Equality: A Core American Value

The Great American Experiment of democracy[1] rests on the core value of equality.  This book is about one aspect of that dream – that government may not prefer one religion over another, or religion over nonreligion.

Enormous strides have been made towards achieving equality. For example, Article VI of the Constitution provides that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States” (1789), the 13^th Amendment outlawed slavery (1865), the 14^th Amendment (1868) enshrined “equal protection of the laws” in the fabric of our Constitution, the 15^th Amendment prohibits denying a person the right to vote on account of their “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (1870), the 19^th Amendment gave women the right to vote (1920),[2] Brown v. Board of Education overturned the Supreme Court’s “separate but equal” decision (1954) and the 26^th Amendment gave 18-year olds the right to vote (1971).  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have also contributed to realization of the “dream.”  

The road to inclusiveness in the land of opportunity has been bumpy. We have more to travel.

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[1]  The Constitutional Convention of 1787 adopted the Constitution of the United States of America that, when implemented, would establish a representative form of government.  The proposal was sent to the states for ratification.  It was ratified by conventions in 11 states and went into effect on March 4, 1789.  See United States Constitution, Wikipedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution.  For a transcript of the Constitution, visit the National Archives website at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html.  By amendments to the U.S. and state constitutions, representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are directly elected by the people and indirectly elect the president through an Electoral College.

[2]  More specifically, the right of citizens to vote in federal and state elections cannot be denied “on account of sex.”