The Daily state register. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1870-1872, 1871-07-21
Communicated.
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

These words have been ireyerberat-
ing in the ears of the American people
for almost a century. Why are they
publicly proclaimed annually? What
great truth do they teach. Why have
patriotic citizens OF every diversity of
religious and political opinions, Oh the
annual recurrence of the Fourth OF
July, since 1916, assembled themselves
together to do honor to the great and
good met who uttered them? Let us
endeavor to ascertain the great self
evidenttruth intended to be announced
in these remarkable words.
Words are arbitrary signs of ideas.
\ true Interpretation can be derived
only by knowing the speaker, the
person or persons addressed and the
time. place and circumstances of their
utterance. The speakers were the au-
thOrized representatives of the people
of the thirteen British Colonies in
North America, who had up to that
time acGuiesced i'll the claim of the
English King TO reign over them by
Divine Right. The words We're. adj
dressed 10 the civilized world. The
time was the Fourth of July. 1875, i'm
mediately succeeding a series of fruit
less efforts to have their grievances
redressed by George the Third, and
when they had determined to deny
and repudiate the birth-right of Kings
to rule.
Assembled in the Continental Con-
gresS, the delegates from these colo
nists who had resisted the expressions
but never formally denied the claim
of divine right alleged by the King of
England. promulgated the immortal
declaration OF the imbued sovereignty
OF the people. Their very first solemn
averment is that, ''All men are created
equal" Are these words to be accept
Ell in a general and unlimited, or in a
special and limited >~iguiticatiou? They
can not mean physical equality. The
child born with limbs too reformed
for use can not he the physical equal
Of one whose members are all we'll
formed. They cannot mean mental
equality. The child idiots who have
filled the asylum> for imbecile> could
never have been the mental equals of
Sir Isaac Newton or Daniel Webster.
They could not mean social or poiiti-
cal equality. Every SITnerO OF the Dec
laratIon of Independence was either
himself 4 slave owner or the repre-
sentative OF d constituency that we're
slave owners, snd who never did ac-
cord social or political equality 10 the
negro race for more than TWO genera
tons after the Declaration Of Indepen-
dence on the 18th ofJUiy. 1875. Rhode
Island i'll I776 declared the children of
Z slave mothers thereafter to he tree
born. Massachusetts abolished slav-
cry in i1S0. Connecticut, iii ISL, de
clared The children of slave mothers TO
be free at theag of %. Pennsylvania,
in 1850. declared the children OF slaves,
thereafter. to be free born. New
Hampshire abolished slavery in 1872.
New York i'll 1893. New jersey in
lo20. 1t will be conceded thatthe high
position in moral and mental excel
lence accorded to the people of the
States Just referred To, and who. Ivy
their chosen and very learned dele
yates. signed the declaration which
-tN - W tiS wa VA
England, renders il impossible that
they could have meant social OF pOlit-
Teal equality by the words under re
view and 80 p~er>i>tently continue to
violate their own teachings. Are
these words. then. without any peril
nent >i.niiicitlon? That mo be adj
mitted. Let it constantly be remen-
hered that the colonists OF the New
World. from their peculiar surround
ing and renuOteness from the nome
Government, had been trained to self
reliance and independence of thought.
They We're wronged 10y their King.
They demonstrated. He turned u deaf
ear. They protested. He persisted.
They resisted. He declares that he is
their born King. and will command
submission. They deny his claim,
and declare that they are as r~ightfulIy
born kings as he. and that on thai par
~ticular proposition all men are created
equal. The ISSUE was thus distinctly
made and the results are c~rystaliZei
INTO imperisiabie history.
Reno, July 10, 1871. MEMO.