The Equality of the Declaration
EQUALITY of mankind does not mean equal physical proportions, nor equal mental caliber, nor equal ability to grasp or power to command opportunity. But it does demand equal liberty for each one to be and say and do just as far as ability and circumstances permit. Politically he is his fellow citizen's equal in life, in liberty, in the pursuit of happiness. It was a glorious hour for the world when America's star rose above the horizon. As long as it was in the ascendent, for its first century of shining, its influence over all lands was beneficent, speaking freedom to the oppressed of all nations, and hope to the despairing toiler. Seeing its shining from afar, millions in the oppressed and downtrodden monarchies, despotisms, and overcrowded countries of the East, found here what Emerson designated "opportunity." And when the Old World saw some of the best of her people flocking to America rather than to her own colonies, her own feudal laws were softened, amended, or swept away before the enlightenment and liberty of America.