The Declaration of Independence
135
contrary to the best interests of society. The democracy they practiced
was limited to the ruling class, which included most white males, but it
would be another century or more before all adults were part of that class
and were participating freely in the democratic process.
It is interesting to note that the original Constitution of 1787 contained
no provision guaranteeing equal rights. Nor did the Bill of Rights. To a
degree, it is implicit in the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery;
but it appeared explicitly for the first time in the Equal Protection Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a way, then, the Constitution has been
amended by the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence.
There are different kinds of equality, as we have observed, however,
and it is important to understand the distinctions among them from a
constitutional standpoint. Some forms of equality are clearly compatible
with individual liberty, equality before the law or equal rights being the
most obvious. In this category we would also want to include equality of
opportunity and the Judeo-Christian concept of moral equality based on
the doctrine of original sin. These forms of equality are generally consistent with the ideal of individual liberty because they may be attained
without coercion. No one is forced to act against his will, and no one is
deprived of his earthly possessions, his earnings, his job and occupation,
or his status in society, if the law is applied equally to all, and if all are
given an opportunity to make their own way and carry out their own
plans. Nor do these forms of equality conflict with any of the basic principles of the Constitution.
If an individual is free to participate in the political process by voting
in an election or running for office, he possesses political liberty. If this
freedom is exercised by all or most of the adult population, there is also
political equality. This form of equality does not entail the use of government coercion. No one is forced to vote and the act of voting does not
force others to act against their will. Political equality is therefore another
form of equality that is compatible with individual liberty. Political liberty, to put it another way, is an important means to individual liberty,
and the broader the franchise the greater the degree of political equality.
There does not seem to be much support for political equality in the Declaration of Independence, however, in view of the widespread acceptance of a limited suffrage in 1776. Certainly less than half of the adult