Freedom vs. Equality

The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, asserts that human beings "are created equal," and that they possess the rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." While the Declaration offered a stirring call to arms and a ringing endorsement of freedom and equality, the Constitution, written after the American Revolution's end, is a more sober document, designed to create a stable form of government for the new nation. The Preamble states that the Constitution is intended to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," the original Constitution says nothing about citizens' equality. The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments, added to the Constitution in 1791) does promise equal treatment under the laws.

Since the revolution, Americans have continued to debate the meaning of terms such as freedom and equality. For many Americans, these terms entail equality of opportunity. That is, they believe that the United States ought to be a society in which citizens have an equal opportunity to compete, and to succeed or fail according to their intelligence and efforts. Government, according to this view, should create a fair, "level playing field" so that all citizens have an equal chance to exercise their abilities.