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The cosmopolitan character of the population of America emphasizes the burden which rests upon every citizen to become fully informed in the underlying principles and ideals of our republican form of Government. Class consciousness. — Class consciousness and class activity is the result largely of the intrusion of ideas of government entirely outside of the fixed principles set forth in our Constitution and should be no more tolerated in our country than we would expect our principles, if introduced by expatriated Americans, to be accepted by another nation. Immigrant not all problem. — The immigrant is not all problem. He has been one of the outstanding assets in the development of America. Slowly, but surely, there is being assimilated and amalgamated in this country the bloods of practically all nations, in the development of a racial stock of exceptional worth in 'its vigor, ability, and character. 44. Our opportunity. — One of our greatest problems is the education, assimilation, and amalgamation of these various and numerous foreign groups into an understanding, harmonious, loyal, and upstanding American citizenship. To this and succeeding generations is given the opportunity to develop from our homogeneous character an outstanding race expressive of the highest principles, ideals, and traditions to which a God-loving, humanity-loving, liberty-loving people can aspire. To accomplish this great work there must be a composition of all differences which tend to create class consciousness and class hatreds. Tolerance, born of knowledge, understanding, respect, sympathy, and harmony, engendered by the spirit of a common cause and purpose, are essential in the interpretation of the principles of interdependent relationships. QUESTIONNAIRE Why did independence give way to interdependence? In what did it result? Upon what has the development of civilization always depended? What is the value of coordinate action? State some of the principal causes that led to the creation of national relationships. How did trade rivalry under the Articles of Confederation separate the new States from each other? In what way was this situation changed by the Constitution? How does interstate commerce assure a more perfect union? How did railways, postal service, telephones, telegraph, and radio help to unite the Nation? What is the attitude of the United States toward the problem of international relations? What is the principal duty of the State Department? In our complex civilization, may any individual live in complete independence? Could any State maintain itself upon its own resources? Explain. How are "domestic tranquillity" and "general welfare" accomplished? In what way does the individual find security in person and property? What relations between management and men are essential to successful production? What are some of tho results in human progress that have been caused by the ties of common interest and mutual benefit? What led the United States to become a nation of specialists? Describe the interdependence of capital, labor, and consumer. In what way does the telephone illustrate the principle of interdependence? Business? Public utilities? What is the foundation of peace and prosperity? What principal race stocks have contributed to American life? How?
What is the duty of America to our cosmopolitan population? Is patriotism wholly selfish? SECTION III LESSON 3. — CHARACTER, THE GREATEST ASSET OF AMERICA Paragraph The greatest asset of America ------------------------------------------- 45 Cooperation -------------------------------------------------------------- 46 Character ----------------------------------------------------------------- 47 National character -------------------------------------------------------- 48 The ideals of the American colonists. Community life, church, and town meeting. The pioneer spirit. Tenacity of purpose. Experimental self-government. Individual character ----------------------------------------------------- 49 Moral worth. Deeds an expression of character. Public spirit. No collective morality. Desire for education and religion. Foundation of character. Daily performance necessary. Physical character -------------------------------------------------------- 50 Great resources. Developed by pioneers. Visions become realities. Spirit of improvement and invention. Success possible to every citizen. Ethical character --------------------------------------------------------- 51 Confidence. High standards of commercial life. Spirit of cooperation and compromise. No class domination. Spirit of benevolence. Not materialistic. Political character -------------------------------------------------------- 52 Diplomacy. 45. The greatest asset of America. — Diversity of opinion as to what is America's greatest asset creates a discussion which leads into every section and every activity of our country. Each individual is governed by the interest that lies closest to his heart. The doctor declares: "The greatest asset of America is found in our medical schools, hospitals, and our great accomplishments in saving life and insuring the health of our people, for without health there could be no other great achievement." The teacher asserts: "Our common-school system, our colleges, universities, and our press constitute our greatest asset, for without education industry would stop and our Government disintegrate." The captain of industry states: "Industry is our greatest asset. What would America be without New England, New York, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and the thousands of other industrial centers giving employment to millions while they supply the needs of the world?" Likewise the inventor, the chemist, the scientist, each makes the claim that the fruit of his labor is the greatest asset of America, for what great things in America would have been possible without the creative genius? The farmer insists that the doctor, the teacher, the industrialist, the scientist, and all the others would not get very far if he failed for a single season to provide the means for clothing and food — to him the greatest asset of America. They all are right; there are elements of greatness in all the varied endeavors of bur country, the coordination of which has brought prosperity and wealth in such measure as to make us envied of all people. 