Talk:Philip Mazzei

Does some one Help me to improve this page about this Italian American poitical philosopher? Thank you

Yes, I'd like to help. I need to learn some more about Wikipedia and how to contribute appropriately. J.L. 173.48.102.95 (talk) 20:14, 22 September 2016 (UTC) justin lancaster

There are some Spanish sentences at the end of the biography section. Can someone translate or delete them? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.88.241.8 (talk) 10:46, 9 March 2017 (UTC)

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I'm struggling to find reliable sources to support the WP:EXCEPTIONAL claim that Jefferson incorporated essentially intact Mazzei's 1774 sentence, "All men are by nature equally free and independent". If I'm not mistaken, the sources cited in support of this claim are:

• Kennedy, John F. (1958). A Nation of Immigrants. New York: Harper & Brothers. The great doctrine 'All men are created equal' and incorporated into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writing of Philip Mazzei.
• "H.J.Res.175 – Designating October 1993 and October 1994 as "Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month"". Congress.gov. United States Congress. 1994. Retrieved 17 June 2025. Whereas the phrase in the Declaration of Independence "All men are created equal", was suggested by the Italian patriot and immigrant Philip Mazzei.

Both sources are weak and don't qualify as WP:SCHOLARSHIP.

On the other hand, a couple of good sources on Mazzei don't claim that he had any influence on the the drafting of the Independence Declaration:

• Marraro, Howard R. (1934). "Mazzei, Filippo". Enciclopedia Italiana (in Italian). Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• Bowman, Rebecca (October 1997). "Philip Mazzei". Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 June 2025.

Reference works on the Declaration of Independence do not mention any significant contribution by Mazzei:

• Wills, Garry (1978). Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-08976-7, which mentions Mazzei only once as a correspondent of Jefferson, and makes no reference to Mazzei’s influence on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence).
• Maier, Pauline (1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307791955, which doesn't mention Mazzei at all.

Gitz (talk) (contribs) 12:39, 17 June 2025 (UTC)

No replies, so I'll be removing the controversial content from this and other articles where it was added, per WP:SILENCE. Gitz (talk) (contribs) 08:34, 25 June 2025 (UTC)