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The American self and the long march to legal equality
Author(s) -
Wiley Norbert
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06191.x
Subject(s) - constitution , pragmatism , legal status , inequality , native american , political science , law , equal protection clause , gender equality , sociology , law and economics , gender studies , epistemology , philosophy , anthropology , mathematics , mathematical analysis
Legally, women, Native Americans, and African‐Americans were defined by the American Constitution as inferior. The pragmatists gradually showed that all selves are equal. These ideas helped the minorities to attain nearly full legal status. But economic status is going in the other direction, toward inequality. It threatens to overcome the hard‐won legal equality and make it meaningless.