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: Equality
Enough Talk about Race
Enough Talk about Race Chief Justice Roger Taney’s 1857 decision in the Dred Scott case shifted the national discussion from slavery to race, and we’ve been talking about race ever since. Group therapy to deal with our personal discriminations … Continue reading
Posted in Dignity, Economy, Equality
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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
“We Have Met the Enemy . . . “
“We Have Met the Enemy . . .” I have long puzzled over the difficulty we have had talking about the causes of increased inequality. Those in favor of current distributions have managed to control the terms of discussion. Their … Continue reading
Gildered: Why the Rich Could Steal America
The great story of American life over the past 40 years is the rising political power of wealth, both personal and corporate. The process is central to our cultural adjustment to the 1960s. We celebrate the enhancement in the 1960s … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Equality, White male Status
Tagged American Myths, George Gilder, Supply Side Economics
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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
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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 