Over 200 years ago, the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were written, signed, and set into motion to establish the morals of the country and the protected rights bestowed onto the nation’s citizens. 

The famous slate, “We the People of the United States…” stated in the Constitution, was written to create the foundation of our federal government and ensure the rights and liberties of the people. 

The backbone of the American government, the Bill of Rights, and all the amendments and clauses are and were established to protect human beings’ liberties, rights, life and freedom, especially against the federal government. 

The Founding Fathers, and a lot of the politicians at the time, wrote many documents descripting government power and the rights of the people. They were the leaders that fought for America and its people. 

This leads into a question: when orchestrating one of the famous revolutions in history, writing highly intellectual documents and actively fighting for the freedom of the people, what group were the so-called Founding Fathers talking about in particular? 

I think it is quite fair to say they were aiming more toward the human rights of a white cisgendered man. It is very known that not only the founding fathers, but many of our “early-on” presidents owned slaves. 

When mentioning that many presidents and politicians back then owned slaves, there are people who quickly make the argument that “times were different back then”, which I find to be a very out of touch response. It’s interesting when people use that as a response to the statement, almost coming across as a defense. 

I am not saying people defend our founding fathers and early presidents for owning slaves, but acknowledging that fact shouldn’t feel like an argument. 

Actively restating or resaying the phrase “times were different then” as a retort to an historical observation can lead to an erasement of our country’s history, which can be very detrimental. 

Twelve out of eighteen of our presidents between the time of 1789 and 1877 had owned slaves. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses Grant all owned slaves. 

It is extremely ironic that all believed in the individual freedom of a human being, but owned enslaved people. There is importance in being conscious of the fact that many if not maybe all of those presidents and founding fathers were in fact very intellectual men. Looking at our country’s Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the amendments, there is no denying the fact that the men who wrote those and set up our government were not stupid men. 

You can acknowledge the fact that they were brilliant but also that they were not good people. You can not choose to remember one side of history and forget the other just because you don’t like it or the fact that it ruins your perception of a person.

The statement “times were different then” is very distasteful and is a saying of many that can be harmful towards the education of our country’s history. 

It takes away from the fact that presidents, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln did not own enslaved people. Now, of course, these people were not perfect by any means either, but most of them did not agree with slavery. 

Since this country has been established there has always been a fight for the rights of human beings. The idea that saying “times were different then” towards the negative aspect of history can diminish the fact that there has always been a fight for change and for the freedom of all in America. 

Knowing both the good and bad of history will avoid the possibility of erasing history, which can absolutely destroy our progress and cause us to forget the continual improvement that needs to happen.