46. Cooperation. — Forty-eight States, extended between the Atlantic and the Pacific, independent, self-governing Commonwealths, rich in resources, engaged in their own affairs; congested industrial areas of our great cities, pouring out their products to the enrichment of the Nation; millions of farmers providing food and clothing; teachers, preachers, merchants, laborers, lawyers, and clerks, contributing their part; all are working together in the spirit of cooperation. 47. Character. — What unites a people composed of all the racial stocks of the world? What composes our differences, harmonizes our relationships? What inspires confidence, insures credit, and promotes organization? What, in the last analysis, guarantees protection of person and property, gives assurance of peace and prosperity, and inspires America to greater adventures and larger achievements? The answer is not to be found in the sum of all her natural resources, factories, farms, homes, schools, hospitals, and churches. These are created by man and by man can be destroyed. The security of our property, the continuation of our institutions, the increase of our possessions and the perpetuity of the principles
48. National character. — The ideals of the American colonists. — The national character of America is grounded in the Puritan stock of the early colonies. From these original settlers, numbering in 1640 a total of 26,000, there has descended to the present time nearly one-fourth of our total population. Up to 50 years ago their descendants and immigrants from the same racial stock composed over 80 per cent of our population. The outstanding traits of their stalwart characters were defined in the commonplace affairs of their daily lives. They made no play for heroics, were not primarily seekers of fame nor fortune. Lovers of liberty, they boldly fought to maintain their rights: Their dominant trait was the worship of God, a God to be feared, yet a God of justice. A God who punished, yet a God who loved. Bigoted and narrow to the verge of superstition, intolerant of all faiths save their own, they builded a character which to following generations will ever prove their richest heritage. A stern will born and bred of necessity, hard as the "stern and rock-bound coast" near which they lived, deep and cold as the seas that beat upon their rugged shores, they knew no compromise with duty — it must be done. No easy way was sought nor excuse accepted for duty unperformed. Community life, church, and town meeting. — They established schools, churches, and town meetings, always dominated and often ruled with the iron rod of church authority. In time, bigoted religious intolerance gave way to religious liberty, yet not with the slightest change in the high standards of moral and spiritual rectitude required of every member of the community. Possessing pride of race, proud of their ancestry, they inspired in the hearts of their children a reverence and respect for family and race which left no room for lax conduct or easy habits. Severely disciplined within their homes, carefully supervised in their education, the children were taught the obligation of participation in community affairs and were obliged to submit to the severe restrictions imposed by their elders through the laws enacted by the local town meeting. The restrictions of these laws and the severity of punishment imposed for the slightest infraction are cause for astonishment in these days of easy morals and lax law observance, yet their value as conducive to upright living, strict morals, and honest endeavor is strikingly evidenced by the pronounced influence of the New England community, the church and town meeting, in molding the national character of America. The New England town was founded for and grouped about the church, which was the clubhouse of the time. But the glory of the New England town was its town meeting, a combination of neighborhood, society, caucus, legislature, and council meeting. This was the most successful political institution of the time, served as a private school in debate, and a nursery of American statesmen. — National Ideals Historically Traced — A. B. Hart. The pioneer spirit. — In defining the character of America we find one trait so strong and pronounced as to manifest itself in every period and department of our national development — the "pioneer spirit." Mixed motives inspired immigration to America. Regardless of why they came, the spirit of the pioneer seemed quickly to possess them with its urgent demand to go forth and conquer the wilderness. In that spirit the New England pioneers, and those from the Middle Colonies and the South, peopled in succession the States beyond the Alleghenies and the Cumberlands, advancing by successive steps until they reached the boundaries of the continent. The pioneer from New England and his cousins, the Scotch-Irish in Virginia and North Carolina, loved a struggle. To them the wilderness held no terror too great nor hardship too severe to hold them back. Life was a joyful adventure and the dangers were enticing. Life held the stern duty of making provision for family and posterity. Life was work, and the great forests were there to be cleared. Life was full of promise; there were the vast free lands — theirs for the taking. Life was the gift of God and. never forgetting, they set the stamp of their God-fearing character upon each succeeding community, in school, church, and local government. People from New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South, flowed together to form neighboring or joint communities, and thus varied the Colonial farmer typo. This mixed population produced interesting combinations of local government; Michigan, settled largely by New England people, set up the town meeting ; in Illinois, first reached by southerners, the county system was established in 1818, and later an option was allowed between town and county. — National Ideals Historically Traced — A. B. Hart. Tenacity of purpose. — The very compelling forces of hardship, privation, danger, and isolation bred a spirit of unrestrained freedom which has had a pronounced influence in forming our national character. Compelled to rely upon individual