New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-07-09


80 years old lawyer by profession Of easy fortune,
Of tranquil mind, profoundly versed in many studies,
sct ideast ard therefore the most practical OF men,
introduce into the Cor nenal Cor gress the Declare
ton of Independence he had drafted in which he set
forth the profoundes convictions Of the greatest Of
the age, in majestic dictOn proportioned to the sol
lemniIy Of the crisis and the granoeur of the f h.
We hold these truths TO be sclfeyident that all men
are created equal that they endowed by their
Creator with certain inslienable rights; that among
these life, liberty, anc the pursuit OF happiness.
That these rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the con-
sent Of the governed"
On the 4th of july the Declaration was solemn,
adopted Tie doors of the nall were closed during the
detat But The people gathered IN crowds OUTSIDE,
eagerly aw ang the result when suddenly the bell in
the State House tower, which was grayed the scrip
tu1al text, Proclaim liberty rOughOut all the land
unto al the inhabitants thereof burst into joyous
peal ard new epoch Of human history had begun
Ring on ring on forever, sacred bell
Ring out false pride In place and blood,
Le civic SANDER aud the spite
Ring in the common love Of good.
Ring out ole shapes Of foul disease,
Rrg out the narrowing lust OF god
Ring out the thousand OF cid;
Ring in the thousand years OF peace.
Ring In TIE valiant man and free,
The larger heart the Ai.dli-T h.ni;
Ring out the darkness Of thelind,
Ring in the chrisi that Is to be-
The whole Of the political philosophy Of the Fathers
was developed from one principle, which biazed
brightly III tie very front OF the DeClarLIion ana
flames in the forehead OF our morning sky" All
men are created equal That is the doctrine of the
Revolution; Of Rhode Island and Virginia, of Mases-
chusetts and South Carolina That is the eternal ea
sentia American idea That lie the principle which in
spires our Constitution al undelies Government
Where il the orator who dares, while one burning
phrase Give me liberty or give me death keeps
greatest orators name fresh IN our hearts forever, TO
call that principle gteriDg generality calm
est sncsrest and most truthful Of ali historic doea
ments "the passionate manifesto OF a revolutionary
WAR ?" Where is the sly demagogue who shouts that
it q no natter whether the principle is voted up or
voted down Fello citizens, when ypat principle
peilehes in our hearts; when faith IN il is derdsd
when-and may God forbid il lit should ever be tee
serious conviction VI the Lation that it is only abb
srsCt and aiming generality then the hope shat
keena the race sweet is extnguished; the promise Of
humanity is ios and the son OF the morning falls from
heaven.
The question forced upon to-day then ia, whether
the men ho made the Declaration beleyedtl But does
al body familiar with their long, cautious elaboration
ooubt il Do you suppose they solemnly invoked the
oIld 10 bear them tell lie aid that when they SAID
AN men are created equal they meant that all mer
are not created equal Do you believe that, 10 the
mon ent when they were devotiDg their lives their
fortunes end their sacred honor to the defense of
pIinepe' they were guilty OF repeating the wretchsd
Joke ;" Resolved that the saints shall inherit the
esIh. Resolved that we are the saints T. DO you
SUPPOSE that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel
Acsms Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, John
Hancock Robert Mouis, and their companions talked
81 random in the most mouenous Crisis Of their lives
Were they msn TO overthrow the Governments, under
" bicb they fourished, upon any vague abstraction
II they meant something else, why did they not say
bat they meant, instead Of saying precisely what
they did not mean ? If they did no, believe t. why
did tiey talk about it II would have been perfectly
easy for them to say We hold this truth to be SELF
eyid,n ut, that men are created equal. Yes, II
Ould have been easy 10 cay II, a. It 10 easy now 10
say that fhey meant it. But it would have been the
i, ke Of al history There would have been no York
town NJ der such programme az that. The very guns
would have refused 10 go on Inc hears OF the peoPs
v ould have frozen as they heard. The bell girded
" th the GOSPEL Of Liberty would hsye fallen for
shame aud buried iFelf in tue ground and tie Reyo-
luton would have ended and ended worthIy Ia the
Il -re,t ditch. No, no: The men to whom TINS gay
l. saored were the choice Of centuries AID they
weighted their words Ike jewels They were MEG
who said what hey meant and meant what they said
They meant all men, snd, calling God aid the world
10 witness, tLey sand all men.
And why is there any doubt OF their meaning Why
is this statement Of truth which they declared 70 be
self evicent supposed TO be peIe rhetorical flourish
IL their mouths The reasons are two. In the hrsE
place it Is said thai true that al men are Gre
al,d equal: and il the second place that II the pri1
cple were rue they condemned Their OWE practice by
asserting IT,
But the Revolutionary leaders quite as wise a.
we are. They were, above all, men Of common seuse
And when they said that al created equal,
tt6y explicitly defined the equality OF which they
spoke They did not proclaim an absurdity. They
did not assert an equality Of circumstance OF cond
color of the eyes and the hair. They de Jared simply
that all men bad civil equality; that they all had 40
equal right to life, liberty and inc puIsclt OF hspP
bess; and that these rights, while they might be prop
ery Iegu aied could not be annihilaed without the
fOulest injustice. Then they declared that tho very
object OF government 10 prevent the destruction
| or injury Of these rights. They did not say they
woul0 not have King. They merely sad tbs Gov
| eminent must be I. unded upon consent, aud.
| If sou have a King lie must reign by the
will of tho people and not by the grace Of wder
They did lot believe bat all kings were bad men, for
history loves the names q Alfred and Marcus Aueelus.
TIey knew that mob might he sanguinary as Nero,
for they remembered the murder Ct De WIZ IN the
Neibersrds aud the fate Of the eely CLriss-s. But
when, aferwsrd they came 70 consider how, under oil
circumstances Of bumsn seiiishueSs and ambition, the
rights VI might be most certainly occurred they de-
oded for popular government because They SAW that
Rbaieyer the drad yautges Of thai tem yet history
plainly taught that aay single ma, cass or race,
wbh holcs exclusive political power presently denes
and DESTROYS the equal rights II other men, classes
races, and rosts the government as that Of Naples
ard Austria rest to-day upon Ignorance, terror, and
| tie bayonet The English statesmen, following the
philosopher Hobbies CT Main ssbury, held that there
| wss no moral obligation, human right, ANTE
rior to civil society. But the American etatssmen
drew their Bill OF Rights from their faith in God, lie
il the common Father Of mankind, and while he hai
made two children Of bis alike either ia mind or
body, he Is no respeoler of persons and has giver
them all equal night To the free devs pment OF thei
| nciyidual manhood. Tue Indian Tseumseh, rouseG
the red men Of tina West; thu Greek Themistoe'es
routing the Peisians 5alamis tie African ToussAir
lOnveiIure, dying thousand deaths toE aus lAno sh'
his race N bis dargeon among the lara mo1nts,s
the American athan Hale, grieviDg thai lie naa "a
one LIE 10 i~,e for hs eOuntry-they Ie net ~ u1e<