The US Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". Was it valid (linguistically) to refer to men and women as "men" in 1776? [closed]

"Man" can definitely refer to a male or female person. Can "Men" refer as well to males and females, or is it only the plural of a male person?

I'm asking this because the United States Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". I'm wondering whether it refers literally to "male men", and if not, whether it is a correct form to refer to women too.

I'm interested in the dictionary meaning, not in the politically correct side. So my question boils down to this:

“In 1776, when one said 'men', could that mean also 'women and men'”?

Julia Ward Howe, the (female) writer for the 1861 lyrics of the Battle Hymn of the Republic used the word "men". Surely she meant to include herself among them.

He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgement seat;

...

With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;

At the time, the word "men" could refer to both men and women in the abstract. So "all men are created equal" includes both men and women.

On the other hand, "men" used to refer to an specific group of individuals refers to male persons only. If you read, "the men rose to their feet and applauded," then the implication is that each person applauding is male because you're referring to a specific group of people. If the audience were mixed-gender, then you would have to write "the people" or "the audience" instead of "the men."

The same holds for the singular: if you read "no man could object to this idea," then it's referring to people in the abstract and this includes both men and women. However, if you read, "A man knocked on my door this morning," then that's referring to a specific man and we know that it was not a woman.