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Journal

2014 | 15 | 27-38

Article title

The Myth of Equality and the Quasi ‑ constitutional Status of the Declaration of Independence

Authors

Title variants

Languages of publication

EN

Abstracts

EN
Equality seems to be an inseparable element of the American Creed and political vocabulary. As Abraham Lincoln explained in his Gettysburg Address it is a principle upon which the American nation was founded – through its founding document, the Declaration of Independence – and, at the same time, an ideal the realization of which the American nation is “dedicated” to. The main thesis of the paper is that both the unquestionable place of equality in the American Creed and the quasi‑constitutional status of the Declaration of Independence (treated as a preamble to the Constitution) are both myths. On the basis of the works of Willmoore Kendall and Melvin Bradford I will present the argumentation suggesting that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, in fact, marks a radical redefinition of the “American experiment” which, with time, became an official and binding interpretation of the founding documents. Many decades later Lincoln’s interpretation became an axiological and ideological basis for politicians and social activists and it still influences Americans’ understanding of their political tradition.

Keywords

Journal

Year

Issue

15

Pages

27-38

Physical description

Contributors

author

References

  • Bradford, Melvin E. A Better Guide Than Reason. Studies in the American Revolution. La Salle, Ill: S. Sugden, 1979.
  • -. Against the Barbarians and Other Reflections on Familiar Themes. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1992.
  • -. “How to Read the Declaration: Reconsidering the Kendall Thesis.” The Intercollegiate Review 28:1, 1992: 45-50.
  • -. Remembering Who We Are. Observations of a Southern Conservative. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985.
  • -. The Reactionary Imperative. Essays Literary & Political. Peru, Ill: S. Sugden, 1990.
  • Filipowicz, Stanisław. Historia Myśli Polityczno-prawnej. Gdańsk: Arche, 2001.
  • Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. New York: Vintage Books, 1961.
  • Kendall, Willmoore. “Equality: Commitment or Ideal?” Intercollegiate Review 24:2, Spring 1989: 25-33.
  • -. The Basic Symbols of The American Political Tradition. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1970.
  • Lincoln, Abraham. “Gettysburg Address.” Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy. Ed. Melvin Irving Urofsky. Washington, D.C.: United States Information Agency, 1994.
  • McClellan, James. “Walking the Levee with Mel Bradford.” A Defender of Southern Conservatism: M.E. Bradford and His Achievements. Ed. Norman Wilson Clyde. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999.
  • Pratkanis, Anthony R., and Elliot Aronson. Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
  • The Constitution of the United States of America. Warszawa: Beartig, 1992.
  • The Declaration of Independence. Washington D.C.: United State Department of State, 2007.
  • “Treaty of Paris.” 1783. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.
  • West, Thomas. “Jaffa Versus Mansfield: Does America Have a Constitutional or a ‘Declaration of Independence’ Soul?” Perspectives on Political Science 31:4, 2002: 235-246.

Document Type

Publication order reference

YADDA identifier

bwmeta1.element.desklight-5052bf25-e56b-4fb4-aaa6-43be9d27b199
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