"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." This was the start to Lincoln's famed Gettysburg address. The reference that the United States was created under the ideals of all men being created equal was in reference to The Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal..." Wrote Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson wrote the constitution, he thought about many questions: What is a good country? How should people live together as a nation? Should this new country have a monarchy or republic? How do we address slavery? Interestingly, at the time he was attended by a slave servant, Bob Hemmings, who served him tea as he worked (Sirene 37-38).
             The question we can ask ourselves today is; was the United States truly based on these statements? I believe this answer to be yes because the thoughts of the culture then have no relevance to the current culture that we live in today. Ethical egoism made him "hold [his] truths to be self-evident." Our culture has developed through time. People are open-minded and over time their views change. When we look back at the acts of Thomas Jefferson, we can state that his moral nature had the intent of good will and thus we can see his deed as a great act even by today's standards.
             An argument for Jefferson's racism towards African Americans can be that of Ethical Egoism. "We can justify treating people differently only if we can show that there is some factual difference between them that is relevant to justifying the difference in treatment (Rachels 94)." Ethical Egoism implies that Jefferson believed that there is a factual difference between African Americans and Caucasians. This excuse is not a viable excuse in the present, but back in 1776, it w...