In keeping with the QuACK goal of sharing exemplary work from the KnowItNow24x7 librarians, the following is an email transaction answered by the leave-a-message answering librarians. This month we recognize one of KIN24x7’s interns from Kent State University, Kris.

Kris has done a great job of circumventing the patron’s request for an opinion (“Do you think…”) and providing historical documents and a magazine article that directly address the question posed.

-- Original Question Entered by Guest --
Do you think women were included in the phrase "all men are created equal"? Use at least two historical references.

-- Kris’s Reply --

Hello,

This email is in response to your recent question to KnowItNow24x7, Ohio's statewide online reference service.

Two historical references you may consider using to support the idea that the phrase "all men are created equal" includes men and women are these:

The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It can be found on the Library of Congress website: http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/99/suffrage/seneca.html. This document argues that the rights set out in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution apply equally to men and women.

An article in The Atlantic Monthly notes that the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence include a paragraph about slavery which, if it had been included in the final version, would have made it clear that "Men" was being used in the sense of "mankind." An online rough draft is available at this URL (this link will take you to the page with the slavery paragraph, which was later removed): http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/archives/documents/ih198038.htm. It's also available on the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trt001.html. The Atlantic Monthly article can be found here: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/96oct/obrien/charactr.htm.

I hope this information helps answer your question. Thank you for using KnowItNow24x7.