VII. The ConstitutionPersonal Guaranties Grouped Under The Title "The Short Constitution"We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this room. It is our great charter.Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”35It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully and study it thoroughly.The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government, procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States. These are important.But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.36To make our task more simple, I have selected from the[pg 056]Constitution those sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page217.) I have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it“The Short Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It makes it more convenient for us.Take this“Short Constitution”home with you. Bring it with you when you come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.Now I am going to read this:THE SHORT CONSTITUTIONArticle I (Amendment I.)Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37Article II (Amendment II.)A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Article III (Amendment III.)No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.[pg 057]Article IV (Amendment IV.)The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Article V (Amendment V.)No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Article VI (Amendment VI.)In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Article VII (Amendment VII.)In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by[pg 058]jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Article IX (Amendment IX.)The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Article X (Amendment X.)The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.[pg 059]Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their[pg 060]Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the United States.I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the original Constitution by the convention—1787.39That was more than a century and a quarter ago.I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.I also want you to understand something of the[pg 061]changes and additions made by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people, and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make additions to it whenever they want to.40So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of the Constitution.[pg 065]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Compare“The Short Constitution”on pages 56-60 with the complete Constitution found at the back of the book.2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there any similarity in the various parts selected?3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the United States?4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Why are we interested in our rights?B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.D. Write a paper on the following:The Officials Provided by the ConstitutionThe American Bill of Rights[pg 066]VIII. Making The ConstitutionHow The Convention Of 1787 Drafted The Constitution Of The United StatesYou will remember from your study of American history that when the early colonists came to this country they settled along the Atlantic coast in many separate and distinct groups. Not all had come from the same country. Most of them were English, but there were also smaller settlements of Dutch, French, Germans, and Swedes. It was not many years until the English had taken control of all the land from Maine to Georgia, but even then not all the English were alike. There were Puritans and Cavaliers, Scotch and Irish, Scotch-Irish and Quakers. They differed in their ideas of government, religion, and education.These colonists had come for many purposes. Some had come to make their fortune. Others because of trouble at home. Most had come to be free, to worship God in the way they chose, to form their own government, to make their own laws, to govern themselves; and in the early days, they had met with success.But as time went on, as more people came, as ships were built, and trade and commerce increased, the government of England became more and more tyrannical. The English people may not have favored this, but they did not direct the acts of their king and his officers. Taxes were placed on the colonists without their consent. They were forced to accept laws not of their own choosing. The king refused them the right to select their own judges. They could not trade where they pleased. If you will read the[pg 067]Declaration of Independence you will see how their liberties were restricted.41All this time the various colonies were as separate as so many distinct countries. They did not know each other. There was little travel from one to another. They were quite different. But they were alike in the fact that each wanted liberty, and that each was subject to oppression from the English king.So from time to time we find them sending delegates to some common meeting place to discuss a plan of action. In 1754 a group met at Albany to suggest a plan of union. In 1765 England passed the Stamp Act which put a tax upon certain articles such as books, newspapers, and playing cards. A person could not sell one of these articles without pasting upon it one of these stamps, the money from which went to England as a tax. It was much like our war tax upon tooth paste, shaving soap, and playing cards. The difference was this. The colonists had never given the right to make this tax. It had been imposed upon them by England; and further, if a person were accused of selling a book or newspaper without this stamp, he could be severely punished.42This enraged the colonists, and in New York in the following year, there met a group of delegates from nearly all the colonies to discuss ways and means of meeting this.Again in 1774, conditions having become worse, delegates from twelve colonies met at Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to consider the grievances against Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress following it carried on the first years of the Revolutionary War. It drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence. It raised and provided for the armies, and brought the States together.But it needed a kind of constitution. So in 1777 the Articles of Confederation were drawn up and adopted by Congress and by 1781 all the States had finally adopted[pg 068]them. But they were inadequate. Each of the thirteen States wanted all the power in its own hands.43You cannot blame them. Picture to yourself these little settlements down on the Atlantic Coast. All together they did not have as many people as there are in the State of New Jersey to-day. They and their fathers had left their homes