# data[].attributes.body
An unknown slave writes a letter to President Thomas Jefferson, demanding he move to abolish slavery. The slave provides many practical reasons for why Jefferson should do so, citing human rights, and utilizes their own experience to provide emotive persuasion. The article examines how the American government allowed people to own others, especially after the Revolution. It tells of how American leaders only expanded rights for “a wider group of white men.” The slave claims the existence of a slavery means a lack of human rights and individual liberty. They go on to mention the Decalaration, asking if slaves are not human, as the Declaration states that ALL MEN are created equal yet slaves do not have rights and citizenship. The slave also examines how “slavery is unjust, because it destroys the rights of women & children”.

“Slavery is unjust, as it destroys all the physical and commercial distinctions of labor and property. It is a mere monopoly of men, in all their abilities and services”.

The slave is scrutinizing of the way America biasts liberty, yet utilizes slavery: “If slavery has become so firmly established in this country, as not to be avoided or guarded against, or is such a pleasing object, as to be no longer odious and irreligious, but a source of happiness and prosperity, it’s high time for America to give up all pretensions to liberty and freedom, and acknowledge herself at once, a joint heir with John Bull”.

“Are not Our rites as well secured to us by every law of nature’s God as any man’s in the universe?“

The slave threatens the oppressive system multiple times. They also ask why those in power, in a free nation, wish to raise and educate their children in “such a tyrannical manner”.

The article concludes with the slave’s wish for unity.

# data[].attributes.body
David Walker develops a scathing critique of the American treatment of African Americans. He tells of his observations of the degradation of the African American people, by those claiming to be enlightened Christians. His outrage stretches to discussing how white people regard black people as something less than human, and asks how they have the audacity to do so when reducing them to “slaves under their feet”. He discusses Thomas Jefferson’s opinions in Notes on the State of Virginia, and how he views African Americans as inferior in body and mind. Walker notes that Jerfferson’s opinion has a far reach, due to his being so important and highly regarded. Walker also notes that Jefferson should be more intelligent than to hold this opinion on those who are chained, and have had no opportunity to demonstrate themselves “worthy”, or on par with the white men, as they’ve been stripped of the liberty and freedom to do so. Walker goes on to remark that white Americans treat black people as those devoid of souls, of spirits. Walker further seethes over how, while black people slave away to serve white people and millions of them are dying, this is only so because of the different hue of their skin. His writing is thick with religion, and he is outraged with the millions of those who believe god made African Americans to be the servants of white people.

“The whites have always been an unjust, jealous, unmerciful, avaricious and blood-thirsty set of beings, always seeking after power and authority.”

Walker recounts a preacher whose opinions aligned with the dehumanization black people were treated with, and remarks that the preacher would like those to believe his gospel is “that of peace and not of blood and whips, as this pretended preacher tried to make us believe.” Those who claim to subscribe to the Christian faith seem to be well versed in sin.

Walker tells of how slavery and its evils are not discussed in newspapers, as it is regarded as abhorrent and detrimental, even more so than the actual sins of the country.

“The Americans say, that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we grateful to them for — for murdering our fathers and mothers?”

Perhaps the most important part of Walker’s writing comes when he claims America as that of the African Americans: “America is more our country, then it is the whites-we have enriched it with our blood and tears. The greatest riches in America have arisen from our blood and tears”. “Americans have got some fat on our blood and groans”. As slaves, black people created America’s wealth - producing crops and goods that fueled the nation, labor and profit for no pay, often dying, generations kept in servitude, a race kept in oppression.

Walker believes graduation from this oppression and unity is achievable with god, despite what white people believe.

Walker moves to threats, challenging his powerful white oppressors. He claims those of his color will rise, despite the popular belief that they will be kept a well secured oppression.

Finally, and critically, Walker turns to the Declaration, demanding “Americans” notice their claims that “all men are created equal”  and are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are certainly not being granted to those who are being murdered without provocation.

We can notice, throughout Walker’s writing, who he defines as “Americans”.

# data[].attributes.body
Sarah Grimke reflects on man’s desire to dominate, and that the only other intelligent creature that existed was women. She tells of man’s use of women, diminishing her to an object without granting her the position her intelligence could fill. She claims that he had aimed to enslave their minds, meaning to keep women in a place that allowed for only the desires of men. Grimke claims John Quincy Adams placed women beside slaves, ranking them with the oppressed. She believes it will then be easy to prove that even in enlightened America, women’s existence is meant to solely serve man. She recognizes that men have made their moral and intellectual equals either slaves or dolls. She maintains that men and women are equal, despite men’s authority and women’s current position of degradation, equating their situation to that of the slaves. She says that god never meant for man to have unlimited power over his fellow man.

