Analysis of America's Refusal to Recognize Haiti

The American Revolution was influenced by the enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality, and was supposedly fought for "liberty and justice for all." However, a true analysis of America's interpretation of "freedom" reveals America’s hypocrisy and abuse of the concept of freedom. Early American leaders had the audacity to support the idea of "freedom", yet pick it apart and choose those aspects that supported their campaigns for power. American colonists declared independency from Britain on the basis of freedom for all, yet early America refused to grant its people the very thing upon which the country it founded. Thomas Jefferson's refusal to acknowledge Haiti as an independent nation is the epitome of America's abuse of the concept of freedom. While they treasured freedom and used it as an excuse to gain independence from Britain, Americans threw the idea to the side when in conflicted with their economic interests. Jefferson (a slave owner himself) wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," (Declaration of Independence , 1776) yet his blatant ignorance to the rights of slaves proves his abuse of the term "freedom." Jefferson's clear gap in morals and in the belief of freedom suggests that his use of the term in the Declaration of Independence was merely an excuse for America to argue its independence and ensure it's economic stability. When Jefferson refused to acknowledge free slaves in Haiti, he became the ultimate hypocrite; one that praised freedom, but cast away the idea on which his country was founded for the preservation wealth and power.

*Image is an American comic that, in defense of slavery, depicted the concept as "fun" for slaves. -http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/scripts/sia/gallery.cgi?collection=politicsdefense