Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-07-07
The Declaration of Independence.

On the Fourth of July we sat in our
office musing over the day we cele-
brate as a day of birth to our own
Liberties and, perhaps, in the very
long run, of liberty To a whole race
of people not of our color Lancas>
ter was quiet, hardly visitor from
the country, and we sat all day alone.
The Declaration upon its adop-
ton abolished slavery in law. No
higher human law was ever enacted
than these articles called the Decla-
ration of Independence. To be sure
these articles had to be won by war
before they could be in full force.
But our foretathers performed that
work and soon after, of these arts
cles OF Independence and the war
was born the constitution, which was
the second sovereign act OF the pe0-
ple-all the people. These works
cost the people seven years OF war
But the war itself and the constitu'
ton took all their rights from the
Declaration of Independence. A
great statesman once said, The
Declaration of independence was
never repealed and is now and forev-
err will be the fundamental law OF the
whole land" And John c. Spencer
said, h" This Declaration is above all
law and constitutions, being the
father ofal and being the will Of the
fathers" 1t wiped away all the ler
galized slavery which Britain ever
ordained, and made all men in Amer.
lea free and equal-with rights as
freemen which could not be aliena-
ted or forfeited
The Declaration of independence
has been slandered. Unable to
attack it boldly and bravely they
have ridiculed it by saying, :" ii
makes all men born Nth equal strength
equal beauty, and equal brains" =
Whereas it only holds. that to met
belong for life all that belongs to
them at birth, as life, liberty and
property-including also the five
senses and air, water, heat, clothing
and food.
Said Gen. Lafayette, TO the Brit
ish Philanthropist, Clarkson, /" Sir,
would never have drawn my sword
in the cause Of America if had fore.
seen that thereby land of slavery
was TO be founded" And Kosciusko
the brave Polander who so greatly
aided al our Revolution, ut whose
fall tyranny rejoiced the world over
and freedom sbrieked, provided in
his will that his property in Ameri~
ca should be used only by his anti
slavery friend, Jefferson, for the lib
Grafton and education of slaves
Washington is well known to have
suffered life of remorse for having
had hand in begetting country
where slaves were bought and sold
and so finally freed his slaves by
will. All these great soldiers and
statesmen supported the Declaration
of Independence, against the nncon
stitutional lie of slavery.
We have suffered q war and loss Of
a million men and three thousand
millions Of treasure for our violation
of the Declaration OF Independence
and still we are not done with ma
king sacrifice, if ever we get through
it.
In the wide disbelief in God to
overtake and punish us for oppres-
sing the poor blacks, we are still re-
fusing to let them go and be free
We are ready to let the poor slave
return to his tasks beneath the lash
if we can only get out Of paying the
war debt-by any means, as by tax
ing the bonds or by open reputation
Surely our children must suffer al
the penalties known in Gods laws
for these crimes of the fathers.
So we write for,,the Herald, this In
dependence day, year of our Lord
1868.