As women became more active in the public as they became responsible for educating children and more, Grimke reports that usefulness is now opened to her, and she feels as if she needs to combat the sins that plague their country (oppression). She concludes that her current history was teeming “with women’s wrong, and [was] wet with women’s tears”, so she must, for the sake of her gender as a whole, which suffers below men, encourage her fellow women to rise and fight for human rights, and equality to men.

# data[].attributes.body
This document describes Richard Allen’s journey in founding the first black Methodist church, then later on the “first organized black denomination in the United States, the African Methodist Episcopal Church”. Growing discrimination in churches, from white leaders towards black worshippers, led Allen to leave his current church and establish new ones for African Americans. They had been “dragged off of [their] knees, and treated worse than heathens … told [they] were not Methodists … bore much persecution from many of the Methodist connection … disowned by the Methodists”.

# data[].attributes.body
The Cherokee respectfully and civilly argue against their removal from American lands, citing that they had treaties with the American government that had promised coexistence and protection in exchange for conditions set by the American government. ’“An Act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers.’ The Cherokees were happy and prosperous under … the government of the United States, and from the fostering hand extended over them, they made rapid advances in civilization, morals, and in the arts and sciences. Little did they anticipate, that when taught to think and feel as the American citizen … they were to be despised by their guardian, to become strangers and wanderers in the land of their father, forced to return to the savage life, and to seek a new home in the wilds of the far west, and that without their consent.” The Cherokees and other Native Americans were forcibly removed, and despite what claim the government made was the reason for this, Native Americans were not deemed worthy of citizenship in the many powerful Americans’ eyes. In this excerpt, we can recognize that the Cherokees cater to what the Americans had previously wanted from them; a total reversal of culture, and distance from “savagery”.

# data[].attributes.body
Thomas Jefferson argues his dehumanizing and racist stance on black people and their position as slaves and beings. He provides what he deems as “scientific evidence” to justify his racism, and proclaims his “intelligence” on the subject to the citizens and legislators of America.

# data[].attributes.body
In her poem, essay, and letter to a friend, Judith Sargent Murray questions the prevalent belief of male superiority: “suffer me to ask, in what the minds of females are so notoriously deficient, or unequal.”

She undertakes “the ardous task of endeavouring to combat that vulgar, that almost universal errour [of] . . . The superiority of [men, which has] been time out of mind esteemed a truth incontrovertible”.

She asks “Are we deficient in reason? we can only reason from what we know, and if opportunity of acquiring knowledge hath been denied us, the inferiority of our sex cannot fairly be deduced from then . . . May we not trace its source in the difference of education, and continued advantages?”

She concludes that, given the opportunity and equal access to expand their education and experience, women can equal men in “intellectual powers [of] . . . imagination, reason, memory and judgment.”

# data[].attributes.body
“I have sometimes been ready to think that the passion for Liberty cannot be Eaquelly Strong in the Breasts of those who have been accustomed to deprive their fellow Creatures of theirs.” Here Abigail tells John of her thoughts that the passion that the new Americans (white men) hold for their liberty and independence from Britain cannot be justified, or as strong, while they are actively depriving other humans of their liberty (POC, women, etc).

“… and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.” Here Abigail tells John to work to make things more equal between men and women, providing them with more rights than their ancestors have. She contends that the women will rebel if lawmakers continue to create and uphold laws that deny women rights, and therefore strip them of their voice and representation.

# data[].attributes.body
In the convention of New York, the subject of suffrage was brought forth, and a proposition to include only white men when setting parameters for voting rights was discussed. The documentation of the discussion held in the convention includes a speaker examining the lack of rights people of color hold in America, stating that the proposition that all men are created free and equal only applies to them “in a state of nature, and not after the institution of civil government”. He claims that “On this principle the right of suffrage is extended to white men only.” He asks “Why, … are blacks to be excluded?” and provides the reasoning that “they are seldom, if ever, required to share in the common burdens or or defense of the State”. He goes on to say black people would not be able to appreciate civil liberty, and therefore would be “indifferent to its preservation”, and warns against allowing them to vote. The convention holds further discussions on whether people of color should be allowed to vote: “all who were not white ought to be excluded from political rights, because such persons were incapable of exercising them discreetly, and because they were particularly liable to be influenced and corrupted”.

# data[].attributes.body
This source provides a slaves perspective on an intricate level. As the slave demands justice, we can better understand the many parts of the different experience black slaves and white men had. We can better understand through this perspective how human rights, religion, and more were parts of a whole, the struggle to define, and in most cases, establish, citizenship.

