Do We Really Believe That “All Men Are Created Equal”?

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 In contradistinction of our fundamental belief that, “All men are created equal”, we accept inadequate education for millions of children and pretend to compensate with affirmative action. This problem has a long history. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Douglas argued that the phrase in the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal”, referred to whites only, excluding those of African descent. Abraham Lincoln answered with our present understanding that the founders really meant the phrase as an ideal, that ALL people may have or excel with different characteristics, but as humans they have certain basic rights, “To life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. These ideas were embedded in our Constitution in three amendments: the 13th, which abolished slavery, the 14th slaves are citizens and the 15th former slaves have the right to vote (Ref.1). Perhaps if Lincoln had not been assassinated, he would have been able to have the South accept defeat and assimilate former slaves into their society. It certainly would have been in the South’s economic interest to have ALL citizens as productive as possible, thereby increasing everyone’s standard of living. That was not what happened; instead, after Reconstruction the South adopted a hateful, vengeful policy of enacting a series of anti-black laws known as Jim Crow that deliberately provided its black population an inferior education. (Ref.2).
       The U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 found these laws constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson, implying separate but equal was acceptable (Ref.3). It wasn’t until May 17, 1954, that the Supreme Court finally began to close the chapter on Jim Crow education laws by deciding that states could no longer by law have separate schools for the races (Ref.4). But, instead of insisting that all schools in a state have equal financing and children should be able to attend a school of their choice and assuring excellence of education, the court decided on a forced integration policy involving busing, apparently thinking children of color would become better learners in a mixed-race classroom, an idea that led to significant social unrest (Ref.5).  In 1978 the Supreme Court ruled on Regents of UC v. Bakke (Ref.6,7). In this instance the University decided to set up a two-tier system based solely on race/ethnicity reserving 16 slots for medical school admissions using much less rigorous criteria to achieve racial and ethnic diversity. There was NO attention as to why these students, products of the California educational system, had these far lower scores. The court decided that considering race alone was unconstitutional, but that race could be a factor, legalizing affirmative action while ignoring the underlying cause, inadequate education. The finding in the Bakke case was used to affirm the University of Michigan use of race as a compelling factor to create a diverse student body in their law school in the 1997 case of Grutter v. Bollinger (Ref.8).
    Alan Dershowitz, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University is hoping his own school loses its case to be decided next term by the Supreme Court, Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College.  Like Bakke, Asian students contend they are qualified and denied admissions because of affirmative action. Dershowitz believes admissions should be based on merit and ability which would produce a “more meaningful diversity” (Ref.9).
    We owe every child an education that gives each the tools to be successful in our modern information economy. It is time to give up the excuse of affirmative action and affirm that “All Men Are Created Equal”, promoting excellence in education.

  1. Timothy K. Lent, The Meaning of Human Equality, Part I: Abraham Lincoln’s Interpretation of the Phrase, “All Men Are Created Equal”, Imago Dei, November 16, 2019, available at: https://lentsblog.org/2019/11/16/the-meaning-of-human-equality-part-i-abraham-lincolns-interpretation-of-the-phrase-all-men-are-created-equal/ (accessed June 17, 2022)
  2. History.com Editors, Jim Crow Laws, History, January 11. 2022, available at: https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws (accessed June 18, 2022)
  3. Brian Duignan, Plessy v. Ferguson, Encyclopedia Britannica, May 11, 2022, available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Plessy-v-Ferguson-1896 (accessed June 18, 2022)
  4. 1954: Brown v. Board of Education, National Park Service, April 1, 2016, available at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/brown-v-board-of-education.htm (accessed June 2, 2022)
  5. Civil Rights, Why Brown v. Board of Education Disappoints – And Why That’s Not All Bad, World Press Admin., May 20, 2014, available at: https://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/iscotus/why-brown-v-board-of-education-disappoints-and-why-thats-not-all-bad/ (accessed June 18, 2022)
  6. Charles Montaldo, Fast Facts: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, ThoughtCo., May 4, 2019, available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/regents-bakke-case-4147566 (accessed June 18, 2022)
  7. Regents of UC v. Bakke/Understanding the Decision, Landmark Cases.org, August 18, 2020, available at: https://www.landmarkcases.org/assets/site_18/files/regents%20v%20bakke/student/understanding%20the%20decision_student%20handout_bakke_student.pdf (accessed June 2, 2022)
  8. Grutter v. Bollinger, Oyez, 2003, available at: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-241                                              (accessed June 10, 2022)
  9. Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Needs Merit-Based Admissions, WSJ, June 1, 2022, available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/harvard-needs-merit-based-admissions-college-supreme-court-decision-policies-race-11654116449 (accessed June 2, 2022)

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