effort in providing and protecting his means of livelihood, the early American quickly acquired the knowledge of individual rights and the determination to maintain them. What was his, won by honest toil or by right of discovery, he was ever ready to defend against all odds. Their tenacity in what they undertook has never been surpassed by any people, not even the Romans. I remember that half the Plymouth colonists died the first winter, and that in the spring, when the long waiting Mayflower sailed again homeward, not one of the fainting survivors went with her — and I glory in that unflinching fortitude, * * * our stiffest muscle is limp and loose beside the unyielding grapple of their tough wills — Doctor Storrs. This tenacity went far in possessing and saving to America the whole region west of the Mississippi River. The future welfare of the Nation, the preservation of representative government, and the principles for which it stands lie largely today within the hands of the citizens of the West, for into that section has traveled the center of our population, and there is to be found over one-half of the descendants of our Colonial forefathers. Experimental self-government. — Our national character is emphasized in our ability to govern ourselves. Such ability did not develop over night; neither can it be acquired for the asking. No other nation has attained self-government in equal measure with the United States. The Colonies struggled 150 years before they had established a sufficient foundation to take the step that led to the "Great Experiment." Our present form of government would never have been possible without this long period of preparation, involving study, experience, mistakes, and a growing measure of success, exemplified in the wise legislation inaugurated by several of the colonies, and in the increasing spirit of independence prior to the War of the Revolution. Success was made possible due to the collective fitness of the colonials for the task of self-government. The colonial was "a good farmer, an excellent schoolmaster, a very respectable preacher, a capital lawyer, a sagacious physician, an able editor, a thriving merchant, a shrewd peddler, and a most industrious tradesman," able to comprehend the full measure of human associations. Hence, with these qualifications, when independence was won, a committee of chosen representatives called to the arduous task of revising the Articles of Confederation, found within themselves a collective knowledge which enabled them to produce that document, the Constitution of the United States, which, Mr. Gladstone said, "is the greatest piece of work ever struck off in a given time by the brain and purpose of man." 49. Individual character. — Moral worth. — In the discussion of moral worths, it is primarily true that we weigh and evaluate the ctions of the individual. However, individual acts do not form a haphazard aggregate of unrelated deeds, for back of the act are dominant principles that assure a certain continuity in human action. With knowledge of the temperament and trend of mind of a given man, his action under given circumstances may be fairly predicted, due to the fact that behind the shifting play of emotions found in the mental life of everyone there is a background of permanent emotional associations and processes which change slowly, if at all. This stable background of the moral life is character. Deeds an expression of character. — Upon great impulse one may commit an act foreign to his nature. However, in the long run of life, his deeds are an expression of his character. We base our estimate of character upon known performance; we catalogue the individual as good, bad, reliable, unstable, trustworthy, worthless. His worth to society is assessed. We judge what measure of reliance can be placed in him; how far he may be trusted; wherein lies his weakness, and wherein his greatest strength. Public spirit. — The secret of the remarkable progress of America in the first 100 years of constitutional government lies in the fact that her public-spirited men were striving to put the best into government, not to take the most out of it. No collective morality. — In the very nature of our Government, the responsibility for its social, economic, and political standards rests absolutely upon the character of its individual citizens. There can be no collective morality, integrity, honor, that is not the sum of the principles of the individuals of the community, State, or Nation. If the majority are mercenary, the character of the Nation will be ruthless. If the growing tendency to irreligious thought persists, the Nation will become irresponsible. Desire for education and religion. — Desire is, perhaps, the greatest force in the determination of individual character. It overrules the handicaps of environment, poverty, and physical defects. It asks no favor of race, creed, or color. It has no determinate end. Its power is to ennoble or debase — "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." The desire of our forefathers for education and religion, intensified with each succeeding generation by the ever-increasing facilities for intellectual development, has fixed the American character upon a high plane of moral worth and honorable attainment. Knowledge is being extended with a rapidity and scope never before known in human history. By the magic of the facilities of modern communication, its voice is carried to the uttermost coiners
Notwithstanding this privilege illiterates form a large proportion of our electorate. The National Education Association tells us that 4,300,000 illiterate citizens were qualified to vote in the last presidential election. Over 4,000.000 ignorant voters, unable to read any discussion of issues or candidates! The last census disclosed that 1,400,000 children between the ages of 7 and 13 years were not in school during the period from September 1, 1919, to January 1, 1920. Because of universal suffrage, the modern complexity of our national life, and the acknowledged principles of the right of private judgment — an open-mindedness receptive of the revelation of truth, a "thoughtful" citizenry is necessary. On the diffusion of education among the people rests the preservation and perpetuity of our free institutions. — Daniel Webster.
