Everyone is Equal Before the Law

Pierce K. Kozlowski

More Than Natural Rights Alone

It should be noted that the founders didn’t think that humanity had natural rights because of their nature alone. That is only one-half of the equation. The founders also believed that all people—regardless of their individual abilities or other immutable characteristics—were inherently equal in nature, and were equal before the law with regard to their rights. Jefferson captured this exact sentiment in the original iteration of the Declaration of Independence, which declared, “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable” (1). People may not be equal in their features or natural abilities, but all people are made equal in their inherent value according to Jefferson, both in creation and in nature. Naturally then, all people are equal before the law.

It is interesting that, in the final iteration of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson considered natural rights and equality before the law to be “self-evident” truths. This is especially surprising considering that some of history's greatest minds found the exact opposite to be true. Plato and Aristotle were the original expositors of the natural law that the founders so ardently loved, but these same philosophers also ironically suggested what the founders so strongly opposed as well: They suggested that there is inherent human inequality and that this inequality can be dealt with by using caste systems, similar to the ones devised by Plato (2)—an idea that Aristotle later used in order to justify notions of natural slavery (3). In other words, the Greeks believed that some people were just more valuable than others. The people who were inherently superior and more capable ought to be the rulers over those who were inherently inferior and less capable.

Where Christianity Triumphs, Where Greek Philosphy Fails

The founders, of course, correctly rejected this idea outright and looked to Christianity to correct what Greek philosophy could not. Obviously, there was no metric capable of quantifying inherent human value, because that value was inestimable. But more importantly, Christianity suggested that all humans were valued equally in the eyes of God. The Bible established this fact plainly in Leviticus 19:15, which instructs, “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly” (4). While this was one of God’s many commandments to the Israelites, the sentiment itself spoke to a broader truth: Since people had to be judged fairly, with no favoritism toward one group over another, that meant all people had to be equal. This same principle is echoed in Proverbs 22:2, which explains that the “rich and the poor have a common bond, The Lord is the maker of them all” (5). The status someone possesses is irrelevant to the question of their inherent value because all people share the same creator, and are therefore equal in creation by virtue of that fact. The writings of the Apostle Paul bring out this message more explicitly in Galatians 3:28, which boldly states that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (6). In writing this, Paul was reminding the Church of Galatia that no natural hierarchies exist in humanity, for all people are inherently equal before God and should be treated as such; no favoritism or disdain should be shown toward another based on certain qualities, immutable and otherwise, for God made all people equally valuable. Later on, in Romans 2:11, the Apostle Paul would concisely reinforce this same message again, writing that “there is no partiality with God” (7). God is fair in his rulings and does not unfairly value one over the other, for all are equal. The founders took these principles to heart and looked at it this way: If people are equal before God’s law, and if people are equal in creation, then they are therefore equal in nature. Hence why Jefferson declared that all people were “created equal.” In striking contrast to the Greeks, human equality was the presupposition of Christian thought.

In a similar fashion, there have been legal documents declaring human equality trailing long after biblical notions of equality. In English tradition, the Magna Carta was in agreement with biblical principles and endorsed the idea of human equality, and by extension, made provisions for legal equality and due process. The authors of the Magna Carta declared that “To no one will We sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice.” In this sense, equality in rights and legal treatment before the law was made an imperative. The Magna Carta’s endorsement of due process also emphasized the importance of equal justice. Hence why no person could be rightfully punished in any legal capacity without the “lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” The influence of Christianity is made most apparent in the document’s opening lines, however, which directly evoke the authority of God as the justification for natural rights: “First, We have granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirmed, for us and our Heirs for ever, That the Church of England shall be free, and shall have her whole rights and liberties inviolable” (8).

John Locke and Onward

The founders leaned heavily on the philosophy of John Locke, which drew from Christian theology and English tradition when it came to notions of human equality. While Locke and the founders accepted the Greeks on their notions of human reason, they rejected their philosophy of human inequality in its entirety. This is why Locke declared that people, in a “state of nature,” were naturally equal, and not unequal. This idea was grounded in Locke’s understanding of natural law, which was rooted in reason. This is also why Locke, in his Second Treatise on Government, justifies natural rights and human equality by citing the “law of nature,” explaining that all people are “equal and independent” by virtue of that law (9). (The “law” that Locke is referring to is human reason. The use of reason to pursue virtue is human nature’s purpose. So by using reason, both natural rights & human equality can be discerned as true and good things both in nature and in God’s law. That is why, according to Locke, both natural rights & human equality are in accord with the “laws of nature.”)

Roughly one century after Locke, the founders would run with these two ideas—natural rights and legal equality—which were inspired by the thinkers, theologians, and philosophers of old. Moreover, while America’s constitution was composed of many important and brilliant ideas, natural rights and equality before the law were made the true cornerstone of the Constitution's philosophical foundation. The credit for Jefferson’s phrasing in the Declaration of Independence goes to George Madison, who eloquently stated in the Virginia Declaration of Rights that, “all men are by nature equally free and independent” (10). Jefferson built atop this already well-articulated statement and elaborated by saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creators with certain unalienable rights” (11). John Adams was more direct in his language when writing the Massachusetts Constitution: Adams stated that “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights” (12). However, while each founder reinforced one another’s affirmation of Lockean natural law in their writings, it was James Madison who merged the two ideas perfectly into one phrase. Madison described the American constitution’s two main principles as “Equal laws protecting equal rights” (13).

Madison, like his many contemporaries, believed in natural rights and equality before the law. But, more than just equality before the law, it was also equality of access to rights. Natural rights are inherent to all; equality before the law is recognized for all; but more precisely, equal rights are intrinsic to all. The founders understood that these “self-evident” truths were dictated by natural law, which is why they enshrined provisions for their protection into America’s constitutional law.

References

1. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Vol. 1, 1760-1776. Ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950, pp 243-247

2. Plato, Republic. Hackett Publishing Company, 1997, 473c-473e.

3. Aristotle. Politics. Princeton University Press, 1984, 1254b.

4. Leviticus 19:15, NASB1995

5. Proverbs 22:2, NASB1995

6. Galatians 3:28, NASB1995

7. Romans 2:11, NASB1995

8. Holt, J C. Magna Carta. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Print.

9. John Locke, “Of Paternal Power,” Second Treatise on Government, 1690.

10. George Mason. “Virginia Declaration of Rights”. Declaration, June 12, 1776. From Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/virginia-declaration-of-rights-2/.

11. “Declaration of Independence”. Broadside, July 04, 1776. From Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/declaration-of-independence/.

12. “Massachusetts Bill of Rights”. Law, March 02, 1780. From Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/massachusetts-constitution/.

13. The Papers of James Madison, Retirement Series, vol. 2, 1 February 1820 – 26 February 1823, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, and Anne Mandeville Colony. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, pp. 81–82.]