River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-08-28
The Constitution.


IA paper read by Mr. T. c. Knight at the
Teachers Association, held in Spring Valley
last winter. The paper presents the obserya-
tons of one who has marty completed his
three-score and ten years. and who has been
teacher in our public schools for more than for
ty years.-Edl
A colony of Separo.ists, who wish
to enjoy greater regilious liberty, en-
igrated from England to Holland, but
not finding there tile liberty they
sought, departed from there in the
Maynower 1890 for The wild and rock
bound shores of New England, North
America, which afterwards became
Massachusetts. This colony, with the
one on James river, Virginia, laid the
foundation of that constitution, of
which we are about to speak.
After period of I'D years, embrac-
ing the Colonial Pehod, under the
British government, We are brought
down to the Revolutionary Times
natural and logical o1tgrowth of the
spirit of the 'tPilgim Fathers. "
They declared for independence, that
all men were created free and equal,
and of right ought To be free. Con-
cord, Lexington, Bunker Hill, Sarato-
ga, and Yorktown proved these decla-
rations good. The Articles of Confed-
Grafton, which were found insufficient
for a republican government, were
amended by new and broader consti-
tuition. The meeting for this revis-
ion, was held in the city of Philadel-
phia, May, 1887, and was found to
comprise delegates from all the states
excepting Rhode Island. A great
English statesman, of our own time
Mr.. Gladstone, has pronounced the
constitution of the Z. S. to be ''the
most wonderful work ever struck OIL
at given time by the brain and pur-
pose of man. Washington said of it;
cit appears to me little short of amir
acle that the delegates from so many
states, different from each other in
manners, circumstances and preju-
dices should unite in forming system
of national governments so little liable
to well founded objections. 1t is pro.
vided with more checks and barriers
against the introductionl of tyranny
than any government hitherto institu'
ted among mortals.' = In 1889, Wash.
ington was inaugGrated president, and
John Adams yice-president. New
York was then the seat of the gener.
al government.
The constitution of the u. S. hav'
| ing thus been adopted, the general
government was then permanently or
ganized.
Geography, history, and the consti
tuition are necessarily coordinate anC
parallel. The student should be con
versant with all the historical causes
that produced the constitution
Among the prominents of the consti-
tuition the elective franchise should
be thoroughly taught. The ballot !:
the freeman's legacy. But in thi;
connection, the public schools-uni
versal knowledge underlie all consti
buttons. True public instruction il
the consequence of constitutions
power. Let the instructions of thu
schools be of the highest moral pow
er. The bible and our obligations t.
God underline all constitutions.
The last three amendments to thu
constitution resulted from the growth
of constitutional liberty--fye million:
of slaves with one stroke of the pen
under the immortal Lincoln, wer'
made free men, and finally were enti
tied to citizenship and the right o
| the elective franchise-an equality
before the law, of the full, developed
free man.
On the whole, finally, let the stu
dent be taught that constitutions
government is the last hope of man
progress, through the ages, to the des
tiny assigned him by God. HerbeT
Spencer speaks thus of US: "The fact
ors that enter into the composition 0
the American States are too great TO
the human mind to comprehend thei