolutionary era has had such continuing importance in American public life as the dictum ' all men are created equal ' ''. Jump up ^ John Wynne Jeudwine, Pious Phrases in Politics : An Examination of Some Popular Catchwords, their Misuse and Meanings ( 1919 ), p. 27, quoting Senator Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as referencing the `` immortal declaration that all men are created equal ''. Jump up ^ Peterson, Merrill. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation : A biography. p. 90. Oxford University Press, 1970. Jump up ^ Philip Mazzei, The Virginia Gazette, 1774. Translated by a friend and neighbor, Thomas Jefferson : Tutti gli uomini sono per natura egualmente liberi e indipendenti. Quest'eguaglianza è necessaria per costituire un governo libero. Bisogna che ognuno sia uguale all'altro nel diritto naturale. Translated by Jefferson as follow : All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government. All men must be equal to each other in natural law He may also have influenced Thomas Paine 's Common Sense. All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government. All men must be equal to each other in natural law Jump up ^ According to Joint Resolution 175 of the 103rd Congress, `` the phrase in the Declaration of Independence ' All men are created equal ' was suggested by the Italian patriot and immigrant Philip Mazzei. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=103_cong_bills&docid=f:hj175eh.pdf Jump up ^ `` The great doctrine ' All men are created equal ' incorporated into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writing of Philip Mazzei, an Italian - born patriot and pamphleteer, who was a close friend of Jefferson. '' by John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants pp. 15 -- 16 Jump up ^ s : United States Declaration of Independence Jump up ^ Virginia Declaration of Rights Jump up ^ Blumrosen, Alfred W. and Ruth G., Slave Nation : How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution, Sourcebooks, 2005, pp. 125 -- 26. Jump up ^ Article I, Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( 1780 ) Jump up ^ John J. Patrick, Founding the Republic, pp. 74 -- 75 Jump up ^ The Massachusetts Constitution, Judicial Review and Slavery -- The Quock Walker Case, Massachusetts Judicial Branch ( 2007 ). Jump up ^ UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Preamble : Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity, and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world & Article 1 : All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. -- http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ ^ Jump up to : Armitage, David. The Declaration Of Independence : A Global History. 76 -- 77. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN 978 - 0 - 674 - 02282 - 9 Jump up ^ Weaver, Richard. Ideas Have Consequences. 41 - 42. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1971. ISBN 0 - 226 - 87678 - 0 Jump up ^ Palley, Claire ( 1966 ). The Constitutional History and Law of Southern Rhodesia 1888 -- 1965, with Special Reference to Imperial Control ( First ed. ). Oxford : Clarendon Press. p. 750. OCLC 406157. Jump up ^ Hillier, Tim ( 1998 ). Sourcebook on Public International Law ( First ed. ). London & Sydney : Cavendish Publishing. p. 207. ISBN 1 - 85941 - 050 - 2. Jump up ^ Gowlland - Debbas, Vera ( 1990 ). Collective Responses to Illegal Acts in International Law : United Nations action in the question of Southern Rhodesia ( First ed. ). Leiden and New York : Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 71. ISBN 0 - 7923 - 0811 - 5. External links Letter Addressed to the Commonalty of Scotland by John Knox, 1558 -- an early historical occurrence of the phrase `` all men are equal '' Historical documents of the United States Constitution Preamble & Articles Preamble II III IV V VI VII Amendments Ratified 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pending Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin ( State Domestic Institutions ) Child Labor Unsuccessful Equal Rights District of Columbia Voting Rights See also List of Constitutional Amendments Bill of Rights ( Amendments 1 -- 10 ) Reconstruction Amendments ( Amendments 13 -- 15 ) Amendment proposals in Congress Conventions to propose amendments State ratifying conventions Formation History Articles of Confederation Mount Vernon Conference Annapolis Convention Philadelphia Convention Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut Compromise Three - Fifths Compromise Committee of Detail Signing Independence Hall Syng inkstand The Federalist 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James Madison North Carolina William Blount Richard Dobbs Spaight Hugh Williamson South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler Georgia William Few Abraham Baldwin Convention Secretary William Jackson Display and legacy National Archives Charters of Freedom Rotunda Independence Mall Constitution Day Constitution Gardens National Constitution Center Scene at the Signing of the Constitution ( painting ) A More Perfect Union ( film ) Worldwide influence Declaration of Independence Primary author Thomas Jefferson Signatories President of Congress John Hancock ( Massachusetts ) New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware George Read Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Lynch Jr. Arthur Middleton Georgia Button Gwinett Lyman Hall George Walton See also Virginia Declaration of Rights Lee Resolution Committee of Five Document 's history signing portrait Second Continental Congress `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' Independence Hall Syng inkstand American Revolution Articles of Confederation Signatories Primary drafter John Dickinson New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett John Wentworth Jr. Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams Elbridge Gerry Francis Dana James Lovell Samuel Holten Rhode Island William Ellery Henry Marchant John Collins Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington Oliver Wolcott Titus Hosmer Andrew Adams New York James Duane Francis Lewis William Duer Gouverneur Morris New Jersey John Witherspoon Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania Robert Morris Daniel Roberdeau Jonathan Bayard Smith William Clingan Joseph Reed Delaware Thomas McKean John Dickinson Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland John Hanson Daniel Carroll Virginia Richard Henry Lee John Banister Thomas Adams John Harvie Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina John Penn Cornelius Harnett John Williams South Carolina Henry Laurens William Henry Drayton John Mathews Richard Hutson Thomas Heyward Jr. Georgia John Walton Edward Telfair Edward Langworthy See also Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation American Revolution Perpetual Union Continental Association Signatories President of Congress Peyton Randolph New Hampshire John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom Massachusetts Bay Thomas Cushing Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward Connecticut Eliphalet Dyer Roger Sherman Silas Deane New York Isaac Low John Alsop John Jay James Duane Philip Livingston William Floyd Henry Wisner Simon Boerum New Jersey James Kinsey William Livingston Stephen Crane Richard Smith John De Hart Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway John Dickinson Charles Humphreys Thomas Mifflin Edward Biddle John Morton George Ross The Lower Counties Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean George Read Maryland Matthew Tilghman Thomas Johnson, Junr William Paca Samuel Chase Virginia Richard Henry Lee George Washington Patrick Henry, Junr Richard Bland Benjamin Harrison Edmund Pendleton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes Richard Caswell South Carolina Henry Middleton Thomas Lynch Christopher Gadsden John Rutledge Edward Rutledge See also Virginia Association First Continental Congress Carpenters ' Hall Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Human rights Children 's Intersex Men 's Women 's Fundamental concepts and philosophies Natural law Positive law Sovereignty Universal jurisdiction Distinctions Claim rights and liberty rights Individual and group rights Natural and legal rights Negative and positive rights Aspects Corporal punishment Organizations List of human rights organisations of national human rights institutions By continent Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Category : Rights Portal : Human rights Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → George Mason United States Founding events Drafted, 1769 Virginia Association resolutions Primary author, 1774 Fairfax Resolves Primary author, 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights `` All men are created equal '' Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness Freedom of the press Freedom of religion Consent of the governed Baseless search and seizure Cruel and unusual punishments Speedy trial 1776 Virginia Constitution 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Ratifying Convention Co-father, United States Bill of Rights history Founding Father Writings inspired 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( France ) 1789 United States Bill of Rights Life Chopawamsic plantation Gunston Hall On slavery Ohio Company Legacy George Mason Memorial George Mason University George Mason Stadium George Mason Memorial Bridge George Mason High School 18 - cent postage stamp Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Revolution patriots Wilson v. Mason Hollin Hall Woodbridge plantation Mason 's Island Family George Mason V ( son ) William Mason ( son ) Thomson Mason ( son ) John Mason ( son ) Thomas Mason ( son ) George Mason III ( father ) Thomson Mason ( brother ) George Mason II ( grandfather ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=All_men_are_created_equal&oldid=823322151 '' Categories : Concepts in ethics Egalitarianism Human rights concepts Political catchphrases English phrases United States Declaration of Independence Ethical principles Humanism Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Latina Română 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 January 2018, at 15 : 33. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who said we hold the truths to be self evident
Answer: Benjamin Franklin