Context

This line was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776).

In 1776, Americans were sick of being under the heel of England...specifically King George III's. So Congress assigned Thomas Jefferson the task of drafting a declaration of independence. And boy, did he. He created a document so important that we now have to capitalize it. One of the many things Jefferson's declaration… er, declared was that "all men are created equal." Being a 1700s slave-owner, Thomas Jefferson clearly meant only white men (although, he did criticize slavery in his original draft).

Also, he really did just mean men—no girls allowed. Rude.

Where you've heard it

You've heard this when talking about equality or on the Fourth of July, celebrating America's independence, which was first heralded by this historic document.

Additional Notable References:

• Ol' Abe Lincoln dropped a reference to the Declaration in his Gettysburg Address, using the "all men are created equal" line in reference to the struggle of the Civil War.
• This person thinks about the quote from a Biblical perspective.
• And this person considers the issue from an economic and healthcare perspective.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

As long as you're using this quote to literally mean that all human beings—all of them—are created equal, this is one of the least pretentious quotes out there; however, this person makes an interesting, if controversial, counterargument.