Essay on Declaration of Independence of Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth

On Declaration of Independence of Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions and Stefanie Coontz Too Close for Comfort - Essay Example , was marred by injustices and oppression against different groups who denied equal treatment in matters concerning, taxes, property ownership, and professional development. After Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of independence, Americans took over their country form the British and set out to govern themselves with a predefined set of democratic principles as established in the declaration and constitution. Nonetheless, several groups, especially women remained disenfranchised of their rights with the constitution guarantees for â€Å"all men†. Like many works written before it and after it, the declaration was written in masculine pronoun and as such assuming that women cannot be party to the contents, possibly since they are considered subordinate to men. As a reaction to the American treatment of women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted her own version of the declaration of independence. She did this deliberately in the format of Jefferson’s declaration with the intention of attracting the attention of the American public. She was cognizant of the fact that, America’s historical situation had paradigmatically changed and several of the assumptions under which the declaration existed in were not applicable or acceptable to latter day women. This paper examines the two declarations by contrasting and comparing, in order to understand Elizabeth Stanton’s motiva tion for writing and the way it highlighted the inequalities that were tolerated in the declaration of independence. In her declaration, Stanton revisits the landmark lines in the declaration of independence â€Å"we hold that all men are equal† and rewrites the words in to â€Å"we hold that all men and women are equal† (1776). As afore mentioned, the declaration of independence was addressed to the British king who had kept America under his dominance for tens of years, however, the declaration of sentiment was directed to the male oppressors and hence the â€Å"He† used therein is in reference to