All Men are Created Equally: A Contradiction Over the centuries america has fabricated the cultural mythology that all men are created equally. For years america has enforced that all men are created equally when in fact the statement itself is a contradiction. Years ago certain people could not vote because of slavery, race, and also gender. Also America has social classes that have always been vivid in american culture. Finally this cliche holds very little currency in this nation now. Before and during the era of the civil war, slavery was a huge issue for many reasons. One of the biggest issues was that even though they were heman and on american soil; they were not allowed to vote. At this time in history slaves were not able to vote because they were considered “Property.” “Slaves were considered property, and they were property because they were black. (“PBS.org”)” How is property supposed to vote, right? Even though they were considered property, they were still human. If all men were created equally, as the constitution stated, then the slaves should of had the right to vote. Unfortunately they did not obtain this right until 94 years later. After slavery was abolished, there was still a problem. Certain people were not allowed to vote because of their race and gender. Again, all of these humans are supposed to be created equally, yet because of race and gender they are denied basic human rights. It would take another 94 years until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for any of these people to be able to vote. So apparently all men are created equally unless they are a different gender or race. By living in america, you automatically become apart of a social class. America consists of four social classes: an upper class, working class, middle class, and finally a lower class.
Smith 2 James Smith English 101-28 Short Answer Response #3 09/12/2012
America should not even have social classes if all men are created equally. If all men are created equally, then everyone would be making the same amount of money, have the same education, and etc. This surely is not the case. “Results from these three research methods suggest that in the united states today, approximately 15 to 20 percent are in the poor, lower class; 30 to 40 percent are in the working class; 40 to 50 percent are in the middle class; and 1 to 3 percent are in the rich upper class. (“CliffsNotes”)” There is a wide variety of different people in different social classes. This fact completely contradicts that all men are created equally because clearly they are not if america divides itself into different social classes. This particular cliche holds very little currency in this nation today. It still has some value though; by this i mean anyone who is an actual citizen of the united states can vote. Other than that it holds no currency. This cliche still lingers around because it gives people a sense of satisfaction. It gives people satisfaction because they think that even though that person is richer than me, or is different from me in any way; we still have the same rights and same penalties. Therefore this phrase will stick around until people realize that it is a contradiction and cultural mythology; eventually they will become unsatisfied with it. America has fabricated that all men are created equally. As you read, you realized that the phrase itself is a cultural mythology and contradictory. There are countless other reasons why this cliche is contradictory. You now know that slavery, race, gender, and social class play a vital role in proving this.
Works Cited
Smith 3 James Smith English 101-28 Short Answer Response #3 09/12/2012
. "Conditions of Antebellum Slavery." PBS.org. PBS, 01 Aug 2012. Web. 12 Sep 2012. .
. "Types of Social Classes of People." CliffsNotes. CliffsNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Sep 2012. .
Cited: Smith 3 James Smith English 101-28 Short Answer Response #3 09/12/2012 . "Conditions of Antebellum Slavery." PBS.org. PBS, 01 Aug 2012. Web. 12 Sep 2012. . . "Types of Social Classes of People." CliffsNotes. CliffsNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Sep 2012. .
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