Bradley Rebeiro, fellow at Wheatley Institute, writes for Liberty Fund about the universal promises of the Declaration of Independence.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...". What did the Founders mean when they penned this universal claim? Does their intent and implementation of these ideals impact how we view the Declaration and Constitution today?
Bradley Rebeiro, associate professor of law at Brigham Young University Law School and fellow at Wheatley Institute, examines these and other questions surrounding the complex history of the promises found in the Declaration of Independence.
"...the universality of the claim that all men are created equal... does not bracket certain individuals, for good or for ill," Rebeiro writes. "None are excluded from its grandiose declaration. The problem, however, is that even as the Declaration made this universal claim, it remained extremely limited in its application by those that signed it. However, overly focusing on the practical, contemporary application of the Declaration distorts its true meaning, both then and now."