The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1860-07-04
Little Dux ON the Declaration 81 sn-
dependence.

For two generations the people OF the
United States have rejoiced on each sue
eeeding Fourth Of July in listening TO that
glorious Declaration Of the inalienable
rights of man, made by our Revolutionary
forefathers. During oil that time the people
thought they understood the plain statements
OF self-evident truths contained in that doc
ument, and that its immortal signers meant
just what they said. But recently sharp
little politician sprang up in Illinois who
found these self-evident truths somewhat
troublesome, and he set to work to whittie
them away after the following fashion. MIR.
Douglas says:
No man can vindieate the character, the
motives. and the conduct of the signers Of
the Declaration of Independence, except
upon the hypothesis that they referred to the
white race alone, and not TO the African,
when they declared all men to have been
created free and equal-that they were
speaking OF British Subjects on this CONT
nent being equal to British subjects born and
residing in Great Britain--that they were
entitled to the same inalienable rights, and
among them were enumerated life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. The Declare
tion OF Independence was adopted merely for
the purpose OF justifying the Colonists in the
eyes of the civilized world in withdrawing
their allegiance from the British Crown and
dissolving their connection with the mother
country.
Here are The identical words upon which
Senator Douglas is commenting in the above
extract:
We hold these truths to be selfevident :
that all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain un-
alienable rights that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The self evident truths, according TO Mr..
Douglas, hero asserted, are, not that "ail
men ore created equal" no., but that the
British subjects born in the Colonies are
equal, and endowed by their Creator with
inaiienable rights like British subjects born
in England. Now IL that is all our fathers
meant, why didn't they say so, and not leave
IL for Douglas to express their meaning lone
after they had gone TO their final rest.
No man can read that single sentence oi
the Declaration of Independence and thu
abvre oommen! by Douglas, without being
convinced that Douglas is a knavish politi
clan, who would blow the Fourth Of July
and all that it celebrates and hallows, highel
than he has the Democratic party rather thar
LET II stand in the way Of his progress to th,
Presidential Chair.
The great American Historian, Georg,
Bancroft, gives . character to the Declare
ton OF Independence of which every Ameri
can citizen should feel proud, and which
will hand the authors down to posterity a
the advocates and champions OF universe
Freedom and the rights OF mankind MIR
Bancroft says
The bill of rights which il Ii. Q. th
Declarationl promulgates, is Of rights tina
are older than human institutions, and sprin
from the eternal justice that 10 anterior &
the State. Two political theories divde
the world; one founded the Commonwealth
on the reasons OF state, the policy Of expe
diency the other on the immutable princi
pies OF morals the new Republic as II too
its place among the powers Of the world
proclaimed it's faith in the truth and realit
and unchangeableness of freedom, virtue
right. The heart OF jefferson in writing
the Declaration, and OF Congress in adopt
ing IL, beat for all humanity the assertio
of right was made for the entire world o
mankind, and all coming generations, with
ont any exception whatever; for the propo
sition which admits OF exception, can neye
be self evident. The astonished nations, a
they read that oil men are created equa
started out OF their lethargy, like those VIII
have been exles from childhood, whom the
suddenly hear the dimly remembered accent
OF their mother tongue.
Now we beg our Democratic friends jus
to ponder those two brief extracts, one fror
Douglas and the other from Bancroft, an
II there be any manhood left in them, the
--s. fc- e-r Ec-s:a 8. jig :. least, 3asr:a
Douglas.