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All men are created equal
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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."[1][2] 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.[3]
Contents
[hide]
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[edit]
Thomas Jefferson, at the age of 33, may have also borrowed the expression from an Italian friend and neighbor, Philip Mazzei,[4] as noted by Joint Resolution 175 of the 103rd Congress as well as by John F. Kennedy in A Nation of Immigrants.[5][6]
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;[7]
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 cannot 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.[8]
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 cannot, 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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11] 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".[12]
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.[13]
Slavery and the phrase[edit]
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 criticizing 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.[14] In 1776, abolitionist Thomas Day wrote:
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.[14]
Criticism[edit]
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.[15]
Legacy[edit]
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".[16][17][18]
See also[edit]
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[edit]
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: a b 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.
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Letter Addressed to the Commonalty of Scotland by John Knox, 1558 – an early historical occurrence of the phrase "all men are equal"
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text:
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
First edition
Author
Judy Blume
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Young adult
Publisher
Yearling
Publication date
1970
Media type
Print
Pages
149 pp
ISBN
0-440-40419-3
OCLC
19882286
LC Class
MLCS 2006/13809 (P)
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is a 1970 book by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a young adult novel, about a sixth-grade girl who has grown up without a religious affiliation, due to her parents' interfaith marriage. The novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts typical issues faced by early adolescent girls going through puberty, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, and feeling attracted to certain boys. The novel has been frequently challenged since the 1980s due to its frank discussions of sexual and religious topics.[1][2][3][4]
Contents
1 Background
2 Plot
3 Main characters
4 Awards
5 Censorship
6 Subsequent book
7 Film adaptation
8 References
9 External links
Background[edit]
Judy Blume has said that the character of Margaret was inspired by her own experiences in sixth grade. Like Margaret, Blume did not physically mature at the same rate as her classmates, and tried exercises to get her bust to grow. Like Margaret, Blume also had "a very personal relationship with God". However, Blume said that Margaret's family life grew from Blume's imagination, as her own family was very different from the one portrayed in the book.[5]
Plot[edit]
Margaret Simon is just eleven going on twelve when her family moves from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish. Margaret has been raised without an affiliation to either faith, and does not practice an organized religion, although she frequently prays to God in her own words, beginning by saying, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." She is beginning to feel uncomfortable with her lack of a religious affiliation. For a school assignment, she chooses to study people's religious beliefs, hoping to resolve the question of her own religion in the process. Part of her study involves attending different churches, to better understand religious practice and also to see if one of the churches might feel right for her.
Margaret befriends Nancy, a neighbor girl her own age who seems confident and knowledgeable about many subjects, including sex. Nancy, Margaret, and two other girls, Gretchen and Janie, form a secret club where they discuss subjects like boys, bras and periods. The girls anxiously await their first periods, prepare in advance by buying belted sanitary napkins (changed to adhesive pads in later editions of the book), and do exercises in hopes of increasing their bust measurements. Gretchen and Nancy begin to menstruate, causing Margaret to worry that she herself is abnormal for not having started yet. Margaret envies her classmate Laura Danker who, unlike herself, already has a womanly figure and, according to Nancy, is involved with a handsome older boy. Margaret is also attracted to a popular boy in her class named Philip Leroy and kisses him at a party while playing Two Minutes in the Closet (a game similar to Seven Minutes in Heaven). Over time, Margaret discovers that her seemingly confident friend Nancy has her own insecurities and doesn't always tell the truth (she had told Margaret she got her first period on a vacation before she really did later at a restaurant with her), which puts Margaret in several uncomfortable situations.
Margaret's exploration of religion leads to conflict with both sides of her family. She enjoys spending time with her Jewish paternal grandmother, who loves her as she is. However, when Margaret joins her at a synagogue on Rosh Hashanah in order to see what the Jewish faith entails, her grandmother begins to push Margaret to embrace Judaism, which frustrates Margaret as she feels that religion should not matter if she and her grandmother love each other. Margaret's fundamentalist Christian maternal grandparents, who have been estranged from her mother for 14 years due to their disapproval of interfaith marriage, suddenly decide to visit, but a family argument erupts over religion. In frustration, Margaret declares that she doesn't believe in God and rejects both parents' religions. She gives up on God and stops talking to him. At the end of her study project, she has not been able to resolve her religious situation as she had hoped, but has learned about herself and become more comfortable with her lack of affiliation. She then gets her first period and, relieved and happy, resumes her previous relationship with God, saying, "I know you're there God. I know you wouldn't have missed this for anything! Thank you God. Thanks an awful lot…"
Main characters[edit]
Margaret Simon: The protagonist of the book. She is an only child going through puberty and beginning to notice boys, and she is uncertain of which religion she prefers to follow. The book ends with Margaret getting her period, as she is the third of her friends to get it.