# data[].attributes.body
The following sources can help us understand who the country was built to serve by providing us with firsthand accounts of discussions on who were considered citizens, arguments for who should have certain rights, and evidence for who made the decisions on what groups of people deserved these things. By analyzing these sources we can determine why marginalized groups lacked what others had, and why only some people were free. This can provide us with the knowledge on what was really meant by “we the people”.

# data[].attributes.body
As David Walker details the dehumanization and oppression of black people by white people, he is especially critical of those who claim to subscribe to Christianity. How can they be Christians when they do not treat slaves as people, or provide them with rights? He points out that the aspirations of the Declaration of Independence seem to be equality for all, yet this is far from reality. This can show that slaves or black people may not have even been considered as American, or human to this document. He also is critical of how America has been built on the blood, sweat, and tears of enslaved people of color, yet they are not provided with any opportunity to become citizens, or prove themselves equal with white people. They are abused, so of course they cannot do what white people can. Walker is furious that systemic racism and oppression pervade political leadership as well as common thought, as African Americans are denied basic human rights and are even dying due to inhumane treatment. Walker challenges the idea of black subservience that had become so prevalent through their lack of treatment as people, and their lack of citizenship.

# data[].attributes.body
Sarah Grimke’s thoughts demonstrate how women were oppressed, and trapped in a way. Her reflections on the injustice in the nation, of slaves, women, and others, tell us of her anger at how such oppression was allowed to continue in a nation that was supposedly advanced and enlightened. This helps us understand who believed the country was enlightened, and who the “advanced” nation served - white men. Her perscelgive goes to show how many groups of people recognized the wrongs of the country, and how many believed that the state of the republic could be changed. As Grimke says that she feels as if she can use education to combat the sins of the country, we can understand her goal to create a more equal society for marginalized groups.

# data[].attributes.body
This experience shows that even in a religion claiming to do good and abolish sin, black people were treated very differently from white. Even when trying to practice religion were black people devoid of the rights white people possessed. The hypocrisy of these actions demonstrates the lack of equality that every system of the republic was rife with.

# data[].attributes.body
This sources discusses the abominations of the slave trade.

“we see slavery existing to such an extent, and the slave trade carried on with such shocking cruelty, in a country which, throughout the world is famed for its freedom”.

While talking about affairs of the slave trade: “I trust that our government will not tax the blood and bones of Englishman for any such purpose, while Negroes, free as well as enslaved, can be killed with impunity in the United States“.

# data[].attributes.body
We can address the view of Native Americans as being “savage”, which led to their lack of citizenship as they were removed from American lands in favor of white settlers. Even though Native Americans had adapted and began to change their culture to fit white American expectations, they were still deprived of their rights, betrayed as they were forced out of their lands even in violation of treaties, and certainly not considered Americans.

# data[].attributes.body
The fact that Thomas Jefferson, a very important figure in this time period, holds these views, and even further publishes them, goes to show how accepted and how integrated these opinions were in America. We can expand on this in our Analytical Papers by using this evidence to define who were considered as people, how racist and dehumanizing views contributed to oppression, and more.

# data[].attributes.body
As Judith Sargent Murray questions the prevalent belief of male superiority and crafts arguments against this fallacy, she demonstrates the intellectual abilities of women.  She dismisses arguments that men are superior because they’re physically stronger (strength doesn't equal intelligence) or because the Bible seems to support male dominance (the Bible is metaphorical), arguing that women should not have the lack of rights they previously did. She attributes any seeming inferiority or difference in intelligence to women being denied equal access to education and experience. She concludes with the argument that women must be granted equal access to education and opportunity in order to fully develop their potential and equal men in all aspects.

# data[].attributes.body
We can use this in our Analytical Paper by using Abigail’s words to prove how women were marginalized during this time period, and how their oppression served to take away their rights. We can show how Abigail is frustrated that white men continue to hold all the power, and continue to make laws that strip rights always from marginalized groups.

# data[].attributes.body
This source helps us understand why white men believed depriving black men of rights, especially the right to vote, was justifiable. Prejudice played a large part in this discussion. The speaker above believed black men could not exercise the right to vote in a manner such as white men could, claiming that black men voting would subtract from the value of the nation.

# data[].attributes.body
This source juxtaposes the different experiences of black and white people, in a country famed for equality and liberation. While black men were chained and abused, white men exercised freedom that was meant for all Americans. We can then raise the question of ‘who were (considered) Americans?’ If freedom was meant for all Americans, black people must not have been considered Americans, and then, not even people at all. This directly correlates with so many people of color’s lack of rights and citizenship in this era. This worked because even though the Declaration stated that “all men were created equal”, white men were able to claim black people were not whole people, and therefore did not deserve equality through things such as rights, citizenship, freedom, or even humane treatment. The prejudice that fueled this ideal directly served the white people in power.

