The book is a collection of essays designed to take the reader on a journey through American law and the American political and legal tradition. Their common ground is to trace the influence of the idea of human dignity on the American system of civil rights protection and to characterize more than two centuries of struggle against discrimination against various groups and minorities. Beginning with the views of the Founding Fathers and the creation of the first modern republic, through the struggles against slavery and gender discrimination, to the 20th century challenges of abortion, euthanasia, and the legalization of same-sex marriage. 

Although human dignity does not appear in the Constitution or in constitutional amendments, the influence of this idea on the legal order has been, is, and will continue to be considerable. Indeed, along with liberty, equality, and justice, it is one of the core values that underlie the political, legal, and judicial system of the United States of America. 

The reader will find in the book both reflections on political and legal thought, as well as a number of judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States, which established the most important legal principles expanding the sphere of individual freedoms and protecting civil rights. The reader will also find key figures in American history, such as revolutionary columnist Thomas Paine, Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Preface and Acknowledgements

Foreword: The Idea of Human Dignity

CHAPTER 1
Human Dignity and the Origins of American Law

CHAPTER 2
The Natural Dignity of Man and Thomas Paine

CHAPTER 3
The Equal Creation of Man and Thomas Jefferson

CHAPTER 4
The Native Dignity and James Wilson

CHAPTER 5
The Civil Dignity and Francis Lieber

CHAPTER 6
Human Dignity and Frederick Douglass

CHAPTER 7
Human Dignity and Women’s Rights

CHAPTER 8
Black Codes and Years of Regression

CHAPTER 9
Forerunners of Modern Human Dignity

CHAPTER 10
Human Dignity and Japanese American

CHAPTER 11
Human Dignity and African American

CHAPTER 12
Human Dignity and Justice William J. Brennan

CHAPTER 13
Human Dignity and Social Welfare

CHAPTER 14
Human Dignity and Abortion

CHAPTER 15
The Right to Die with Dignity

CHAPTER 16
Human Dignity and Same-Sex Marriages

Conclusions: American Concept of Human Dignity

Case Citations

Literature