The Greatest Lie in HistoryA line from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson says: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, which all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those words written on paper by our founding fathers and those words that define what people think about the United States of America are lies. Although these rights are granted to all of us from the moment we are born, the way our society is and has made this line of the Declaration of Independence a false statement. The examples of slavery, women's rights, bullying, and segregation all contradict these words that the United States is proud of. Slavery was a great example of a violation of our civil rights. Slavery was recorded and began in America in 1619, when the Jamestown colony began. It took about two hundred and fifty years for a man named Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation to free and abolish slavery, but slavery continued after the bill was signed. Slavery was a complete violation of civil rights by denying almost all slaves their social freedom and equality. Over the generations, the problem of slavery only got worse. When the founding fathers said that all men were equal, they meant that only white men would be treated equally and people of color would be treated as if they were worthless. The reason I chose slavery as an example of a civil rights violation is that I have a very strong hatred and strong opinion toward this dark stain in America's past. America's dark past shows how it was once a country of hatred and terror. ...... middle of paper ......d: no more segregation. I find their courage to fight in this way admirable and courageous. Even though this fight for equal rights in the face of racism appears to be over, racial stereotyping, profiling, and racism persist across America. Our society denies some people what the Founding Fathers promised the country: freedom and equality. Although issues like segregation and slavery have mostly been resolved, there are still issues of racism and stereotyping today. Violations of people's rights manifested themselves in slavery, the treatment of women and their rights, intimidation and segregation. Much of America has noticed these problems and has/is trying to fix them, but as long as we are all different, some of these problems will remain the same. Through some of these topics we can conclude that change is very difficult and many people are afraid of change..