Primary Documents
- 01. Declaration of Independence
- 02. Constitution of the United States
- 03. Dred Scott Decision (Abridged)
- 04. Dred Scott Decision (Full Text)
- 05. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
- 06. William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" Speech
- 07. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech
- 08. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society Speech"
- 09. Barack Obama's "We the People" Speech
- 10. Declaration of the Rights of Man (France,1789)
- 11. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Category Archives: Declaration of Independence
IT CAN HAPPEN HERE U.S. politics today are not democratic politics. Economic power is political power, and in the United States many of the holders of economic power have ceased to engage in democratic politics. Raw economic power has transformed … Continue reading
Gerald Horne’s “The Counter-Revolution of 1776”
Gerald Horne’s basic thesis is implicit in his title: the real revolution of the 1770s was the British turn against slavery represented by the Somerset case of 1772, and the rebellion in the North American colonies was a counter-revolutionary reaction … Continue reading
The Declaration, the Constitution, and Equality
“With respect to equality one should not understand the word to mean that the degrees of power and wealth are absolutely identical . . . but that no citizen should be rich enough to buy another and none so poor … Continue reading
CHARLES L. BLACK: A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM: HUMAN RIGHTS, NAMED AND UNNAMED.
A friend just brought this 1997 book to my attention. Charles Black was a professor of constitutional law at Yale for much of the last half of the twentieth century. This small book presents for general readers his arguments for … Continue reading
Posted in Declaration of Independence, Human Rights, U.S. Constitution
Tagged Hugo Black
Leave a comment
The Pursuit of Happiness
“The pursuit of happiness.” This well known phrase from the Declaration of Independence has always called up for me visions of a lecherous older man chasing after a voluptuous, scantily clad nymphet. That image is not too far afield from … Continue reading
Posted in Declaration of Independence, Rankism
Tagged Dignity, Pursuit of Happiness, Robert Fuller
Leave a comment
Originalism and the Declaration of Independence
For years we have been subjected to claims that the Supreme Court should always discern the “original intent” of the framers. The absurdity of the idea has been pointed out many times but to little effect, largely because no intellectually … Continue reading
Posted in Declaration of Independence, Equality, U.S. Constitution
Tagged Originalism, Steven Bryer
Leave a comment
ROBERT FULLER: SOMEBODIES AND NOBODIES
The abuse of rank–“rankism”–is the destructive “mosther of Isms.” Rankism assaults the dignity of the victim. Since dignity is the essential element of human equality, rankism is a threat to democracy. Continue reading
Posted in Book Review, Declaration of Independence, Dignity, Rankism, Robert Fuller
Tagged Dignity, Robert Fuller
1 Comment
On Equality
The people and government of the United States continue to have a profound interest in human equality. The legitimacy of our government depends on human equality, the equal right of all to live with dignity. In the political philosophy of … Continue reading
Perfecting Our Union 