St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1860-10-04
The Meanest Falsehood Of the
:.st -."- '" Season. tatt sl2as 24..i

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the advocates Of Slavery to dispose of the
Declaration of Independence. 1*. y" -.
can men are born equal, endowed with Ger
tain inalienable rights, amongst which are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness" 49,.
| So said the heroes of the American
Revolution, and upon this great principle
the battle of American Independence was
fought and won. 1t was the first time, in
the worlds history, that the right of all
men to life and liberty had ever been dis.
tinctly enunciated by nation, the princi-
pie defended to the death, and successfully
maintained. It was this central idea
which attracted the attention of the world
and brought the oppressed Of all nations in
thousands to our shores. The principle
was never openly disputed in this country
after the Revolution until John G. CAL
houn denied the statement upon tho ground
that "men are not born.' Since that
it has been very common to assert that the
Declaration is rhetorical flourish"
meaning that white men are equal and
have right to life and liberty. but Ste-
phen A. Douglas cut it down little far
Their and stated that the signers of the
Declaration only meaat to say that British
subjects in America were equal to British
subjects in 'England-only this and moth
ing more. In replying to this statement
Carl schurz in his Springfield speech ex-
claims - .'-- =:
What? Is that all ?.~ Is that little
heap of quicksand the whole substruoture
on which a new organization of society
was to be built? The whole foundation
upon which the proud and ponderous edi-
flee of the United States rests !? They did,
then, not mean all men, when they said
all men. They intended, perhaps, even to
disfranchise those free blacks who in five
of, the original thirteen colonies, enjoyed
the right Of voting? They meant but the
white racd. Oh, no, BY no means, the
sohole white race; not the Germans, not
the French, not the Scandinavians they
meant but British subjects. "British sub
jects on this continent being equal to Brit
ish subjects born and residing on the other
size of the great water!' Laughter and
Applause: ;f.':.,. , -. . 7..''' !
There is your Declaration Of Indspen-
dence, a diplomatic dod gc, adopted merely
for the purpose Of excusing tho rebellious
colonies in the eyes of mankind. There is
your declaration Of Independence, no long
er the sacred code Of the rights of man,
but hypocritical piece of Especial pleading,
drawn up by batch of artful pettifoggers,
who, when speaking Of the rights Of man,
meant but the privileges Of set Of aristo-
cratic shareholders, but styled it ''the rights
Of man" in order to throw dust in the eyes
of the world, and to inveigle noble-heart-
ed fools into lending them aid aud assist
ance: { Applause.] These are your boasted
revolutionary sires, no longer heroes and
sages, but accomplished humbuggers and
hypocrites; who said one thing and meant
another; who passed counterfeit sentiments
as genuine, and obtained arms and money
and assistance and sympathy under false
pretences! There is your great American
Revolution, no longer the great champion
Of universal principles, but a mean Yankee
trick nc bursts Of applause and laughter]
! "A wooden ,autmeg-the most impudent
Imposition ever practiced upon the whole
worldp' [Applanse,] '.:ir. = ~, st u
Now, the wayfaring man though he. be
ten times fool could not suppose in read
ing that speech, that the last paragraph,
here quoted, is Mr.. sohurs' opinion of the
Declaration and the men who signed it,
for he and ihis party maintain that they
meant just: what they said, and what the
civilised world believed they meant when
their Declaration was promulgated. But
Mr. Douglas assumes that their fall mem
was "a Yankee trick Mr.. Sohurz sim
| Ply puts Mr.. Douglas opinion into plain
English for him, and shows what his word.
necessarily imply # the signers Of the
Declaration said all men have right to
liberty, when they meant to say i was on
y their own rights they wished to declare
and used the term s'all men" as they must
have done to create sympathy in their own
behalf in the bosoms Of the masses Of Eu-
ropeap nations, would not MI. .sohur1's
commentary BE- the only true, rendering IF
the .actl No one could understand NJ
6churs sgivings this passage 1,as&' h1 own
.f4aFsHseh'M astf 10 gaSla~
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