# data[].attributes.body
This sources documents a discussion of American slavery. On the subject of those who are supposed proponents of equal rights, but only for some: “… politicians calling themselves Democrats, and boasting of their love of equal rights, yet who, at the same time, have been bitter enemies of the anti-slavery cause”. The speaker goes on to state how members of Congress from a particular state voted with slave holders, and “their political conventions in legislative sessions have been marked by abuse and misrepresentation of abolitionists”.

Here a speaker claims that slavery in the South is only possible with the lack of slavery in the North, and the Northern states are responsible for the slavery in the South: “so that while the free states of the American Union consent to what they call the compromise of the constitution of the United States, they are responsible for the existence of slavery in the southern states”. “ The slave has no hopes for that from the northern states, for they are in connexxion with the slave states of America”.

When discussing why the slaves, who outnumber their slaveholders, cannot rise against their masters: “The people of United States are all pledged, bound by their oath, bound by their citizenship in the country, to bring their whole physical power to bear against the slave if such an event should arise”.

The speaker compares the state of the slave to that of a horse, and how if horses were being branded and tortured as slaves are, there would be outrage amongst Christians. “Yet, in the United States, human beings are thus branded”.

The speaker proposes that slavery is an American institution, not limited to only the slave states: “ The general government does after all give support to the institution of slavery as it exists in the slave states. An attempt has been made in this country to establish the conviction that the free states of the union have nothing whatever to do with the maintenance amd perpetuity of slavery in the southern states, and many persons coming from the United States have represented themselves as coming from the free states, and have shirked all responsibility in regard to slavery on this ground. Now, I am here to maintain that slavery is not only a matter belonging to the state south of the line, but is an American institution – a United States institution – a system that derives its support as well from the non-slaveholding states, as they are called, as from the slaveholding states.” He goes on to say that both regions benefit from this institution.

The speaker also attests to the fact that barbarity and extreme abuse towards the slave is necessary for him to exist as a slave, to remain as a slave.

# data[].attributes.body
This source provides a more in depth discussion on slavery. It details the hypocrisy of those who only desired equal rights for white people, and analyzes how slavery worked as an American institution. The discussion turns to the inhumane and dehumanizing treatment of slaves, and how this works to establish a slaves position, and keep them in this enslaved position. These topics help us understand how the intricacies of inequality worked to serve the people in power, and how well established this system was. It was designed to keep marginalized groups in places that they could not fully develop the citizenship and success that white men held.

# data[].attributes.body
This source is an appeal of “forty thousand citizens threatened with disenfranchisement, to the People of Pennsylvania”, meaning those who are threatened with the removal of their voting rights were appealing for this not to be realized.

This source discusses black citizenship and voting rights, asking “To what evidence does the Court refer to show that a colored man may not be a citizen?” and “What have we done to forfeit the inestimable benefits of this charter? Why should tax paying colored men, any more than other tax-payers, be deprived of the right of voting for their representatives?”

The speaker then addresses the establishment of the American government: “It was said in the Convention, that this government belongs to the Whites. We have already established our present government designed it equally for all. It is for you to decide whether it shall be confined to the European complexion in the future. Why should you exclude us from a fair participation in the benefits of the republic? Have we oppressed the whites?”

The speaker further challenges the possibility of their disenfranchisement due to supposed “idleness”, stating their work for their own livelihood. He also wants an investigation into such a proposal, stating that on the conscience and minds of every Pennsylvanian should be whether there ever was a group less deserving of disenfranchisement.

# data[].attributes.body
This source is helpful in the way that it is an appeal from a marginalized group, arguing against their disenfranchisement. This can help us understand how groups fought against their oppression. As these people argued for their rights, they discussed citizenship and provided many reasons for why they deserved both of these. They discuss the privileges white people hold in contrast to their own, and ask why they are any more deserving of these privileges than black people are.

# data[].attributes.body
The analysis on these documents, through observation and reflection, provided me with a basis for my analytical paper. Understanding what was meant by “we the people” in this era, proved by these accounts and arguments, will provide me with the information needed to break down what these sources really communicate. Not all people were free, not all people considered citizens, not all people were considered to be deserving of rights, and not all people were equal, despite what the country boasted, and claimed to be founded on. The sources present the information that white men, who held utmost power, decided through their own prejudice and selfishness, that this would be the reality of the nation.