Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in modern America are not departures from our founding principles but rather the fulfillment of ideals articulated by the nation’s architects. While the practical application of these values has evolved over centuries, the philosophical foundation for DEI can be traced directly to the words and vision of America’s founders, including George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
The Declaration’s Promise and DEI’s Mission
Thomas Jefferson’s most famous contribution to American political philosophy appears at the very beginning of the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This revolutionary statement established equality as a cornerstone of American identity. DEI initiatives today work to ensure that Jefferson’s “self-evident truth” becomes a lived reality for all Americans, regardless of race, gender, religion, or background. The modern pursuit of diversity in workplaces and institutions directly supports the founders’ vision of a society where individual merit, rather than inherited status, determines opportunity.
The Founders’ Vision of Merit-Based Society
Multiple founders believed deeply in the concept of natural aristocracy based on virtue and talent rather than birth. Jefferson wrote to John Adams in 1813:
The natural aristocracy I consider as the most precious gift of nature, for the instruction, the trusts, and government of society… May we not even say, that that form of government is the best, which provides the most effectively for a pure selection of these natural aristoi into the offices of government?
John Adams shared this vision, writing:
The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of government is to secure the existence of the body-politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it with the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural rights and the blessings of life.
Benjamin Franklin emphasized that merit should transcend social barriers, noting: “He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.” More directly, Franklin advocated for recognizing talent regardless of origin, believing that “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
This philosophy directly supports modern DEI efforts. By actively removing barriers that prevent talented individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds from participating fully in society, DEI initiatives help ensure that the founders' “natural aristocracy” based on merit can emerge from all segments of the population.
Religious Freedom and Inclusion
The founders’ commitment to religious diversity and inclusion is evident across their writings. Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which became the foundation for the First Amendment, declared:
Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint.
George Washington reinforced this principle in his letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, writing:
The Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens.
James Madison, the architect of the First Amendment, argued:
The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate.
These principles of protecting minority beliefs from majority tyranny extend naturally to modern inclusion efforts. DEI initiatives in religious accommodation, cultural celebration, and protection of minority viewpoints all flow from the founders’ understanding that diversity of thought and belief strengthens rather than weakens democratic society.
Education and Equal Opportunity
Jefferson viewed education as essential to democracy’s success. He proposed a system of public education that would identify and nurture talent regardless of social class, writing:
By that part of our plan which prescribes the selection of the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the state of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use, if not sought for and cultivated.
Modern educational equity initiatives directly implement Jefferson’s vision. Jefferson put these principles into practice when he founded the University of Virginia in 1819, designing it as a public institution committed to academic merit and accessible education. Programs that provide equal access to quality education, mentorship opportunities, and resources for underserved communities work to ensure that talent is “sought for and cultivated” wherever it exists.
Economic Justice and the Pursuit of Happiness
Jefferson understood that economic opportunity was fundamental to individual liberty. His concerns about concentrated wealth and its threat to democratic equality resonate with modern equity efforts. He warned:
I hope we shall take warning from the example and crush in it’s birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and to bid defiance to the laws of their country.
DEI initiatives in hiring, promotion, and business development help prevent the economic exclusion that Jefferson feared would undermine democratic equality. By ensuring that economic opportunities are available to all qualified individuals, these programs support the founders’ vision of a society where merit, not inherited advantage, determines success.
Addressing Historical Contradictions and Modern Resistance
Critics often point to the contradiction between the founders’ ideals and their practice, particularly regarding slavery. However, Jefferson himself recognized this tension, calling slavery holding “a fire bell in the night” and acknowledging that “nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.”
George Washington, despite owning enslaved people, expressed a clear wish to end the institution of slavery, writing:
I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.
Rather than undermining DEI principles, these contradictions demonstrate why such initiatives are necessary. The founders established ideals that their society was not yet ready to fully implement. DEI efforts are the ongoing American project of expanding the practical application of founding principles to all citizens.
Contemporary Political Opposition
Today, some political leaders have moved to restrict or eliminate DEI programs, arguing they constitute “reverse discrimination” or “woke ideology.” Several state legislatures have banned DEI initiatives in public universities and government agencies. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation prohibiting diversity programs in state universities, claiming they promote “divisive concepts.” Texas and other states have followed similar paths, with lawmakers arguing that DEI programs violate principles of merit-based selection.
However, this opposition contradicts the founders’ vision of expanding opportunity and removing artificial barriers to advancement. When political leaders restrict programs designed to identify and cultivate talent from all backgrounds, they work against Jefferson’s goal of finding “natural aristoi” wherever they may be found. Such restrictions perpetuate the very “aristocracy of birth” that the founders sought to eliminate.
Alexander Hamilton understood that artificial barriers to opportunity weakened the nation, writing:
The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased.
Technology Is Not An Escape Hatch
It is certainly tempting to ignore all of the political tumult and focus on what we can do in our own lives. For most of my audience, that means building technology, keeping technology running, or at least using it. The tech world can seem like a safe haven far away from modern political drama. Yet earlier this year the Python Software Foundation withdrew a $1.5M grant proposal over onerous anti-DEI requirements from the Trump administration.
Sadly we’ve witnessed Google, Meta, Amazon, and IBM publicly reduce their support for DEI principles. I’m also proud to note that Apple, Costco, and Salesforce have stood up for DEI. Kudos to everyone that fought for sustaining DEI efforts in this challenging political climate.
Constitutional Framework for Inclusion
The Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection under law, and the Fifteenth Amendment, protecting voting rights regardless of race, represent the constitutional evolution toward full inclusion. These amendments demonstrate that expanding equality has been a continuous American project since the founding.
Modern DEI initiatives operate within this constitutional framework, working to ensure that legal equality translates into practical opportunity and genuine inclusion in all aspects of American life.
Conclusion: Fulfilling the Founders’ Vision
DEI initiatives do not represent a departure from American values but their fulfillment. The founders established philosophical principles that their society was not yet equipped to fully realize. Each generation of Americans has worked to expand the practical application of these ideals.
Today’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts continue this quintessentially American project of expanding opportunity, protecting minority rights, and ensuring that individual merit rather than group membership determines life outcomes. As Jefferson wrote:
Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.
DEI initiatives represent exactly this kind of institutional evolution in service of timeless American principles.
When modern politicians restrict DEI programs, they abandon the founders' commitment to discovering and nurturing talent wherever it exists. They choose the comfortable path of preserving existing hierarchies over the challenging work of building the merit-based society the founders envisioned.
As John Adams reminded us:
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
The evidence shows that diverse institutions and inclusive practices strengthen American competitiveness and democratic governance.
The measure of our success as a nation lies not in how perfectly our founders embodied their ideals, but in how faithfully we continue working to make those ideals real for all Americans. In this light, DEI initiatives stand as proof of American exceptionalism—our continued commitment to the revolutionary proposition that all people are created equal and deserve the opportunity to pursue happiness according to their talents and efforts.