Submitting yourself to these impelling influences, resourcefulness and unconquerable energy take command. By their power you win self-mastery. The joy of work becomes a reality. Labor is dignified by the pride of accomplishment. Obstacles and handicaps are but a challenge to greater effort. Discipline becomes self-imposed. Religion laid the foundations of our American Government. It neither seeks nor claims any justification for its existence save righteousness. It had its beginning. It found its inspiration, in the religions beliefs of the men who settled our country, made it an independent Nation, and maintained its institutions and laws. If it is to endure it will be through the support of men of like mind and like character. — President Coolidge. ,
50. Physical character. — Great resources. — Napoleon asked Talleyrand, "What is America?" To which reply was made, "It is a body without bones." An American adds: " The bones have been developed, and they are bones of steel." Possessed of a raw continent, millions of square miles in area, composed of boundless prairies, vast forests, mighty rivers, great plains, and rugged mountains, containing fertile soil, rich natural resources in minerals, timber, and water power, the American, lacking tools, supplies, and capital, was forced by the very nature of his task and environment to a life of hard labor, long hours of toil, frugal living, and self-dependence with attending hardships and dangers. Out of these combined conditions was developed a type of hardy pioneer unequaled in the history of mankind.
Gaining strength and wisdom with succeeding years, America has builded achievement upon achievement. No enterprise has been too great for her aggressive spirit. Her dreams and visions have become realities by the force of her will and the magic of her creative ability. Spirit of improvement and invention. — Ever willing to adopt new ideas, to develop and improve, to tear down and rebuild, to scrap the machine of yesterday for the improved equipment of today, opportunity was never neglected to find a better way to do a larger business. Success possible to every citizen. — Driven first by necessity, the joy of accomplishment became the spur to greater achievements. The way to comfort, to competency, to wealth was open and free to every citizen, limited alone by individual ability, courage, and determination. Out of great opportunity, with freedom to all, there has been bred a race of men and women of sterling character and outstanding independence. 51. Ethical character. — Confidence. — American business is based upon the character of its people. J. Pierpont Morgan used to say he banked more on a man's character than on his money. Character is the basis of confidence. Confidence is the basis of credit. Credit, above any other element, is the source of stability in commercial life. Our building industry, amounting to hundreds of millions annually, is dependent upon borrowed capital from the time of the first drafted plan to completion of each structure. The vast commercial enterprises of the United States are made possible by our system of credit based upon confidence in the integrity of the people. The ethical character of our commercial relations is based upon respect for and confidence in the nobler things of life and the unfailing observance of business ethics. High standards of commercial life. — America is a nation of corporations. Every enterprise of any consequence is incorporated. Founders or owners of a given business invite employee and public to share the risk and the profit. The workingman as a shareholder is rapidly becoming a capitalist; in number they have increased to several million and their investments are assuming astonishing proportions. By this means, adjustments of differences between capital and labor are becoming easier as differences arise. The employer in recognizing the employee as a fellow man and not as a commodity opens the door to mutual understanding and square dealing. As a stockholder, the employee feels the interest and responsibility of a partner. Greater attention is paid to the work, quality is improved, waste eliminated, and profits increased to the mutual advantage of all. The fact that labor is being less exploited and more fairly treated with each succeeding year is not only indicative of economic evolution but also a marked evidence of the high character common to our commercial life. Spirit of cooperation and compromise. — One of the most encouraging signs of continued prosperity in America is the constantly growing tendency toward compromise and cooperation in the affairs of capital and labor, based upon mutual confidence. Such differences as are bound to arise are, as a rule, disposed of to the general good of all. No class domination. — No class is permitted to dominate in America. Public opinion, which is always representative of public character, will not permit the assumption of power. Whether it be capital, labor, farmer, group, or section, public character in its dominant sense of fair dealing defeats the effort to acquire unfair advantage. Spirit of benevolence. — Nothing is more characteristic of modern American life than the pouring out of private wealth for public service. Nowhere are so many philanthropic agencies at work. There is that in American democracy which creates the spirit of public service through gifts to the public. In respect to aid and contributions in world disasters America is one of the first in the field of distress and one of the last to leave.