and traveled thousands of miles over stormy seas to find liberty. They themselves had fought a long war against England to make themselves free. They did not wish to give up these powers.44But the wiser people in the different States saw that to form a more perfect union it was necessary to grant the central government more powers, and to fix forever certain rights which every American citizen should enjoy throughout the years to come. So the people selected men as their representatives and authorized them to meet with the representatives from other States at Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up a plan of government which would be strong enough to hold the country together and govern it effectively.Now who were these men? They were men who were selected by their neighbors to represent them, just as men are elected to-day to represent us in the legislature of our State or in Congress. To be sure, in those days not all men were allowed the right to vote. In some States a man had to have a certain amount of money before he could vote. In others men of certain religious faiths were not allowed to vote. But the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were men who were fairly representative of all the people. When we consider the work that they did, that they wrote our Constitution, that they were able to do this at the time they did, we must feel that a wise Providence guided their selection and inspired them in their wonderful work.There in Independence Hall in Philadelphia were Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, James Madison and[pg 069]Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. Almost all the prominent men of the time took part.45They took the best that they knew of the experience of the human race in government, especially the experience of England and America, and from this they drew up the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of the government under which we live.46When they had finished their work—that part of the Constitution which precedes the amendments—they submitted it to the States. They were very careful to see to it that the people themselves should approve of this. So instead of having the usual legislature of each State vote upon it, they provided that the people of each State should elect delegates for a special convention, the sole purpose of which was to decide whether or not they would like to live under a government like this.47These conventions, elected by the people for this special purpose, met and one after another, often after a bitter struggle, ratified the Constitution. The chief objection was that the rights of all Americans were not clearly stated.So at the first meeting of Congress, the first ten amendments—our American Bill of Rights—were adopted and in 1791 they were ratified by the States. Since then the Constitution has been rarely amended. In 1798 and in 1804 the eleventh and twelfth amendments regarding the courts and the election of the President were adopted. After the Civil War three amendments were adopted regarding the problem of the negro citizen. Since then we have added changes regarding the income tax, the election of United States Senators, and prohibition. The last amendment, dealing with the extension of the vote to women, was ratified by Tennessee as the thirty-sixth State on August 18, 1920.To-day then, our government is founded upon the Constitution made shortly after the Revolutionary War. It represents[pg 070]the aims and ambitions of the fathers of our country. They came to this land to be free. They suffered persecution. They threw off the yoke of the oppressor. They established a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people selected the men who drew it up. They selected the men who amended it. Our task is to understand what it means, to obey it, and protect it.The lofty purpose of the fathers of the republic in establishing this, the first real government by the people, is expressed in these thrilling words:“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.”[pg 072]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Why did the early settlers come to America?2. From what countries did they come? Which countries were most important?3. Why did they become dissatisfied with English rule here?4. Why did they wish to unite? Name some of the earlier attempts at union.5. When was the Stamp Act passed? What was it supposed to do? Why did the colonists object?6. Why were the Articles of Confederation not satisfactory?7. What was the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? How were the representatives at this meeting chosen? How did they try to see that the representatives at this meeting actually represented the people?8. How was the Constitution ratified by the people? In what way did they try to make it the actual will of the people?9. When was our Bill of Rights passed?10. What amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. How did the makers of the Constitution guard against the abuses cited in the Declaration of Independence?B. How were the defects in the Articles of Confederation guarded against and remedied?C. What experience had the makers of the Constitution had which enabled them to prepare so successful a document?D. Would you say that Gladstone's statement,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man”was literally true?E. How did the allusions to other countries made during the convention show the advantage of America's being a“melting pot”?F. What people were allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?G. What were the chief objections urged against ratification of the Constitution?H. Write a paper on the following:Why the People Needed a ConstitutionThe Main Points IncludedA Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers to Questions J Chapter TwoGeorge WashingtonBenjamin FranklinAlexander HamiltonJames Madison[pg 073]IX. FreedomHow Freedom Of Worship, Speech, The Press, And Assembly Are GuaranteedThis morning we begin the consideration of what I believe to be the most important of all the subjects we have talked about. I think people are more interested in their privileges and rights than they are in their duties. In fact we hear a great deal and we read a great deal about“rights”, but we do not find very much said on the streets, in the homes, or in the newspapers about our“duties”.48Now we have considered in a very general way the nature of our government and something of our powers and duties under the Constitution. I know that you will be interested in considering our rights and privileges under the Constitution of the United States.Always keep in mind that each State has a Constitution, and that the Nation has a Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States covers the entire Nation, not only the original thirteen