The Struggle for Equality

The American Revolution Museum of Southern New Jersey will also examine the promise of the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “All men are created equal”, and the struggle for equality to the present day. As a new museum in 2026 dedicated to the American Revolution in 2016, we understand the present debate regarding the origins of our country related to 1619 as compared to 1776.

We need to tell a more balanced and fair history of the American Revolution. The Declaration’s intention was for the equality of men, but in reality it was for taxpaying and/or land-owning white males which were about 6% of the populations. 

Our museum will address the issue of equality as an ever-evolving struggle as explained through milestone Constitutional amendments, laws passed by Congress, Presidential Executive Orders and Supreme Court decisions including:

1776
The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal”.
1787
US Constitution preamble states “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…and to secure the blessings of liberty”.  
Slave population was counted as 3/5th of a person.
1789
US Constitution “Bill of Rights”
for citizens, generally property-owning or tax-paying white males. (6% of population)
1790
Naturalization Act
limits naturalization of immigrants to free white people of good character.
1798
Alien and Sedition Act
made it harder for immigrants to become citizens.
1857
Dred Scott v. Sanford
free and enslaved Americans of African descent were not considered American citizens.
1866
Civil Rights Act
Congress passed law that declared African Americans born or brought to the United States as citizens and entitled to equal protections under law except for American Indians.
1868
US Constitution’s 14th Amendment
Gave citizen rights and legal protection of laws for former slaves. Also the 13th amendment (outlawed slavery) and 15th Amendment (African American males can vote) passed simultaneously.
1876
Civil Rights Act grants access to public accommodations.
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration.
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson
Validates the principle of “separate but equal” which ushers in the Jim Crow era laws.
1898
US v. Wong Kim Ark
Supreme Court rules that 14th Amendment granted equal protection to all persons born in the US regardless of race or ethnicity.
1905
Lochner v. New York
Supreme Court ruled that 14th Amendment cannot be used by a State to limit work hours (legislated 60-hour maximum).
1920
19th Amendment gives women right to vote
1924
American Indians granted citizenship and the right to vote.
1944
Korematsu v US
Supreme Court ruled that the detention of Japanese during World War II was a military necessity not based on race.
1948
President Truman ends segregation in the US military.
1954
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Supreme Court overturns principle of “Separate but equal”. Rosa Parks begins the Montgomery Bus Boycott
1957
President Eisenhower sends US Troops to Little Rock, AR to enforce desegregation of schools.
1960
Civil Rights Act
Reaffirms voting rights for all Americans.
1963
Hundreds of thousands of Americans take part in the March on Washington to call for racial equality.
1964
Civil Rights Act
Outlaws discrimination in public accommodations and by employers.
1967
Loving v. Virginia
Supreme Court rules that sixteen states laws banning interracial marriage violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, Civil Rights Act
outlaws discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.
1975
University of California v. Bakke
Supreme Court upholds affirmative action, allowing race as one of several factors in college admission policies.
1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act
A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
1995
Romer v. Evans
Supreme Court addresses sexual orientation and state laws.
2013
Obergefell v. Hoges
Challenges state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
2015
US v. Windsor
Supreme Court provides federal recognition of same sex marriages which is a violation of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment.