The “American Paradox”: The Constitution, Race, Rights, and the Pursuit of Justice

Despite the Declaration of Independence’s (4 July 1776) proclamation that ‘all men are created equal’, an array of distinctions existed amongst eighteenth century Americans. Nonetheless, perhaps the key distinction that has plagued the United States from the outset is that of race. The assertions of the Declaration undermined a slave system in which status was inherited, and mastership had no foundation in consent. Thus, a basic tension existed between demands for justice and demands for consent. This was not merely a tension between liberty and equality. It was a tension within the idea of equality itself. This talk will briefly consider attempts to address this strain through consideration of efforts to attain rights and justice for African Americans.