Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Born free and equal

scotusblog.com · 8dShare

This is my first article for SCOTUSblog, and I want to explain why I have chosen the header Born Free and Equal for my column. The phrase is derived from the Declaration of Independence , whose 250th anniversary we are celebrating this year. The heart of the Declaration of Independence, and of the American constitutional creed, comes from the statement that: 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, … This idea of equality and freedom at birth has echoed throughout our history in many of our foundational documents. For example, the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, which was written in part by John Adams, declares in Article 1 that: All men are born free and equal , and have certain natural,

First report: Letters: Love our country as it becomes better and more free over time — theadvocate.com, 8d