--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was through the Declaration of…" description: "\"“It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal inequality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/owen-wister-21300_every-man_it-was-through-the-declaration-of-indepe_167953.jpg" --- # It was through the Declaration of Independence that we… ![“It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal inequality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried aristocracy. We had seen little men artificially held up in high places, and great men artificially held down in low places, and our own…” quote by Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/owen-wister-21300_every-man_it-was-through-the-declaration-of-indepe_167953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/owen-wister-21300_every-man_it-was-through-the-declaration-of-indepe_167953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/owen-wister-21300_every-man_it-was-through-the-declaration-of-indepe_167953.jpg) > ““It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal inequality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried aristocracy. We had seen little men artificially held up in high places, and great men artificially held down in low places, and our own justice-loving hearts abhorred this violence to human nature. Therefore, we decreed that every man should thenceforth have equal liberty to find his own level. By this very decree we acknowledged and gave freedom to true aristocracy, saying, "Let the best man win, whoever he is." Let the best man win! That is America's word. That is true democracy. And true democracy and true aristocracy are one and the same thing”” [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage links the Declaration of Independence to a belief that true democracy equals meritocracy, where liberty allows the most capable individuals to rise, rejecting inherited privilege. **In simple terms:** Equality and meritocracy are seen as the same, letting the best succeed. Key Takeaway Promote systems that reward ability over birthright. Themes freedom meritocracy democracy equality philosophy politics Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education - employment - political reform - leadership selection Key Concepts social contract natural rights egalitarianism Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards prevent meritocracy from becoming elitist? - How can we balance equality with recognizing talent? A Different Perspective Meritocracy can ignore structural barriers that limit opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-man/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [High places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-places/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Loving Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-heart/) [True democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-democracy/) ## Related quotes > [“It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal quality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried aristocracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/it-was-through-the-declaration-of-independence-that-we-americans-2/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-chapman-catt/everybody-counts-in-applying-democracy-and-there-will-never-be-a-true/) [Carrie Chapman Catt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-chapman-catt/) > [LIBERTY! FREEDOM! DEMOCRACY! True anyhow no matter how many Liars use those words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/liberty-freedom-democracy-true-anyhow-no-matter-how-many-liars-use/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [When I was in college in the late 80s-early 90s, there was a sense that history was on a straight path toward democracy everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/when-i-was-in-college-in-the-late-80s-early-90s-there-was-a-sense/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [I do think that we are facing a crisis in our democracy. As true patriots, each and every one of us has to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greenwald/i-do-think-that-we-are-facing-a-crisis-in-our-democracy-as-true/) [Robert Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greenwald/) > [Let us not be unmindful that liberty is power, that the nation blessed with the largest portion of liberty must in proportion to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/let-us-not-be-unmindful-that-liberty-is-power-that-the-nation-blessed/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Such security is equal liberty. But it is not necessarily equality in the use of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/such-security-is-equal-liberty-but-it-is-not-necessarily-equality-in/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for honors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/we-should-begin-by-setting-conscience-free-when-all-men-of-all/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [The dons, the bashaws, the grandees, the patricians, the sachems, the nabobs, call them by what names you please, sigh and groan and fret,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-dons-the-bashaws-the-grandees-the-patricians-the-sachems-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [An intolerant sect has no right to complain when it is denied an equal liberty... A person's right to complain is limited to principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/an-intolerant-sect-has-no-right-to-complain-when-it-is-denied-an/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/we-have-abundant-reason-to-rejoice-that-in-this-land-the-light-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/by-nature-all-men-are-equal-in-liberty-but-not-in-other-endowments/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems founded on the basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-a-triumph-for-the-advocates-of-despotism-to-find-that-we-are/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/to-abandon-facts-is-to-abandon-freedom-if-nothing-is-true-then-all-is/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. It is the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-have-the-freedom-to-be-yourself-your-true-self-here-and-now-and/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) ## More by Owen Wister > [I reckon some parsons have a right to tell yu' to be good. The bishop of this hyeh Territory has a right. But I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/i-reckon-some-parsons-have-a-right-to-tell-yu-to-be-good-the-bishop/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“All America is divided into two classes - the quality and the equality. The latter will always recognize the former when mistaken for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/all-america-is-divided-into-two-classes-the-quality-and-the-equality/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“Here in flesh and blood was a truth which I had long believed in words, but never met before. The creature we call a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/here-in-flesh-and-blood-was-a-truth-which-i-had-long-believed-in/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [I thought there should in truth be heavy damages for malpractice on human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/i-thought-there-should-in-truth-be-heavy-damages-for-malpractice-on/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“The cowboy has now gone to worlds invisible; the wind has blown away the white ashes of his campfires; but the empty sardine box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/the-cowboy-has-now-gone-to-worlds-invisible-the-wind-has-blown-away/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [But no earthly foot can step between a man and his destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/but-no-earthly-foot-can-step-between-a-man-and-his-destiny/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [With a gun against my belly I... I always smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/with-a-gun-against-my-belly-i-i-always-smile/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“Forgive my asking you to use your mind. It is a thing which no novelist should expect of his reader...