Our justification for our so-called gross materiality lies in the fact that we were a new nation — new in a wilderness to be conquered; new in a land without homes, towns, or cities, without schools or churches, without transportation or communication. Under these circumstances there was neither occasion nor opportunity to write music, paint pictures, or sculpture in marble. Our music was in the sweet, sonorous song of the mighty forests and the rushing streams; our pictures were painted daily in the mists of the morning and the waving fields of grain. Our monuments and memorials were carved from virgin forests, builded in great cities, in rambling farmhouses set in emerald fields. We were kept too busy providing the necessities of life to find time for the finer accomplishments. Now, lasting monuments depicting the strength, the majesty, and the beauty of our country are being erected; our large and well-kept parks are ornamented with beautiful sculptures; our colleges, universities, and institutions of music and art are comparable with those of any other part of the world; our public galleries and museums possess priceless works of art. 52. Political character. — Diplomacy. — America is slowly but surely winning the confidence of the nations of the world. The desire to arbitrate rather than resort to armaments has distinguished America in her international policy, desiring to adjust all differences within the principles of justice and equity. Her commercial treaties are written in terms of square dealing. Backed by the guaranty of the American character, her obligations and her dollars are eagerly accepted wherever they may be offered. QUESTIONNAIRE What is the result of the coordination of the "varied endeavors" of our country? In what manner has the spirit of cooperation influenced the development of America?
What are the main elements in the Puritan character? What place in our early colonial life was occupied by the "town meeting"? What was its later influence? State the chief characteristics of the pioneer. Upon what is our estimate of character based? What was the secret of our remarkable progress in the first 100 years of the constitutional Government? What depends upon the character of our individual citizens? Name several factors upon which our national character is based. Why is religion an essential characteristic of the American people? Are all American citizens educated? Explain. How does public education affect American political institutions? Why, under our form of government, is a "thoughtful" citizenry necessary? In what manner is the gospel of hard work related to the American character? Upon what is the ethical character of our commercial relations based? To what is the success of our vast commercial enterprises due? Why is the spirit of benevolence characteristic of America? Is America materialistic? Explain. In what is the political character of America expressed? SECTION IV LESSON 4. — GREAT AMERICANS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS Paragraph The value of biography ------------------------------------------------- 53 Fields of achievement --------------------------------------------------- 54 George Washington ------------------------------------------------------ 55 Military leadership. Political leadership. Farewell address. The Nation's gratitude. Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------------------------------- 56 Printer, publisher, philanthropist. Scientist. Political philosopher. Diplomat. Member of Constitutional Convention. John Marshall ------------------------------------------------------------ 57 Soldier. Member of assembly. Ratification of the Constitution. Member of Congress. Interpretation of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson-------------------------------------------------------- 58 Declaration of Independence. President of the United States. Louisiana Purchase. Achievements. Daniel Webster ----------------------------------------------------------- 59 Tampering with the Constitution. Representative government. Reply to Hayne. Abraham Lincoln -------------------------------------------------------- 60 Limited education. Handicaps. Lawyer.
Preservation of the Union. The nation incarnate. The winning of the West ------------------------------------------------ 61 Northwest Territory. Slow development. Daniel Boone. Settlement of Kentucky.
