Passage 1.Let every American, every lover of liberty, every.well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the.Revolution, never to violate in the least particular,.the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their.violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did.to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so.to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every.American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred.honor;—let every man remember that to violate the.law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to.tear the character of his own, and his children’s.liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by.every American mother, to the lisping babe, that.prattles on her lap—let it be taught in schools, in.seminaries, and in colleges;—let it be written in.Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;—let it be.preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative.halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short,.let it become thepolitical religionof the nation;.and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor,.the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and.colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its.altars.....When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of.all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there.are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise,.for the redress of which, no legal provisions have.been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do.mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist,.should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they.continue in force, for the sake of example, they.should be religiously observed. So also in unprovided.cases. If such arise, let proper legal provisions be.made for them with the least possible delay; but, till.then, let them if not too intolerable, be borne with..There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress.by mob law. In any case that arises, as for instance,.the promulgation of abolitionism, one of two.positions is necessarily true; that is, the thing is right.within itself, and therefore deserves the protection of.all law and all good citizens; or, it is wrong, and.therefore proper to be prohibited by legal.enactments; and in neither case, is the interposition.of mob law, either necessary, justifiable, or excusable..Passage 2.Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey.them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey.them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress.them at once? Men generally, under such a.government as this, think that they ought to wait.until they have persuaded the majority to alter them..They think that, if they should resist, the remedy.would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the.government itself that the remedy is worse than the.evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to.anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not.cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist.before it is hurt?....If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of.the machine of government, let it go, let it go;.perchance it will wear smooth—certainly the.machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or.a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself,.then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy.will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a.nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice.to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be.a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have.to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to.the wrong which I condemn..As for adopting the ways which the State has.provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such.ways. They take too much time, and a man’s life will.be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into.this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to.live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has.not everything to do, but something; and because he.cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he.should do something wrong.....I do not hesitate to say, that those who call.themselves Abolitionists should at once effectually.withdraw their support, both in person and property,.from the government...andnotwait till they.constitute a majority of one, before they suffer the.right to prevail through them. I think that it is.enough if they have God on their side, without.waiting for that other one. Moreover, any man more.right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one.already.Q: The primary purpose of each passage is to Answer Choices: (A)make an argument about the difference between legal duties and moral imperatives. (B)discuss how laws ought to be enacted and changed in a democracy. (C)advance a view regarding whether individuals should follow all of the country’s laws. (D)articulate standards by which laws can be evaluated as just or unjust.
A: Among A through D, the answer is
(A)make an argument about the difference between legal duties and moral imperatives.
(B)discuss how laws ought to be enacted and changed in a democracy.
(C)advance a view regarding whether individuals should follow all of the country’s laws.
(D)articulate standards by which laws can be evaluated as just or unjust.
Answer: 2