Declaration of independence; what defines a man

[lemondiesel]

sorry don’t really know where to stick this thread, move if trolling this section.

there are varieties in the race of man, distinguished by their powers both body and mind. i believe there are, as i see to be the case in the races of other animals." jefferson

• They seem to require less sleep. A black, after hard labor through the day, will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the morning.
• Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior … and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.
• many have been brought up to the handicraft arts, and from that circumstance have always been associated with the whites. Some have been liberally educated, and all have lived in countries where the arts and sciences are cultivated to a considerable degree
• The Indians, with no advantages of this kind, will often carve figures on their pipes not destitute of design and merit. They will crayon out an animal, a plant, or a country, so as to prove the existence of a germ in their minds which only wants cultivation.
• I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind.

did he know this issue would eventually become a political issue, therefore tried to find justification with an objective philosophical/scientific method of approach. its not like slavery was a new issue, nor was liberating slaves.

he makes a distinction between africa and american blacks, saying no need to focus on africa. he finds that american blacks are entirely different. yet isn’t this due to forced labor and no education over many generations? africa has many indigenous tribes, just like the native americans. but because they are products of american slavery, does that really make them inferior?

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.

what defines a man. should our physical and mental differences really separate us?

“that the way to silence religious disputes, is to take no notice of them.”

shouldn’t this be a universal concept? “the way to silence racial disputes, is to take no notice of them.” i’m awestruck that this has been summed up as “that’s just how it was back then.”

forgive me for not accepting the extraordinary ‘enlightened states’ of our founders. this pov is a dinosaur.

 

[tonyrey]

If Jefferson had been black I bet he would have piped a different tune!

 

[The_Joe]

You forgot to bring up the fact that Jefferson wanted to write property instead of pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence, but he knew slavery would never had been abolished had he written that instead. Also, blacks were slave owners as well. Sort of like how blacks are still forced to live as slaves in Africa to this day. Remember the movie Blood Diamond? The Confederacy had nothing to do with that film. I’m also not going to not bring up the fact that the British are assisting the rebels in Libya to kill blacks living in that country.

As for what Jefferson wrote about the mental capabilities concerning blacks and natives, I suggest reading Turning the Solomon Key by Robert Lomas. It has a few chapters about the migrational habits having something to do with brain development. Like Jefferson, it’s a Freemason thing. It also talks about how Washington help start the design of America for a New Jerusalem being on the plains of America.

 

[MindOverMatter2]

What defines a Man? According to western women its the size of his wallet and his ahem!!