Military expeditions. His monument. Lewis and Clark ---------------------------------------------------------- 63 The expedition. Claim of United States to territory established. The new country. Rev. Marcus Whitman --------------------------------------------------- 64 Western emigration Sterling qualities of racial stock. Boundary adjustment. Gen John C. Frémont --------------------------------------------------- 65 Exploration of the Southwest. Mexican War. A contemporary. Territorial acquisition. Eli Whitney, a pioneer of modern industry --------------------------- 66 Invention of cotton gin. Development of cotton industry. Influence on country. Interchangeability of mechanical parts. Robert Fulton, a pioneer of steam navigation ------------------------- 67 Other inventors. Legislative grant The "submarine." The Clermont. Progress in water transportation. Samuel F. B. Morse, a pioneer of modern communication ---------- 68 Opening of the Erie Canal. Invention of the telegraph Appropriation from Congress. Improvement and amplification. Capt. John Ericsson, pioneer of the modern battleship -------------- 69 The Monitor. The navy and merchant marine Maj. Walter Reed, conqueror of yellow fever ------------------------ 70 Maj. Gen. William C. Gorgas, conqueror of malaria ----------------- 71 53. The value of biography. — The history of any nation, in its ideals and achievements, its motives and spirit, invariably reflects the character of its leaders. The stories of the lives and accomplishments of its great men are the windows through which is revealed the soul of the nation. The biographies of the leaders of America should be carefully studied as the means of best understanding the controlling factors in the development of our country in any given period. In these stories are revealed the combat of minds, the clash of opinions, the cunning of politicians, the ruthlessness of self-seekers, and the saving forces of those dominant leaders who inspired the people to follow them in the establishment of the ideals out of which have been created the splendid achievements of our people. In the lives of our great men are to be found the elements of righteousness, courage, justice, unselfish devotion to duty, self-reliance, initiative, and stubborn determination, the ingredients from which was brewed the virile, aggressive, and generous spirit of America. With each succeeding period of our progress in government, industry, agriculture, education, medical science, we have had the leadership of men and women devoted to public service with little thought of personal gain. In this spirit our Government was established. They who had power to assume control dared to commit that control to a free people, knowing that the ideals of liberty, justice, and individual right had been indelibly stamped upon the very souls of their countrymen. In like spirit succeeding generations have responded to the call of their leaders for the preservation of our Nation. Creative and destructive forces are in eternal conflict. The experience of the past gives us wisdom to accomplish the tasks of the present. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. 64. Fields of achievement. — The ideals and accomplishments of our great Americans were to establish a government that was fit to be intrusted with all the powers that a free people ought to delegate to any government as the safe and proper depository of national interests, controlled not by the passions but by the reason of the people, to develop the natural resources of the country, and to open up the way of opportunity to all. However, great Americans have not confined their achievements to the field of government and protection of our institutions Many of the great industries, much of medical science, communication, and transportation found first expression in the keen minds of our pioneers. In the biographies of these men are incidents as thrilling, full of daring, and productive of rich achievements as are revealed in the lives of the mighty army who conquered the wilderness and won for the United States in succession the Colonies, the Northwest Territory, Louisiana, the Oregon country, Texas, California, and the great Southwest. 55. George Washington. — This noble first citizen of America is the outstanding character in the history of our country. From his early youth he demonstrated those qualities of leadership which, with the experience gained in his great achievements, made him the dominant personality of his time.
By the charm and strength of his personality he won the admiration and enthusiastic support of the great German general, Von Steuben; the brilliant Frenchman, Count de La Fayette; and the gallant Pole, Kosciusko. Political leadership. — The conclusion of the war found General Washington so exalted in the hearts of his countrymen as to make him the virtual ruler of the new nation, created largely through his military genius and indomitable will. Foregoing all personal ambitions other than that of molding a free people into an enduring nation, he gave himself with equal faithfulness to the work of peace and orderly government. Serving without pay in all his public career, his life of unselfish devotion rightfully won for him the title of "Father of His Country." When charged by an unfriendly Congress with usurpation of power, he replied: "A character to lose, an estate to forfeit, the inestimable blessings of liberty at stake, and a life devoted, must be my excuse." Inspired by the influence of his character and his qualities of statesmanship, such men as Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Randolph, King, Marshall, Monroe, and the venerable Franklin addressed themselves with him to the task of constructing a new government, which in the following generations was destined to become an ever-growing memorial to their wisdom and patriotic devotion to the ideals and rights of humanity.