colonies, but the present forty-eight States, and that any States that may hereafter be brought in the Union will have as their fundamental law the Constitution adopted by the people in the long ago.49Also always keep in mind that the Nation has certain powers, and that the Constitution of the United States is supreme only as to the things over which the United States as a Nation has control.But it is important to bear in mind that the great principles of the Constitution of the United States have been carried into the Constitutions of the various States, and that the rights and privileges of the people under the Constitution[pg 074]of the United States have also to a large extent been guaranteed by the Constitutions of the States.50This morning we take up a constitutional guaranty which you perhaps have not thought much about, but which is one of the most important in the whole Constitution—Freedom of Worship. The Constitution provides:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”51As we look back through the history of the world we are startled to find that this was the first written guaranty that the people of any nation ever had permitting them to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.52Now some of you may not realize how important this is; but there is nothing so dear to the human heart as the right, the privilege, of belonging to that church and worshipping God in that manner which each individual may desire. We do not realize the value of such a privilege until some one, or some power, seeks to take it away from us. All through the world men and women and children have fought, and many of them have died, for this privilege. It was the custom of the nations of the world before our Constitution to have an established religion, a National religion, and in many of the countries it was the law that every one must belong to the state church, and must actually believe in the religion of the state. In fact, in many countries, refusal to believe in the religion of the state was punished by death—sometimes by burning to death, and I am sure you will be surprised to realize that while America was first settled by people who were seeking religious freedom, they were still so imbued with a feeling of the old days that persons must worship, not as their conscience might dictate, but as the state might dictate, that for many years in this country in certain of the colonies a state religion was recognized, and[pg 075]obligation to conform to the established religion enforced by severe penalties.In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished by burning to death. This is startling, isn't it, to hear of such a brutal law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.53The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal statute was adopted in Virginia.Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be. But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of[pg 076]the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to their own will, their own conscience.The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution, not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express your religious faith.Not only this, but this constitutional guaranty protects every one in his right to belong to no church if he so elects. The soul is free. No power can compel one to belong to any church, nor in any manner to hold or exercise religious faith, or religious duty or obligation.In other words, men are free, and this freedom, aside from any other guaranty of the Constitution, should make us all feel affection and veneration for this great charter of human liberty.But freedom of worship is only one of the many rights and privileges guaranteed to the people—to all the people.Another great natural right—God given right—is firmly and finally established:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”54Here again remember, when you are thinking of what you owe to your country, that this declaration of the Constitution was the first in all the history of the world by which a Nation guaranteed to all the people the right freely to express their thoughts in words or in writing. This was the first time the chains were taken from the human intellect. No one will ever be able to number the men and women who, throughout the history of the world, were condemned to death, because they dared to express their sentiments. If[pg 077]Patrick Henry had delivered his famous speech in which he said,“Give me liberty, or give me death”, in England rather than America, he would have been promptly punished. Hundreds of the colonists would have been hanged by the British government if they had expressed themselves in the mother country instead of in the new world. Kings to hold their power in the old world, to keep the people so terrorized that they would submit to their will, made the practice of hanging or beheading those who freely spoke their sentiments against the government.55Of course under the old laws those who expressed their religious convictions in opposition to the state church by speech or writing were usually promptly imprisoned, hanged, or burned.Now do not have any misunderstanding about this guaranty of freedom of speech and of the press. We often hear complaints of certain people about certain laws punishing those who abuse the privilege of free speech; but there is no law of State or Nation which prohibits the speaking or writing of anything in this country. Men may speak and write what they will; but there are some laws punishing those who abuse this great privilege to the injury of another person, or to the injury of the Nation. Of course no one would feel that it was right to allow another to write libelous articles about your neighbors. You would not feel that it would be right to permit some vile person to write false and vicious articles about your mother or your father; and yet any one may do so. They cannot be prohibited or enjoined from doing so, but they may be punished after doing so, after they have been tried in a court and found guilty of libel by a jury of their fellowmen.56So if one writes a threatening letter to your father, telling him that he will kidnap his child unless he pays ten thousand dollars by a certain time, such person is exercising his[pg 078]constitutional right to freedom of expression, but no one would think that it was right to permit him thus to abuse his constitutional right without being punished for it; and consequently such person may be arrested and tried, and if found guilty, punished.So in these later days it has been found wise, not to prohibit persons from giving expression to their views about our government, but to punish those who show by their words or writing that they are rebels against our government, endeavoring by their words to cause a revolution, to