Cora had heard Michael recite the Declaration of Independence back on the Randall plantation many times, his voice drifting through the village like an angry phantom. She didn't understand the words, most of them at any rate, but 'created equal' was not lost on her. The white men who wrote it didn't understand it either, if 'all men' did not truly mean all men. Colson Whitehead
About This Quote

"All men are created equal. Their inalienable rights include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As a child, I often heard my parents recite these words, but I never understood the importance of the words until I read this quote. It was not until I read this quote that I understood what it meant to be an American citizen. The "all men" were not just referring to white men, but black men as well.

This declaration stood for everyone in our country, whether they were African-American or white. This quote is very important because it promotes equality in our society.

Source: The Underground Railroad

Some Similar Quotes
  1. It’s probably not just by chance that I’m alone. It would be very hard for a man to live with me, unless he’s terribly strong. And if he’s stronger than I, I’m the one who can’t live with him. … I’m neither smart nor stupid,... - Coco Chanel
  2. I am not an angel, ' I asserted; 'and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me - for you will not get it, any more than I shall... - Unknown
  3. The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. - David Foster Wallace
  4. They say a good love is one that sits you down, gives you a drink of water, and pats you on top of the head. But I say a good love is one that casts you into the wind, sets you ablaze, makes you burn... - C. Joybell C.
  5. Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens - Tony Deliso
More Quotes By Colson Whitehead
  1. See chains on another person and be glad they are not your own--such was the good fortune permitted colored people, defined by how much worse it could be at any moment.
  2. I can't blame modern technology for my predilection for distraction, not after all the hours I've spent watching lost balloons disappear into the clouds. I did it before the Internet, and I'll do it after the apocalypse, assuming we still have helium and weak-gripped children.
  3. We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them.
  4. The word we. We are not one people but many different people. How can one person speak for this great, beautiful race--which is not one race but many, with a million desires and hopes and wished for ourselves and our children?
  5. And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes--believes with all its heart--that it is their right to take the land. To kill Indians. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn't exist, if there is any justice in...
Related Topics