As far as these counsels have been observed the Nation has enjoyed peace, prosperity, and happiness. The Nation's gratitude. — George Washington, born February 22, 1782, died September 14, 1799. Within the scope of his 67 years he was surveyor, farmer, soldier, statesman, commander in chief of the Continental Army, President of the Constitutional Convention, and twice President of the United States of America. More than to any other, we owe our everlasting debt of gratitude to George Washington for American independence and the Constitution of the United States. 58. Benjamin Franklin. — Benjamin Franklin manifested the qualities characteristic of the American. Genius he possessed, but it was the genius of hard work. He was a self-made man. At the age of 17 years, he came from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, which became his lifelong residence.
Benjamin Franklin took an active part in framing the Declaration of Independence, of which he was one of the signers. Diplomat. — Two years later he went to France, where, in fur cap and homespun clothing, he, the typical American commoner, created a wave of enthusiasm which won the French to the cause of the Colonies. Member of Constitutional Convention. — At the age of 81 years this old young-hearted philosopher took a most prominent part in the deliberations of the constitutional convention held in Philadelphia from May to September, 1787. His wisdom and counsel often prevailed in those long and stormy sessions. His love of country and faith in democracy gave him a vision of the future greatness of America that few in his time possessed. 67. John Marshall. — The life work of John Marshall is intimately blended with the Constitution. He ranked high as a soldier, legislator, diplomat, historian, and statesman. As a jurist and magistrate, he ranks first. For 34 years he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, leaving a record for constructive results in the Government of the United States second only to that of Washington. Soldier. — He began the study of law at the age of 18 years, but soon left his studies to enter the Revolutionary Army. His experiences, with their heroisms and hardships, "broadened his views and quickened his insight in governmental questions." He said, "I entered the Army a Virginian and left it an American." Member of assembly. — After the war he was elected a member of the Virginia Assembly. During his remarkable career he served in the legislature for eight sessions. He continually emphasized his conviction that for efficiency a strong central government was necessary. Ratification of the Constitution. — As a member of the State convention, in 1788, which met to discuss the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, through the power of his convincing logic, the ratification of the Constitution was accomplished over the determined opposition of its enemies. Member of Congress. — At the urgent request of Washington, he became a candidate and was elected to Congress, where he became the greatest debater on constitutional questions. Interpretation of the Constitution. — In 1829, through his wisdom and moderation, he did much to prevent radical changes in the State constitution of Virginia, thwarting the attempts of politicians against the independence of the judiciary. Because of his exceptional understanding of the philosophy of the Constitution of the United States, his counsel was of prime importance. His deep convictions and illuminating arguments contained in his decisions concerning constitutional questions, at a period when the powers of the Constitution were ill defined, were of inestimable value in the formation of a well-organized Federal Government. "He made the Constitution live. He imparted to it the breath of immortality. Its vigorous life at the present time is due mainly to the wise interpretation he gave to its provisions during his term of office." The most notable products of Marshall's unprecedented judicial career may be summed up under two heads In the first place, he established the supremacy of Federal law within the entire circle of its jurisdiction, no matter whether it was opposed by the Congress or by a State legislature in the form of unconstitutional enactments, or by the President giving "instructions not warranted by law"; or by State supreme courts attempting to resist the mandates of the Supreme Court; or by the governors of States attempting to resist such mandates; in the second place, in defining the character of "the American Constitution." — Origin and Growth of the American Constitution — Hannis Taylor. 68. Thomas Jefferson. — By reason of his ability as a thinker and speaker, Thomas Jefferson quickly gained a place of leadership, first in Virginia, then in the Colonies, where he was constantly employed in fighting oppressive British regulations and interference in the affairs of his country. Staunch in his defense of the rights of the people, he caused Virginia to pass many laws of a revolutionary character, among which was the abrogation of the rights of nobility, entailed estates, and the absolute right of religious liberty. Declaration of Independence. — He was a member of that famous group which, upon call of the resolution proposed by Richard Harry Lee, wrote the Declaration of Independence. Although the youngest, his dominant personality and exceptional ability caused him to be chosen chairman of that committee, which included such stalwarts as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The instrument practically as written by Jefferson was unanimously adopted to become for all time one of the immortal documents relating to human rights and self-government. President of the United States. — In the trying days during and following the Revolutionary War Thomas Jefferson was a member of the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, ambassador to France, succeeding Franklin, and recalled to become Secretary of State in President Washington's Cabinet, where he