incite people to use force, bombs, or the torch to destroy our government.No one can ever be punished for criticising our government, or any of the officers of our government, so long as he does not undertake to destroy our government, and I am sure that you would not think it right to permit any one to destroy the government controlled by ourselves which has brought to us so many blessings. Nearly every one agrees that if a person should use bombs or the torch in an effort to cause revolution and destroy our form of government, such a person should be punished; but there are a few who think that they should not be punished until they actually begin destruction. Of course we cannot agree with them. The man who goes out on the street corner and advocates the use of the bomb and the torch to destroy our government, who arouses passions willfully with the purpose of destroying the government, is doing just as much wrong as is done by the person who follows his advice and uses the bomb and the torch. In fact the man who advocates revolution and destruction, who preaches the use of the bomb and the torch, who plants the poison in the hearts of his fellowmen, and incites them to revolutionary action is more guilty of wrong than are those who, stirred by his appeals, carry out his wishes.[pg 079]In punishing those who thus violate every principle of loyalty, patriotism, and right the constitutional provision is in no manner modified. The worst revolutionist has the freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed to him. The law which punishes him does so only because under the protection of the Constitution, he commits a crime against his country and against humanity.America has done more than any other nation in the world in the cause of educating the common people. It should exercise care that the people should be educated in the true spirit of America, that their minds should not be poisoned by the vicious teachings of those, not Americans at heart, who seek to poison souls and rob the people of their patriotism and of their loyalty.In the olden days so tyrannical was the king that in many instances when the people complained of their burdens and sought rights and privileges they were punished for daring to seek relief. The king would usually give them what he thought they ought to have and would not listen to complaints. One of the rights which the people always hoped for was the privilege of assembling, meeting together, talking over their troubles, drawing up a petition, signing, and presenting it, praying“a redress of grievance”. When the representatives of the people met in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia they had before their minds the things that the people had suffered under old forms of government and it was their earnest effort to provide constitutional guaranties which would prevent the abuses to which the people were compelled to submit in the old world. Therefore one of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States is the following:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”57[pg 080]Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our representative government where the people themselves select those who make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some member arise and say,“Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding officer, would respond in substance,“the request of the gentleman will be granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that[pg 081]there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought, and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation. There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion. The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.[pg 084]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship passed?5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they thought.7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you have freedom of speech?8. Is the Constitution of the United States in force in all the States of the Union?9. Are there other constitutions which the people of different States must observe?10. Why did the people want the right to assemble?11. Do you know of any countries where they do not allow it?12. Do you know of anyone who ever sent a petition to a State legislature? To Congress? What was it like?13. How many assemblies of people and petitions help to make our representatives do what we want them to do?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Name the places in the world, where to-day there is religious persecution.B. Describe the conditions in Armenia.C. What are the real advantages of religions liberty?D. Just how would it affect a person if freedom of speech were not allowed?E. How may the right to freedom of speech be abused?F. During the recent war, men were punished for what they said under what is known as the Espionage Act. How can this be reconciled with freedom of speech?G. Discuss the method of organizing a community meeting.H. Discuss the method of preparing a petition.I. Suppose the opinion of the meeting should be divided, what should be the procedure?J. Plan a method to make the people talk more about government.K. What are the dangers of a lack of interest in the affairs of government?L. How will a congressman represent the wishes of the people if he receives no petitions?M. Write a paper on the following:The Story of the PilgrimsRoger Williams and the Providence ColonyLord BaltimoreThomas Jefferson and Religious LibertyCensorship of the Press and Freedom of SpeechWhat to do with an Anarchist MeetingSocialist PapersThe Importance of the Right of PetitionKeeping In Touch with our RepresentativesSome Petitions I have SeenThings for Which We Should Petition the Legislature[pg 085]
VII. The ConstitutionPersonal Guaranties Grouped Under The Title "The Short Constitution"We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this room. It is our great charter.Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”35It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully and study it thoroughly.The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government, procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States. These are important.But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.36To make our task more simple, I have selected from the[pg 056]Constitution those sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page217.) I have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it“The Short Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It makes it more convenient for us.Take this“Short Constitution”home with you. Bring it with you when you come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.Now I am going to read this:THE SHORT CONSTITUTIONArticle I (Amendment I.)Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37Article II (Amendment II.)A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Article III (Amendment III.)No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.[pg 057]Article IV (Amendment IV.)The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Article V (Amendment V.)No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Article VI (Amendment VI.)In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Article VII (Amendment VII.)In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by[pg 058]jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Article IX (Amendment IX.)The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Article X (Amendment X.)The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.[pg 059]Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their[pg 060]Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the United States.I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the original Constitution by the convention—1787.39That was more than a century and a quarter ago.I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.I also want you to understand something of the[pg 061]changes and additions made by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people, and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make additions to it whenever they want to.40So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of the Constitution.[pg 065]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Compare“The Short Constitution”on pages 56-60 with the complete Constitution found at the back of the book.2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there any similarity in the various parts selected?3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the United States?4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Why are we interested in our rights?B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.D. Write a paper on the following:The Officials Provided by the ConstitutionThe American Bill of Rights[pg 066]VIII. Making The ConstitutionHow The Convention Of 1787 Drafted The Constitution Of The United StatesYou will remember from your study of American history that when the early colonists came to this country they settled along the Atlantic coast in many separate and distinct groups. Not all had come from the same country. Most of them were English, but there were also smaller settlements of Dutch, French, Germans, and Swedes. It was not many years until the English had taken control of all the land from Maine to Georgia, but even then not all the English were alike. There were Puritans and Cavaliers, Scotch and Irish, Scotch-Irish and Quakers. They differed in their ideas of government, religion, and education.These colonists had come for many purposes. Some had come to make their fortune. Others because of trouble at home. Most had come to be free, to worship God in the way they chose, to form their own government, to make their own laws, to govern themselves; and in the early days, they had met with success.But as time went on, as more people came, as ships were built, and trade and commerce increased, the government of England became more and more tyrannical. The English people may not have favored this, but they did not direct the acts of their king and his officers. Taxes were placed on the colonists without their consent. They were forced to accept laws not of their own choosing. The king refused them the right to select their own judges. They could not trade where they pleased. If you will read the[pg 067]Declaration of Independence you will see how their liberties were restricted.41All this time the various colonies were as separate as so many distinct countries. They did not know each other. There was little travel from one to another. They were quite different. But they were alike in the fact that each wanted liberty, and that each was subject to oppression from the English king.So from time to time we find them sending delegates to some common meeting place to discuss a plan of action. In 1754 a group met at Albany to suggest a plan of union. In 1765 England passed the Stamp Act which put a tax upon certain articles such as books, newspapers, and playing cards. A person could not sell one of these articles without pasting upon it one of these stamps, the money from which went to England as a tax. It was much like our war tax upon tooth paste, shaving soap, and playing cards. The difference was this. The colonists had never given the right to make this tax. It had been imposed upon them by England; and further, if a person were accused of selling a book or newspaper without this stamp, he could be severely punished.42This enraged the colonists, and in New York in the following year, there met a group of delegates from nearly all the colonies to discuss ways and means of meeting this.Again in 1774, conditions having become worse, delegates from twelve colonies met at Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to consider the grievances against Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress following it carried on the first years of the Revolutionary War. It drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence. It raised and provided for the armies, and brought the States together.But it needed a kind of constitution. So in 1777 the Articles of Confederation were drawn up and adopted by Congress and by 1781 all the States had finally adopted[pg 068]them. But they were inadequate. Each of the thirteen States wanted all the power in its own hands.43You cannot blame them. Picture to yourself these little settlements down on the Atlantic Coast. All together they did not have as many people as there are in the State of New Jersey to-day. They and their fathers had left their homes and traveled thousands of miles over stormy seas to find liberty. They themselves had fought a long war against England to make themselves free. They did not wish to give up these powers.44But the wiser people in the different States saw that to form a more perfect union it was necessary to grant the central government more powers, and to fix forever certain rights which every American citizen should enjoy throughout the years to come. So the people selected men as their representatives and authorized them to meet with the representatives from other States at Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up a plan of government which would be strong enough to hold the country together and govern it effectively.Now who were these men? They were men who were selected by their neighbors to represent them, just as men are elected to-day to represent us in the legislature of our State or in Congress. To be sure, in those days not all men were allowed the right to vote. In some States a man had to have a certain amount of money before he