NEW YORK (AP) — The aspirations cut a wide swath through American history since 1776 — from the “All men are created equal” of the Declaration of Independence and the “We the people” of the Constitution, to the “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The effort has been optimistic and unrealistic, successful and a failure, enduring as an American ideal during moments when citizens struggled — and struggle today — to practice it.
But how has the notion of unity in American society evolved in 250 years and more? What does it mean — and what doesn’t it mean, particularly in fraught and troubled moments? “It’s a question,” says one scholar, “that every society has to answer.”
I. The Beginnings of the ‘United’ States
From the milestone moment of the nation’s beginning, the founders emphasized that unity would be a vital component of the new country, where government would be based not on a king and monarchy as in Europe but instead, as the Declaration says, “on the consent of the governed.”
Indeed, whether we interpret the motto "E Pluribus Unum," or “out of many, one,” is a conversation embedded in the nation's ethos.
II. Aspiration vs. Reality
Even as unity has stood among the ideals, the Americans' experience of life over the last two and a half centuries faces the reality that in this created nation, there’s never been just ONE America.
The U.S. has witnessed waves of inclusion and exclusion where the definition of unity has been dynamically contested amongst differing cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
III. What Could ‘Unity’ Even Look Like?
The concept of unity remains abstract and contentious; does it imply conformity or a rich tapestry of differences? As we navigate this polarization once more, the lessons from America's history prompt us to reflect on what unity means today as we strive towards a collective future.
The challenges we face today, as Americans walk the path set 250 years ago, echo the very founding questions of who belongs in this union.
