That All Men Are Created Equal

I originally wrote this article for publication on July 4, 2004. At that time, I decided to start a new personal tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence every year on the anniversary of our nation’s independence. The following is the article I wrote for the 228th anniversary of United States independence, which still pertains today for the 230th anniversary.

On this 228th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America, I decided to start off my day by reading the words of the Declaration of Independence, a simple task I have not done in years, and I still find the first two paragraphs profound and striking.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The content of these two paragraphs—the foundation upon this great nation was birthed—is embodied with conservative philosophy. Rightfully so, as many of the influencers of this document were amongst the great conservative thinkers of that era.

While conservatives today are often ridiculed for their devotion to a higher being, conservatives of 1776 embraced God, and the influence of God is abundantly clear in the Declaration of Independence.

“All men are created equal,” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What does this really mean? Are we truly created equal? Do we all share the same rights?

What the thinkers behind the Declaration of Independence understood is what equality means–and what it doesn’t mean. John Adams, a premiere conservative thinker and signer of the Declaration of Independence, understood the meaning of equality. In a letter from John Adams to John Taylor, he wrote the following:

That all men are born to equal rights is clear. Every being has a right to his own, as clear, as moral, as sacred, as any other being has. This is as indubitable as a moral government in the universe. But to teach that all men are born with equal powers and faculties, to equal influence in society, to equal property and advantages through life, is as gross a fraud, as glaring an imposition on the credulity of the people, as ever was practiced by monks, by Druids, by Brahmins, by priests of the immortal Lama, or by the self-styled philosophers of the French revolution. For honor’s sake … for truth and virtue’s sake, let American philosophers and politicians despise it.

Have we forgotten the meaning the phrase “all men are created equal?” Has the message of America been lost after 228 years?

Adams firmly believed that we are born equal, meaning that as individuals, we are independent. As strongly as Adams believed in that equality, he believed in the inequality of man.

But what are we to understand here by equality? Are the citizens to be all of the same age, sex, size, strength, stature, activity, courage, hardiness, industry, patience, ingenuity, wealth, knowledge, fame, wit, temperance, constancy, and wisdom? Was there, or will there ever be, a nation, whose individuals were all equal, in natural and acquired qualities, in virtues, talents, and riches? The answer of all mankind must be in the negative. It must then be acknowledged, that in every state…there are inequalities which God and nature have planted there, and which no human legislator ever can eradicate.

On this July Fourth, it is important to remember that as Americans, we share equality and inequality. Our Independence Day is more than fireworks and barbecues and parades. Yesterday, I was in Gloucester, Massachusetts for a parade and fireworks display. The flags were on every post and every house. Little flags were handed out to the young children who know not the struggle of our founding fathers, and I suspect even a fair portion of the adults do not know the struggle either–perhaps an even larger percentage of them have never read the Declaration of Independence.

The Fourth of July is more than just waving Old Glory in blind repetition. We need to wave the flag high in the air, but we need to know why. As Americans, we need to read the Declaration of Independence, and try to understand why we celebrate today. We need to read the Declaration of Independence even after we graduate our educational institutions. We need to remember the meaning of the phrase “all men are created equal.” I pledge to read the Declaration of Independence at least every year on the fourth of July, and I urge everyone with a love of America to do the same, and remember the sacrifices our of founding fathers–and the sacrifices of our men in uniform, who are fighting to protect the ideas that our Founding Fathers eloquently put on paper.

It is on the fourth of July that we celebrate that we are all created equal. Perhaps while we celebrate our equality–our Independence–we should celebrate our inequality, too.

Aaron Margolis is a life long resident of the Bay State, and works at an architectural firm north of Boston. Aaron has a Master of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College and is currently in the process of becoming of a Registered Architect.