The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1949-07-30
For cod

an opponent of Civil Rights leg
islation which Democratic Pres
ident championed at Philadelphia.
The ,Eastland contingent has
taken refuge behind new-old
bulwark, the right of hopeless
minority Of ONE to filibuster and
defeat the will Of the majority
of all the peoplel
A celebrated philosopher Ger
guson), writing more than CEN
fury and a half ago, asked IF
millions recede before single
man and Senates are passive, on
whose side has the defense of
freedom given way?"
Woodrow Wilson told us in his
History of the American people"
how to deal with those who would
trample upon the Bill of Rights.
He cited the action threatened
by President Andrew Jackson,
hero of the battle of New Or
leans, which colored people
helped him to win. When South
Carolina was talking rabidly of
multiplying, by resistance, laws of
the United States, this patron
saint of Democracy, "Old Hick-
ory," sent this warning message:
SAY to my friends in South
Carolina that if they shed one
single drop of blood in opposi-
ton to the laws of the United
States, will hang the first man
engaged in such reasonable OPP
position to the laws of The United
States, to the first tree l can
reach"
Needless to say, South Caro-
lima did not fire on Fort Sumter
and the American flag, until long
after her rebellious citizens, who
are now denying us protection
under the Bill of Rights, were
absolutely sure Andrew jackson
was dead
You all know that the Dixie
crat forefathers finally started
their war against the Union. That
war cost the American people
more than a million lives, and
billions OF dollars. And that war
was caused by simple treason,
as Andrew Jackson called the
earlier threats of nullificationists
That war would have been
made IMPOSSIBLE had not re-
calcitrant South Carolina and
Georgia, bellweathers of nullif-
cation, not blocked Thomas JEFF
ferson's far-seeing proposal at
the Constitutional Convention of
1897, to outlaw human slavery.
The South is as blind today
as it was in 1887, and in 186O-65.
And the South, though quite a
number Of her intelligent, lib
eral-minded citizens are crop
ing toward the light of progress,
should be brought up with a
round-turn, and compelled by a
patriotic President and Congress,
backed by an honest Supreme
Court, to obey the laws of our
country, including every tenet of
the Bill Of Rights.
The laws in our Constitution
were made and enforced. They
were adopted by patriotic, hon
est, loyal, far-seeing citizens
who paved our way to world
leadership in this atomic CEN
fury.
cannot refrain from recog-
nizing recent development
down in Alabama, which, though
it may be but gesture designed
to ward off fully justified criti-
cism Of the states long domin-
ance by the Ku Klux Khan, the
Columbisns, and other unpatri-
otto, reasonable organizations,
still looks like a step forward,
and, Let g5 ! pc, win influence
remedial action there and in
other backward states.
Down in Birmingham a grand
jury has indicted II persons for
taking part in hooded terror"
in that area and I believe that
the legislatures of all states
where such traitorous organiza-
lions flourish. should revoke the
charter of these organizations,
since they are clearly hostile to
the Bill of Rights and to every
other fair provision of the
United States Constitution in
tended to protect the American
citizen.
Backward Georgia has fatty
refused to unmask the Khan,
but if our President stands reso-
lutely back of his personal party
pledges, the result will~be fuller
civil, economic and political
rights for all our people.
| do not believe that anyone
of the founding fathers ever
dreamed that any section of the
United States, especially the up
per South that gave us Washing
ton, Jefferson, Jackson, and
Lincoln, woul ever be controlled
by the Rankin, Byrnes, Talmadge
type of nullificationist.