Introduction

The Declaration of Independence famously states that “all men are created equal.” But in 1776, “men” didn’t mean everyone.

It did not include women.

It did not include poor white men without property.

It did not include enslaved Africans or free Black people.

It did not include Indigenous nations.

It did not include children, servants, or foreigners.

This page explores how the Declaration, though written in universal language, was crafted for a very narrow audience—white, landowning men—and how its lofty promises were never meant to apply to the majority of human beings living in the colonies.

The Property Requirement: Democracy for the Few

At the time of the Declaration:

• The right to vote was restricted to white male property owners, often requiring specific levels of wealth or land.

• In some colonies, only Protestants could hold public office.

• Poor white laborers, artisans, tenant farmers, and indentured servants—who made up a large portion of the population—had no political voice.

For the signers, “liberty” meant the right to participate in government—but only for those with a financial stake in society.

The idea that all citizens could vote or hold office would have been seen by many elites as dangerous or even absurd.

Women: The Silent Half

Women are not mentioned anywhere in the Declaration. In 1776, they were:

• Legally under the authority of their husbands or fathers (coverture laws).

• Unable to vote, own property freely, or initiate divorce in most colonies.

• Denied access to higher education and public political discourse.

Even prominent voices like Abigail Adams, who famously wrote to her husband John Adams to “remember the ladies,” were ignored.

The revolutionary ideals of consent and equality were explicitly denied to half the population, not just in practice, but in theory.

Free Black People and Mixed-Race Residents

While slavery is often the focus of critique, even free Black individuals faced systemic exclusion:

• They were denied citizenship under many state constitutions after independence.

• Laws prohibited them from owning firearms, testifying in court, or assembling freely.

• In some states, they were forced to carry “freedom papers” at all times.

The Declaration’s silence on race was not neutrality—it was complicity in a system that equated whiteness with humanity.

Servants, Immigrants, and “Undesirables”

Indentured servants—white and nonwhite—were often beaten, sold, and legally powerless during their contracts.

Other groups considered “undesirable,” including:

• Catholics,

• non-English speakers,

• and political dissidents,

were treated with suspicion or hostility. Some faced internal exile or religious restrictions, despite the Declaration’s claims to moral universality.

The idea of “a people” rising against a king sounds collective—but in practice, it excluded those who didn’t fit the dominant culture or economy.

Conclusion: A Revolution for Some

The Declaration gave birth to a new political identity—but one built on exclusion. For all its talk of universal rights, its reality was limited by race, gender, wealth, and conformity.

The founding was not a betrayal of its principles. It was a narrow realization of them—for the few who wrote the rules.

Only by naming those who were left out can we begin to understand the cost of a freedom designed from the start not to be shared.