We continue our discussion with Professor Roosevelt of his new book, The Nation That Never Was. We revisit our debate on the Declaration of Independence and specifically, the meaning of “all men are created equal.” This has profound implications, it turns out, for evaluating the 1788 transition from Articles of Confederation to U.S. Constitution, the 1861 secession, and the great Reconstruction moment of the later 1860’s. Were these all secessions of a sort? Were they extra-legal? Were they treasonous? And finally, what sort of national narrative can we coherently draw from all this? Profound implications, especially when one considers the arguments and claims of the recent 1619 project, emerge.
Amarica's Constitution