EDST 391-083
Color-Blind Nation: Worthy or Worthless Ideal?

• Jefferson ("Declaration of Independence"){ER}
• Roberts & Stratton, pp. 13-20 ("Progress redefined") {ER}

In order to better understand current debates over the meaning of equality, opportunity, and discrimination, today we are reading about what your last reading called the "traditional" American view of justice. At the time of the American founding, this view represented an exciting new political philosophy ("new" meaning that it had been evolving over a century or so) that truly transformed the political order and the role of individuals within it. Its revolutionary nature is best appreciated by seeing what it replaced, which is briefly spelled out in the Roberts and Stratton excerpt. But let's begin by surveying people to see how they understand the traditional view.

1. Please ask several people the following question:
   • The U.S. Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal." What does that phrase mean to you--"all men are created equal?"

   • If you don't want to put them on the spot, you can ask them "What do most people seem to think it means?"

2. As best you can tell from the text of the Declaration, what does Jefferson mean by the phrase? Support your claim by citing any relevant statements in the Declaration.

3. Based on the Roberts and Stratton reading, how did the American Founders' view of equality and citizenship (which is reflected in the Declaration of Independence) represent a radical break with feudal systems? Please explain the most fundamental differences. (So you don't get confused, the term "liberalism" does not refer to being liberal vs. conservative (Democrat vs. Republican).