The Constitution of the United States, II

Copyright Underwood & Undenvood, N. Y.

PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON

The Constitution of the United States By Levi Edgar Young, Professor of History, University of Utah

II. The Spirit of Truth and Liberty-

Through the influence of Washington, Madison, and others, a Convention was called to meet at Philadelphia in May, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation and to talk over the se- rious problems of government that were uppermost in the minds of the people. The Convention met according to appointment, General Washington was chosen President, and the work of drafting a document for a united government was commenced. This was unquestionably the ablest body of men that ever sat in all history to discuss the affairs of government. Among those who took an active part in drafting the Constitution were Frank- lin, Madison, Rufus King and Elbridge Gerry from Massachus- etts; Alexander Hamilton of New York; Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut; "the Morrises from Pennsyl- vania, Robert, the financier, Gouverneur, the Master of syle;" and John Dickinson of Delaware. A review of the names of the members of the Convention shows that scarcely a state was without its representatives of national fame. The Convention was in session almost daily except Sun-

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day, from May 14, 1787, to September 17. The result of its work was the Constitution of the United States, the most re- markable civic and political document in all history. The establishment of the Government of the United States came as a result of the drafting of the Constitution. No human mind can as yet grasp its significance and meaning, par- ticularly in the light of the present world's war. All the eco- nomic, social, ethical, religious, and intellectual forces of the ages have entered into its growth, and yet upon this continent and in this nation, a distinct national people have been devel- oped. "Americanism" has come to have a potent meaning, and the United States has contributed much to the world's onward march. It has taken more alien people and given them a new outlook on life than has any other nation of all history. When foreign peoples come to our shores to make homes, they are allowed in time the full rights of American citizenship. No wonder that the United States becomes the asylum of millions of people who have lost their highest hopes and ambitions in life. No wonder that our nation is fast becoming the most powerful intellectually, socially, and economically of all times. The Government of the United States is admired by all nations. Gladstone, England's "grand statesman," pointed to it with pride as the child of England; Napoleon said that no nation of the world rested upon a more secure foundation; and Bismarck declared that Germany must be united by a patriotic spirit that expresses itself in great acts "as it has expressed itself among the new people, who dwell across the seas in America." It was Layfayette who said: "The moment I heard of America, I loved her; the moment I knew she was fighting for freedom, I burnt with a desire of bleeding for her; and the moment I shall be able to serve her at any time, or in any part of the world, will be the happiest one of my life."

The United States has entered the world's war "to make the world safe for democracy." The ideals embodied in the Constitution of our country are the truths that are directing us in our warfare against autocracy and "slavery of the masses." The Constitution is the written expression of man's new civic and political idealism in the modern world of thought and ac- tivity. It speaks of rights, not bestowed or derived, but the rights that are inherent in personality, as a free, self-conscious and "self determining entity." Our forefathers had learned through their years of experience in conquering the forces of nature, the power of self-government, and there had grown up among them the freedom of self-expression, all of which we enjoy to this day, and ever will enjoy so long as the ideals of the founders of the Republic live. If man is responsible for what

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he makes of his life, then liberty is the necessary pre-condition of his self-realization. Now this is the fundamental thought of the Constitution of the United States. Every man is free to live and to act, but

Copyright Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.

STATUE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Photo from the original in the State House at Richmond, Va., by Hudon.

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to live and act in such manner that he will respect the rights and privileges of all other men. Liberty is inherent in the soul of man, and not a concession made by kings and emperors. Let me recite to you the Preamble of the Constitution of the United Slates, and then compare it with the Constitution of the German Empire. We,the people of the United States, in order to form a more per- fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- stitution for the United States of America.

The Preamble of the German Constitution reads: "His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North German Confederation, His Majesty the King of Bavaria, His Majesty the King of Wurtemburg, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden, and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhenish Hesse lying south of the Main, conclude an eternal alliance for the protection of the Terri- tory of the Confederation, and of the rights of the same as well as for the promotion of the welfare of the German people. This Confederation shall bear the name of the German Empire, and shall have the following Constitution."

The one expresses the will of the people; the other is a concession by the Emperor. The sovereignty of the one is in the people; of the other, in the King. The Constitution of the United States expresses a new philosophy of State. It gives to our government a human foundation, and is based on the rights of the individual. By it, Absolutism is destroyed forever in America. Aristotle divided government into three classes: The gov- ernment by the one, the few, and the many. We have given the world the idea of the government by the all, which rests upon self-government, making the American inventive, resourceful, individualistic, with the right to worship God as he wishes. The four corner stones of our government, resting upon the Constitu- tion are: Representative government; division of public pow- ers; the guarantee of personal immunities; and the judicial pro- tection of all privileges and rights guaranteed by the Constitu- tion. So in all, it shows that with us, government is the product of life, and its greatness rests upon the ideals of the people. It guarantees us high political privileges; it gives us economic conducive of prosperitv, but leaving our rights, not necessarily instinctive materialgrowth unimpeded. The American be- comes constructive and creative by the very spirit of the Con- stitution. As these are a few of the ideals expressed by the Constitu- tion of the United States, let us realize always, that the govern- ment under which we live has had a birth of freedom, and that

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never in all our history have we gone to war for selfish motives, for aggrandizement, or conquest. The only times the Nation has taken up arms has been either in defense of the high prin- ciples expressed in the Constitution of the United States, or for the protection of suffering humanity, caused by the encroach- ment of some ruthless nation. There is a call of God to nations as to men; — and today the United States free and democratic has been called to protect foreign nations that have stood for humanity and freedom, and to extend the spirit of the Constitu- tion to all peoples who love Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.