How can the same Declaration of Independence lead Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. to such different conclusions about the Constitution? 

In this special MLK Day episode of This Constitution, host Savannah Eccles Johnston is joined by Dr. Lucas Morel, professor of ethics and politics at Washington and Lee University, to delve into how Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. interpreted the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the American political order.

The conversation traces Douglass’s intellectual evolution from initially condemning the Constitution as a pro-slavery pact, influenced by William Lloyd Garrison, to later embracing it as a “glorious liberty document” capable of delivering on the Declaration’s promise of natural rights and equality. Dr. Morel explains how Douglass came to see the Constitution as fundamentally anti-slavery when read according to its text and purpose, rather than the clouded intentions of its framers.

The episode then turns to Martin Luther King Jr., examining how King remained deeply committed to the Declaration’s ideals while growing increasingly skeptical of whether the constitutional order and the American people could fully realize them without massive federal intervention. From I Have a Dream to Where Do We Go From Here, the discussion highlights King’s shift toward arguments for reparations, equality of outcomes, and expanded federal power.

Ultimately, Savannah and Lucas ask a profound constitutional question: Which vision better preserves America’s founding principles? Is freedom best secured by equal laws and fair play, as Douglass believed, or by equity-driven reforms designed to correct historic injustice, as King increasingly argued? The episode offers a rigorous, thoughtful comparison of two towering figures whose legacies continue to shape debates over equality, rights, and constitutional meaning.

In This Episode

• (01:07) Why Frederick Douglass matters
• (03:21) Douglass’s early constitutional views and Garrison
• (07:37) Douglass’s break with Garrison and shift in views
• (07:51) Douglass’s reinterpretation of the Constitution
• (12:08) Douglass’s arguments for congressional power over slavery
• (13:46) Douglass vs. Lincoln on federal power
• (18:41) Principled vs. rhetorical shift in Douglass’s views
• (19:53) Douglass and Lincoln as statesmen, not founders
• (25:45) MLK’s relationship to the Declaration and Constitution
• (27:15) MLK’s shift toward reparations and federal intervention
• (28:28) MLK’s critique of colorblindness and equality
• (30:30) MLK’s influence on modern equality debates
• (31:04) MLK’s reinterpretation of the Constitution
• (35:41) Competing notions of liberty and the Declaration
• (36:14) Who got it right, Douglass or MLK?

Notable Quotes

• (07:24) “Douglass believed in the Declaration more than Garrison did.” — Lucas Morel
• (00:27:15) "Frederick Douglass can be considered a statesman because of the way he used the English language, the king's English, as it were, on behalf of the principles of the regime." — Lucas Morel
• (36:40) “I’ll put all my eggs in the Douglass basket.” — Lucas Morel
• (37:08) “Frederick Douglass, as you said earlier, was a true believer in these principles. He believed in them more than most white Americans believed in their principles.” — Lucas Morel
• (37:37) “King came to believe what he called this thing called color shock, that there was a way in which color still has this power over people in the United States.”— Lucas Morel
• (38:51) “At the end of the day, Frederick Douglass vision overlapped much more closely to Lincoln than Martin Luther King's did.”— Lucas Morel