Text and History Narratives

Perfecting the Declaration: The Text and History of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Perfecting the Declaration tells the story of how the American people, after the Civil War, re-wrote the Constitution to guarantee equality to all persons, bringing the Constitution back in line with the principle of equality laid out in the Declaration of Independence. In the Equal Protection Clause, “we the people” perfected the Declaration by writing into the Constitution’s text that all “person[s]” are equal, not just that “all men are created equal.” Discussing the full sweep of our constitutional history – the principle of equality first set out in the Declaration, perfected in the Equal Protection Clause, and further illuminated in later Amendments – as well as a century of Supreme Court precedents, Perfecting demonstrates that the Clause secures equal rights and prohibits invidious discrimination against all persons, including discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation. The report concludes by demonstrating that the Constitution’s text and history support marriage equality for gay men and lesbians.

Summary

Perfecting the Declaration tells the story of how the American people, after the Civil War, re-wrote the Constitution to guarantee equality to all persons, bringing the Constitution back in line with the principle of equality laid out in the Declaration of Independence. In the Equal Protection Clause, “we the people” perfected the Declaration by writing into the Constitution’s text that all “person[s]” are equal, not just that “all men are created equal.” Discussing the full sweep of our constitutional history – the principle of equality first set out in the Declaration, perfected in the Equal Protection Clause, and further illuminated in later Amendments – as well as a century of Supreme Court precedents, Perfecting demonstrates that the Clause secures equal rights and prohibits invidious discrimination against all persons, including discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation. The report concludes by demonstrating that the Constitution’s text and history support marriage equality for gay men and lesbians.

More from Civil and Human Rights

Civil and Human Rights
February 28, 2024

“I Am Free But Without A Cent”: Economic Justice As Equal Citizenship

93 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2025).
By: David H. Gans
Civil and Human Rights
U.S. Supreme Court

Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, Ohio

In Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, the Supreme Court is considering whether police officers who file baseless criminal charges against a person are exempt from liability simply because the officers also filed other charges against...
Civil and Human Rights
February 5, 2024

Announcing CAC’s Inaugural Scholar-in-Residence, Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour

The Constitutional Accountability Center is pleased to announce that it has selected Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour...
Civil and Human Rights
January 31, 2024

Ending US jail workers’ slavery clause ‘could net billions’

Context
What’s the context? Here's how this study quantifies the benefits of ending the 'exception clause'...
By: Miriam Becker-Cohen, David Sherfinski
Civil and Human Rights
December 6, 2023

Supreme Court appears likely to ease process for workplace discrimination claims

The Washington Post
The Supreme Court seemed prepared on Wednesday to make it easier for workers to pursue...
By: Brianne J. Gorod, Ann E. Marimow
Civil and Human Rights
December 6, 2023

RELEASE: Focus on Hypotheticals at Supreme Court Argument this Morning Shouldn’t Distract from the Question in this Case and Title VII’s Answer

WASHINGTON, DC – Following oral argument at the Supreme Court this morning in Muldrow v....
By: Brianne J. Gorod