The Declaration’s equality claim rests solely on the universal capacity for moral choice

Evidence

All men are palpably not created equal, in any practical way, being endowed with various deficits and advantages, except in this one respect: All may choose their moral commitments. All must choose. 2 This right-to make a moral life-is “unalienable” because it cannot be sold or given away. Even if the chooser is in bondage, he is independent in this — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 39

Categorization

• DEFINE: Offers a distinctive reading of ‘unalienable rights’ as the right to choose one’s moral commitments.
• XREF: Connects to scholarly debates over Jefferson, Locke, and the meaning of equality in the Declaration. — connects to: The Haitian Revolution proved the Declaration of Rights applied universally