Robin D.G. Kelley on the Hypocrisy of the Declaration of Independence

[Uncle Joe]

Ahead of the July Fourth holiday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we speak with the acclaimed scholar Robin D. G. Kelley, who examines how Black radicals have interpreted the document throughout U.S. history in a new essay for Hammer & Hope. Although the declaration famously asserts that "all men are created equal," Kelley says that clearly did not extend to Indigenous or enslaved Black people. "When the drafters developed this declaration, they assumed that human beings were basically white men," he says. But despite the "hypocrisy" of the declaration, many Black radicals still found value in its words, including a "justification for rebellion," says Kelley.

[ChicagoTeamster]

1. The British knew this and tried to use it to get slaves to turn against the Americans in the war of 1812.

The declaration of independance and the American revolution were just a vehicle for the Colonial leaders to advance from middle men to top dog and not pay out to the British overlords. They didn't want freedom for everybody. Not even for women or poor people. Initially only land owning males could vote. And of course the hypocrisy of the "free self-governed nation" having slaves.

But, the Constitution provided a framework for advancing that freedom which eventually led to the abolition of slavery, voting rights, workers rights, and Civil Rights which sadly still need enforcement.

Are modern day Europe and Canada now more free than the United States? Do we have too much freedom which leads to violence, substance abuse problems, and ripoff scams?

Everything is a work in progress. Which is why some people want to stop the progress and maintain the status quo for themselves and others like them. And the Constitution and our first amendment rights give us ways to counter that and keep progressing.