Our Constitution’s Halting Evolution Toward Equality Undermined by Authoritarianism

The Steady State | by Robert Bruce Adolph

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Declaration of Independence

Despite reference to the “creator,” this is arguably the most revolutionary secular sentence penned to parchment in the annals of humankind. The universality of the Framer’s prose has been embraced by throngs of peoples in disparate cultures for over two centuries. However, the aspirations manifest in this simple, yet enormously powerful sentence is tragically still unrealized for many American citizens. Thankfully, our understanding of the meaning of the first sentence, the remainder of the Declaration, and its offspring, the Constitution, has evolved, but only haltingly over more than two centuries. Unfortunately, the autocratic wannabee in the White House and his MAGA movement are intent on undermining that hard-won progress.

This evolution is critically important to understand because it points us toward a better future that is less aspirational and more actual. Let’s focus on merely two words in this sentence: men and equal: Although there were several in the Continental Congress, who despised the very idea of slavery, they ultimately made a pact with the devil. The issue of Black bondage was placed on-the-backburner in the interests of the future establishment of the world’s first constitutional democracy. By some estimates, the price of freedom from British oppression for the 13 colonies was the continued enslavement of nearly 150,000 persons. That number eventually swelled to as many as 4,000,000 in the following 87 years — until President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The word men, then, clearly did not encompass those persons condemned to a cradle-to-grave miserable existence as property. Often forgotten history, five thousand black men fought in George Washington’s army. The terrible irony is all too apparent.

Although finally corrected in the modern era, individual Black slaves were enshrined into the US Constitution as 3/5ths of a white man by the Electoral College. The often-repeated right-wing position that the Electoral College had nothing to do with slavery is ridiculous on its face. Despite its clearly racist leanings, the system did have the notable distinction of being the first in recorded human history to elect a national leader via a democratic process. The Civil War’s arguable aim to “set men free” cost as many as 750,000 lives on both sides. Of those, 179,000 Black men wore Union blue, and 40,000 of that number died. Tragically, the conflict that was meant to bring freedom to those that most needed it, ultimately failed to deliver on its promise. The southern states eventually developed the outrageous “Jim Crow” laws that promulgated the heinous notion of “separate but equal.” The midnight lynching activities of the KKK were eventually burned into the national consciousness.

Blacks were no longer slaves, but they were clearly not equal under the law either. Poll taxes and voter-ID laws all had the effect of suppressing the black vote. Slavery may have been outlawed, but obvious systemic racism was subsequently codified in jurisprudence. This clearly evolutionary change from slavery to second class citizen status was dreadful, falling far short of the stated objective of equal. The long-time-in-coming 1964 Civil Rights Act corrected twisted law, making it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” thus, ending the odious policy of segregation. That act is in many ways the crowning achievement of the American Civil Rights Movement that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This was yet another milestone in the evolution toward making the word equal mean what it says. The election of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008 raised another marker on the arduous road to becoming equal.

Several years ago, I taught U.S. History to undergraduate college students. They often concluded that the Founders were men of their times: that they were flawed, as we all are. Clearly, a significant number of these men’s understanding of equal in 1776 did not include those people then enslaved. Thankfully, our society has matured in the right direction. Despite these failings, the aspirational words of both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution have stood the test of time and now rightly and legally include all peoples regardless of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

Are we there yet? Not hardly, and Mr. Trump seems to deny the historical record. Under this president, some of America’s most senior military officers have been fired because they were black. Under this president, initiatives to level the career playing field within government for Blacks have been eliminated. Under this president, there were mass (forced?) resignations from the Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice. Under this president, AI generated photos of former chief executives are portrayed with their wives as apes on his personal social media site. It appears that under this president, we are to pretend that racism and discrimination are myths. The slide towards authoritarianism is ongoing. The scapegoating of minorities... the dismantling of checks and balances... the centralization of power… the suppression of dissent … and the rigging of elections are all key indicators.

The great orator, abolitionist, and author, Frederick Douglass, perceived the Constitution as “a glorious liberty document.” Tragically, it is a wonderful aspiration that has yet to come to fruition. Under this president, America is backsliding into a fantasy world where Whites are a disadvantaged majority, an absurd construct unsupported by history.

Robert Bruce Adolph , a qualified Military Strategist, is a retired senior US Army Special Forces soldier. He holds graduate degrees in both National Security Studies & International Affairs and was formally trained as a counterintelligence special agent. Robert also taught university level courses in American Government, US History, and World Politics. Following his retirement from the active military, he joined the UN, subsequently seeing service in Sierra Leone, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Indonesia and more, culminating in the role of Chief of the Middle East and North Africa at UN Headquarters in New York. He is a member of The Steady State.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.