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position that all men are created equal. ¶ Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived final resting place for those who here gave their lives that [the] nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. d, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what hey who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and sent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or hem shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should
MATTER
e evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. ¶ O say can you see by the dawn’s early light. mparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that e, dimly seen through the mists of the deep where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes. What is that which the breeze, o’er the ted now shines in the stream: ‘Tis the star-spangled banner — O long may it wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! ¶ s no more! Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution no refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight,
Written by Ken Karlberg Revolutionary War. I whispered to him, “The slaves feel no differently,” but he did not listen. He did not care. I winced again when I looked over Thomas Jefferson’s shoulder as he drafted the words, “all men are created equal,” and over James Madison’s shoulder while he drafted the Bill of Rights. I knew, as slave owners, that both meant for their words to apply to white males only. Tears welled up in my eyes. Few of your forefathers considered the plight of blacks, women, or Native Americans, not even the most enlightened for their time. Nonetheless, I smiled broadly to myself at the aspirational spirit of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Amid the extreme political division and rancor of the day, compromise and agreement seemed unlikely, but country ultimately prevailed
over politics and self-interest. I had faith that all their words would matter, eventually.
No two humans are truly created equal. Each is unique. But my manifest destiny, from the very beginning, was that all my children would, someday, be equal under the law to exercise their inalienable rights and to succeed, or not, based on merit. These are the words that matter to me. They are my words, my moral DNA, my sacred promises to all of you. They matter, and because they do, I matter.
A House Divided
My journey has been painfully divisive. Even today, many of my promises remain only partially fulfilled, especially for my historically disenfranchised children. I grew impatient at times, and continue
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