could vote. In others men of certain religious faiths were not allowed to vote. But the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were men who were fairly representative of all the people. When we consider the work that they did, that they wrote our Constitution, that they were able to do this at the time they did, we must feel that a wise Providence guided their selection and inspired them in their wonderful work.There in Independence Hall in Philadelphia were Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, James Madison and[pg 069]Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. Almost all the prominent men of the time took part.45They took the best that they knew of the experience of the human race in government, especially the experience of England and America, and from this they drew up the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of the government under which we live.46When they had finished their work—that part of the Constitution which precedes the amendments—they submitted it to the States. They were very careful to see to it that the people themselves should approve of this. So instead of having the usual legislature of each State vote upon it, they provided that the people of each State should elect delegates for a special convention, the sole purpose of which was to decide whether or not they would like to live under a government like this.47These conventions, elected by the people for this special purpose, met and one after another, often after a bitter struggle, ratified the Constitution. The chief objection was that the rights of all Americans were not clearly stated.So at the first meeting of Congress, the first ten amendments—our American Bill of Rights—were adopted and in 1791 they were ratified by the States. Since then the Constitution has been rarely amended. In 1798 and in 1804 the eleventh and twelfth amendments regarding the courts and the election of the President were adopted. After the Civil War three amendments were adopted regarding the problem of the negro citizen. Since then we have added changes regarding the income tax, the election of United States Senators, and prohibition. The last amendment, dealing with the extension of the vote to women, was ratified by Tennessee as the thirty-sixth State on August 18, 1920.To-day then, our government is founded upon the Constitution made shortly after the Revolutionary War. It represents[pg 070]the aims and ambitions of the fathers of our country. They came to this land to be free. They suffered persecution. They threw off the yoke of the oppressor. They established a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people selected the men who drew it up. They selected the men who amended it. Our task is to understand what it means, to obey it, and protect it.The lofty purpose of the fathers of the republic in establishing this, the first real government by the people, is expressed in these thrilling words:“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.”[pg 072]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Why did the early settlers come to America?2. From what countries did they come? Which countries were most important?3. Why did they become dissatisfied with English rule here?4. Why did they wish to unite? Name some of the earlier attempts at union.5. When was the Stamp Act passed? What was it supposed to do? Why did the colonists object?6. Why were the Articles of Confederation not satisfactory?7. What was the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? How were the representatives at this meeting chosen? How did they try to see that the representatives at this meeting actually represented the people?8. How was the Constitution ratified by the people? In what way did they try to make it the actual will of the people?9. When was our Bill of Rights passed?10. What amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. How did the makers of the Constitution guard against the abuses cited in the Declaration of Independence?B. How were the defects in the Articles of Confederation guarded against and remedied?C. What experience had the makers of the Constitution had which enabled them to prepare so successful a document?D. Would you say that Gladstone's statement,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man”was literally true?E. How did the allusions to other countries made during the convention show the advantage of America's being a“melting pot”?F. What people were allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?G. What were the chief objections urged against ratification of the Constitution?H. Write a paper on the following:Why the People Needed a ConstitutionThe Main Points IncludedA Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers to Questions J Chapter TwoGeorge WashingtonBenjamin FranklinAlexander HamiltonJames Madison[pg 073]IX. FreedomHow Freedom Of Worship, Speech, The Press, And Assembly Are GuaranteedThis morning we begin the consideration of what I believe to be the most important of all the subjects we have talked about. I think people are more interested in their privileges and rights than they are in their duties. In fact we hear a great deal and we read a great deal about“rights”, but we do not find very much said on the streets, in the homes, or in the newspapers about our“duties”.48Now we have considered in a very general way the nature of our government and something of our powers and duties under the Constitution. I know that you will be interested in considering our rights and privileges under the Constitution of the United States.Always keep in mind that each State has a Constitution, and that the Nation has a Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States covers the entire Nation, not only the original thirteen colonies, but the present forty-eight States, and that any States that may hereafter be brought in the Union will have as their fundamental law the Constitution adopted by the people in the long ago.49Also always keep in mind that the Nation has certain powers, and that the Constitution of the United States is supreme only as to the things over which the United States as a Nation has control.But it is important to bear in mind that the great principles of the Constitution of the United States have been carried into the Constitutions of the various States, and that the rights and privileges of the people under the Constitution[pg 074]of the United States have also to a large extent been guaranteed by the Constitutions of the States.50This morning we take up a constitutional guaranty which you perhaps have not thought much about, but which is one of the most important in the whole Constitution—Freedom of Worship. The Constitution provides:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”51As we look back through the history of the