bitterly opposed the policy of Alexander Hamilton in his endeavor to extend the powers of government over the people. On a platform based upon his ideas and policies, he was elected the third President of the United States as a Democratic-Republican over his opponent, who as a Federalist espoused the principles of Hamilton. Louisiana Purchase. — During the first, years of his two terms as President, he completed the negotiations with France for the purchase of the vast domain, over 900,000 square miles, lying west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, known as "the Louisiana Territory." The purchase price of $15,000,000 was, at that time, considered exorbitant and created much adverse criticism in which Jefferson was denounced as an "imperialist," and as having forsaken his democratic principles. The reasons for this action on his part were that he saw the advantage of gaining control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans, and that by this purchase the United States would be left unhampered by foreign countries in developing her republican form of government. Achievements. — The outstanding events of his public life are to be found in (1) the writing of the Declaration of Independence; (2) enactment of the statute for religious liberty; (3) founding the University of Virginia; and (4) the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. 69. Daniel Webster. — Daniel Webster belongs to the first generation of Americans who knew no other form of government than that established by the Federal Constitution. So intimately is his name associated with that great document that he has become known to history as the greatest expounder of the Constitution. Tampering with the Constitution. — When but 20 years old, he delivered an address which contained the following: "The experience of all ages will bear us out in saying that alterations of political systems are always attended with a greater or less degree of danger. The politician that undertakes to improve a constitution with as little thought as a farmer sets about mending his plow is no master of his trade. If the Constitution be a systematic one * * * its parts are so necessarily connected that an alteration in one will work an alteration in all, and the cobbler, however pure and honest his intentions, will in the end find that what came to his hands a fair, lovely fabric goes from them a miserable piece of patchwork * * *." Representative government. — As a further caution against a pronounced tendency, he declared: "The true definition of despotism is government without law. It may exist in the hands of many as well as one. Rebellions are despotisms, factions are despotisms, loose democracies are despotisms. These are a thousand times more dreadful than the concentration of all power in the hands of a single tyrant The despotism of one man is like the thunderbolt which falls here and there, scorching and consuming the individual on whom it lights; but popular commotion, the despotism of the mob, is like an earthquake, which in one moment swallows up everything. It is the excellence of our Government that it is placed in a proper medium between these two extremes, that it is equally distant from mobs and from thrones." Webster clearly understood our representative form of government and the importance of avoiding the dangerous extremes of either hereditary (autocratic) government or direct (democratic) government.
"Mr. President, when the mariner has been tossed for many days in thick weather and on an unknown sea he naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course. Let us imitate this prudence and before we float farther on the waves of this debate refer to the point from which we departed that we may at least be able to conjecture where we now are. This indicates a wholesome state of mind with which to approach important discussions concerning the philosophy of our Government as expressed in the Constitution. Before we drift farther toward direct action and socialistic tendencies, we should return in study and thought to the work of the men who wrote the Constitution and ascertain how far we are departing from the course therein laid down." 60. Abraham. Lincoln. — George Washington gave us the Union. Abraham Lincoln saved the Union. Log cabins were common in this country 100 years ago. It was not a log cabin that gave distinction to Abraham Lincoln, although he was born in the poorest of such cabins on February 12, 1809.
Abraham Lincoln was homely, yet he possessed the beauty of soul dedicated to relieving the burdens and sorrows of humanity. He was a rail splitter. In his rugged physical strength he was as gentle as a woman.
With his sense of humor and ability as a story teller there was in him a supersense of justice, and he often fitted a story to emphasize a truth that otherwise might have been forgotten. Preservation of the Union. — "A house divided against itself can not stand." Upon that issue — the preservation of the Union — Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Tolerant with all who opposed, kind to all who hated, charitable to those who denounced, he held firmly to the single purpose of saving the Union, in the belief that in union only could our Nation endure. The beauty of diction, the reverence, sympathy and love, the magnanimity and charity, and the vision of the worth of the price paid for the preservation of our Union, as set forth in his Gettysburg speech, will make him acclaimed after all other orators are forgotten. The nation incarnate. — He was the nation incarnate. In all its struggles, its doubts, its agony, and in the solemn days of victory Abraham Lincoln lived alone for his country. No one man has ever rendered greater service nor paid a greater price for faithful performance. As he has given us a rich legacy in his spirit and example, so he has left us a great responsibility — Yüklə 0,67 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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