Barbara Simon (née Hutchins): Margaret's Christian mother, who is a housewife and likes to paint.
Herbert Simon: Margaret's Jewish father, who is an insurance salesman.
Sylvia Simon: Herbert's mother and Margaret's grandmother. She refers to Margaret as "my Margaret." She wants Margaret to embrace Judaism.
Nancy Wheeler: Margaret's neighbor and her first new friend in Farbrook, New Jersey. She is the second of the four to get her period.
Gretchen Potter: A friend of Nancy's whose father is a doctor, and who is a member of the Four PTS's. She is the first of the four to get her period.
Janie Loomis: Another girl in the Four PTS's with Nancy, Gretchen, and Margaret. She is the last of the four to get her period.
Evan Wheeler: Nancy's older brother.
Moose Freed: Evan's friend, in whom Margaret takes a great interest.
Miles J. Benedict Jr.: Margaret's sixth-grade teacher, who is in his first teaching job.
Laura Danker: A classmate of Margaret's who is tall and very developed for her age.
Phillip Leroy: A classmate of Margaret's whom she initially likes.
Mary and Paul Hutchins: Barbara's fundamentalist Christian parents, who disown her for her interfaith marriage. They want Margaret to embrace Christianity.
Awards[edit]
In 2010, the book was placed on Time's list of the top 100 fiction books written in English since 1923. The magazine wrote, "Blume turned millions of pre-teens into readers. She did it by asking the right questions—and avoiding pat, easy answers."[6]
Censorship[edit]
Starting in the 1980s, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret became a frequent target of challenges, often due to its discussions of sex or allegations that it contained profane or anti-Christian material.[1][3] On the American Library Association (ALA) list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of the 1990s, the book was number 60,[7] and on the ALA's list for the 2000s, it ranked at 99.[8]
Subsequent book[edit]
Blume's success with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret inspired her to write another book, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, from a boy's perspective. This novel deals with Tony Miglione, a boy of the same age as Margaret who is dealing with puberty as well, although his transition from childhood to adulthood is quite different from Margaret's.
Film adaptation[edit]
In October 2018, it was announced that a film adaptation of the book was in early stages of development. The Edge of Seventeen's James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig will produce the film, with Fremon Craig writing and directing the project. Gracie Films will produce the film.[9]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret". deletecensorship.org. Half Price Books. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
Jump up ^ "Most Frequently Challenged Authors of the 21st Century". ALA.org. American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2016-09-05. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
^ Jump up to: a b Blume, Judy. "Judy Blume on the Web: Judy Blume Talks About Censorship". judyblume.com. Judy Blume. Archived from the original on 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
Jump up ^ Knox, Emily J.M. (2015). Book Banning in 21st-Century America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. vii. ISBN 9781442231689.
Jump up ^ Blume, Judy. "Judy Blume on the Web: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret". judyblume.com. Judy Blume. Archived from the original on 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev (6 January 2010). "All Time 100 Novels". Time Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
Jump up ^ "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 1990–1999". ALA.org. American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
Jump up ^ "Top 100 Banned/ Challenged Books: 2000-2009". ALA.org. American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
Jump up ^ Mike Fleming, Jr. (October 17, 2018). "Judy Blume Grants 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' Screen Rights To James L. Brooks & Kelly Fremon Craig". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
External links[edit]
Children's literature portal
1970s portal
Novels portal
Judy Blume's website
Works by or about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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Works by Judy Blume
Fudge series
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Superfudge
Fudge-a-Mania
Double Fudge
Characters
Novels
The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo
Iggie's House
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Then Again, Maybe I Won't
Freckle Juice
It's Not the End of the World
Deenie
Blubber
Forever...
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
Wifey
Tiger Eyes
Smart Women
Just as Long as We're Together
Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
Summer Sisters
In The Unlikely Event
Non-fiction and others
The Judy Blume Diary
Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You
The Pain and the Great One
Places I Never Meant to Be
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values: Bist du da, Gott? Ich bin’s, Margaret – German

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