Well, Dennis, that's an interesting idea. I don't think it works that way, but it's an interesting thought, anyway. The problem is practicality. Even the slickest politico can't control whether/how any given set of words will be defined by those who subsequently write about those words; nor whether the original meaning will be perceived, unchanged, over time.

In other words, those words "set in stone" (such as the U.S. Constitution and the DoI or even the Holy Bible, for that matter) aren't really "set in stone" except for their actual wording ... because the interpretation of the meanings often evolve in the public perception over time to a greater or lesser extent.

My own take on it is, that (like Biblical verses), the trick is to take it all in context to make better sense of it. In my original example (all men are created equal), in the DoI, either Jefferson was referring to literally all races and genders or he wasn't. It makes no sense at all to me that he was referring, even in a legal sense, to all races and genders as being "created equal" given the "context" of both his own life and the existing view of non-equality of women and non-white races with white males.

Regards,
Penny