In 1776 it was stated that our country was founded and based upon one simple truth "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights, which among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Though stated with a poetic justice, this statement did not hold true for all US citizens. .
America was founded on the belief that "all men were created equal". However the question must be posed; who constitutes "men" and what is "equal", and where do women fit into this picture and what about minorities. The Declaration of Independence serves as the framework for the rules that govern the people who fall beneath it. However, who were the architects of this infamous work? They were white, upper class, men, not women and not minorities. Immigrants from all parts of the world came to America to be free from persecution and terror; unfortunately, people were not free in America's own backyard. The question is why have hundreds of thousands of people left their homes to start fresh. The answer is quite simple, they have wanted a glimpse of what we call the American Dreams, but that look into a prosperous future was not for all people, and unfortunately women and minorities have had to look and fight the hardest for a chance to glimpse at that dream.
Throughout history the feminist movement sought to gain rights for women. Many feminist during the early nineteenth century fought for the abolition of slavery around the world. The slave narratives became a powerful feminist tool in the nineteenth century. Black and white women are fictionalized and objectified in the slave narratives. White women are idealized as pure, angelic, and chaste while black woman are idealized as exotic and contained an uncontrollable, savage sexuality. Harriet Jacobs" Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl brought the sexual oppression of captive black women into the public and political arena.
