Equality, Concept of

While equality before the law is often considered the bedrock of the United States’ legal system, the concept is relatively new and was not guaranteed in the Constitution until the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment. In fact, the famous statement “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” appears in the Declaration of Independence and, it would seem, was purposely left out of the Constitution—due to tension around the issue of slavery. Even the phrasing in the Declaration of Independence explicitly excludes ...