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/forgive-my-asking-you-to-use-your-mind-it-is-a-thing-which-no/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“Providence makes use of instruments I'd not touch with a ten-foot pole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/providence-makes-use-of-instruments-i-d-not-touch-with-a-ten-foot-pole/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [An aristocrat in morals as in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/an-aristocrat-in-morals-as-in-mind/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“He possessed that quality in his profanity of not offending by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/he-possessed-that-quality-in-his-profanity-of-not-offending-by-it/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“When a man ain't got no ideas of his own," said Scipio, "he'd ought to be kind o' careful who he borrows 'em from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/when-a-man-ain-t-got-no-ideas-of-his-own-said-scipio-he-d-ought-to-be/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [“It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal quality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried aristocracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/it-was-through-the-declaration-of-independence-that-we-americans-2/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [When a man ain't got no ideas of his own, he'd ought to be kind o' careful who he borrows 'em from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/when-a-man-ain-t-got-no-ideas-of-his-own-he-d-ought-to-be-kind-o/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [Said Aristotle unto Plato, 'Have another sweet potato?' Said Plato unto Aristotle, 'Thank you, I prefer the bottle.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/said-aristotle-unto-plato-have-another-sweet-potato-said-plato-unto/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) [Explore all 29 Owen Wister quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) ## More Best man quotes > [“Instantly, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I didn't know exactly what I was feeling, but my buddy JD - my best man, whom I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-bishop/instantly-i-was-overwhelmed-with-gratitude-i-didn-t-know-exactly-what/) [Bryan Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-bishop/) > [Social control is best managed through fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/social-control-is-best-managed-through-fear/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > ['Tempting the Best Man' centers around Madison Daniels, who's had a major crush on her brother's best friend since she was a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-armentrout/tempting-the-best-man-centers-around-madison-daniels-who-s-had-a/) [Jennifer Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-armentrout/) > [In this coming year, I will seek knowledge from those wiser than me and try to teach those who wish to learn from me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-allman/in-this-coming-year-i-will-seek-knowledge-from-those-wiser-than-me/) [Duane Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-allman/) > [“The best man. You know? He hands you the ring and has to marry the bride if you ran away and so on. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-best-man-you-know-he-hands-you-the-ring-and-has-to-marry-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [For me it's really tough because you have to go to that place where you really, really don't want to go to or revisit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-chestnut/for-me-it-s-really-tough-because-you-have-to-go-to-that-place-where/) [Morris Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-chestnut/) > [“Thank you. Thank you for raising my best friend. For raising the best man I have ever met.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/thank-you-thank-you-for-raising-my-best-friend-for-raising-the-best/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [Well, that’s just a little hard, since I can’t even talk her into sparing your life, huh? You haven’t exactly endeared yourself to her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/well-that-s-just-a-little-hard-since-i-can-t-even-talk-her-into/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My mother is the best not because she cooks great or wash my clothes well… she is the BEST because she gave birth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mharwhyn/my-mother-is-the-best-not-because-she-cooks-great-or-wash-my-clothes/) MHARWHYN > [“But destiny will be accomplished, and the best man will hold his ground while the undeserving one will vanish into his back-alley for ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/but-destiny-will-be-accomplished-and-the-best-man-will-hold-his/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Joss Whedon is the best man on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/joss-whedon-is-the-best-man-on-the-planet/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [“Gillette--The best a man can get." I stared at the screen. What happened to me? I was meant to be one of those guys,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/gillette-the-best-a-man-can-get-i-stared-at-the-screen-what-happened/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [As a boy I heard this story in church. A man was patching a pitched roof of a tall building when he began sliding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/as-a-boy-i-heard-this-story-in-church-a-man-was-patching-a-pitched/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [It's time for male leaders to not only ask for binders of qualified women, but to re-write the definition of 'qualified.' The best man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/it-s-time-for-male-leaders-to-not-only-ask-for-binders-of-qualified/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Sir Alex, one of the best managers of all time. After 26 years of success in the game, we all owe him a tribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-kompany/sir-alex-one-of-the-best-managers-of-all-time-after-26-years-of/) [Vincent Kompany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-kompany/) [Browse all 304 Best man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was through the Declaration of Independence that we Americans acknowledged the eternal inequality of man. For by it we abolished a cut-and-dried aristocracy. We had seen little men artificially held up in high places, and great men artificially held down in low places, and our own justice-loving hearts abhorred this violence to human nature. Therefore, we decreed that every man should thenceforth have equal liberty to find his own level. 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