On the 4th of July, 76 men put their names to a document that would change the course of world history.

Its opening lines announced not merely a rebellion against Britain, but a new vision of politics and human rights.

It begins, we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by

their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit

of happiness. Words so powerful, they are still being discussed, debated, contested, in some

cases violently, over 250 years later.

But here's the thing. The men who wrote those words didn't entirely believe them themselves.

So today we're going to look at the Declaration of Independence itself, who actually wrote it, what it actually meant, and what was conveniently

left out. Thomas Jefferson, who coined that iconic phrase, we hold these truths to be self-evident,

and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, himself owned over 180 enslaved people

when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock was, by British

customs officials' own description, running one of the largest criminal smuggling operations

in the colonies. A famous phrase, all men are created equal. This has had a few parts

of the population too. It doesn't mention women. It doesn't mention indigenous peoples,

and it absolutely doesn't mention one of the five Americans at that time who were enslaved.

So was the Declaration a noble statement of universal human rights that just accidentally left a few

people out? Or was it one of the most successful and cynical rebranding exercises

in political history?

Hello and welcome to a new episode of Legacy. I'm Peter Frank Eurne. I'm Afrohash.

And this is Legacy, the show that explores the lives, events and ideas that have shaped

our world,

and asks whether they have the reputations that they truly deserve.

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