world we are startled to find that this was the first written guaranty that the people of any nation ever had permitting them to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.52Now some of you may not realize how important this is; but there is nothing so dear to the human heart as the right, the privilege, of belonging to that church and worshipping God in that manner which each individual may desire. We do not realize the value of such a privilege until some one, or some power, seeks to take it away from us. All through the world men and women and children have fought, and many of them have died, for this privilege. It was the custom of the nations of the world before our Constitution to have an established religion, a National religion, and in many of the countries it was the law that every one must belong to the state church, and must actually believe in the religion of the state. In fact, in many countries, refusal to believe in the religion of the state was punished by death—sometimes by burning to death, and I am sure you will be surprised to realize that while America was first settled by people who were seeking religious freedom, they were still so imbued with a feeling of the old days that persons must worship, not as their conscience might dictate, but as the state might dictate, that for many years in this country in certain of the colonies a state religion was recognized, and[pg 075]obligation to conform to the established religion enforced by severe penalties.In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished by burning to death. This is startling, isn't it, to hear of such a brutal law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.53The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal statute was adopted in Virginia.Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be. But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of[pg 076]the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to their own will, their own conscience.The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution, not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express your religious faith.Not only this, but this constitutional guaranty protects every one in his right to belong to no church if he so elects. The soul is free. No power can compel one to belong to any church, nor in any manner to hold or exercise religious faith, or religious duty or obligation.In other words, men are free, and this freedom, aside from any other guaranty of the Constitution, should make us all feel affection and veneration for this great charter of human liberty.But freedom of worship is only one of the many rights and privileges guaranteed to the people—to all the people.Another great natural right—God given right—is firmly and finally established:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”54Here again remember, when you are thinking of what you owe to your country, that this declaration of the Constitution was the first in all the history of the world by which a Nation guaranteed to all the people the right freely to express their thoughts in words or in writing. This was the first time the chains were taken from the human intellect. No one will ever be able to number the men and women who, throughout the history of the world, were condemned to death, because they dared to express their sentiments. If[pg 077]Patrick Henry had delivered his famous speech in which he said,“Give me liberty, or give me death”, in England rather than America, he would have been promptly punished. Hundreds of the colonists would have been hanged by the British government if they had expressed themselves in the mother country instead of in the new world. Kings to hold their power in the old world, to keep the people so terrorized that they would submit to their will, made the practice of hanging or beheading those who freely spoke their sentiments against the government.55Of course under the old laws those who expressed their religious convictions in opposition to the state church by speech or writing were usually promptly imprisoned, hanged, or burned.Now do not have any misunderstanding about this guaranty of freedom of speech and of the press. We often hear complaints of certain people about certain laws punishing those who abuse the privilege of free speech; but there is no law of State or Nation which prohibits the speaking or writing of anything in this country. Men may speak and write what they will; but there are some laws punishing those who abuse this great privilege to the injury of another person, or to the injury of the Nation. Of course no one would feel that it was right to allow another to write libelous articles about your neighbors. You would not feel that it would be right to permit some vile person to write false and vicious articles about your mother or your father; and yet any one may do so. They cannot be prohibited or enjoined from doing so, but they may be punished after doing so, after they have been tried in a court and found guilty of libel by a jury of their fellowmen.56So if one writes a threatening letter to your father, telling him that he will kidnap his child unless he pays ten thousand dollars by a certain time, such person is exercising his[pg 078]constitutional right to freedom of expression, but no one would think that it was right to permit him thus to abuse his constitutional right without being punished for it; and consequently such person may be arrested and tried, and if found guilty, punished.So in these later days it has been found wise, not to prohibit persons from giving expression to their views about our government, but to punish those who show by their words or writing that they are rebels against our government, endeavoring by their words to cause a revolution, to incite people to use force, bombs, or the torch to destroy our government.No one can ever be punished for criticising our government, or any of the officers of our government, so long as he does not undertake to destroy our government, and I am sure that you would not think it right to permit any one to destroy the government controlled by ourselves which has brought to us so many blessings. Nearly every one agrees that if a person should use bombs or the torch in an effort to cause revolution and destroy our form of government, such a person should be punished; but there are a few who think that they should not be punished until they actually begin destruction. Of course we cannot agree with them. The man who goes out on the street corner and advocates the use of the bomb and the torch to destroy our government, who arouses passions willfully with the purpose of destroying the government, is doing just as much wrong as is done by the person who follows his advice and uses the bomb and the torch. In fact the man who advocates revolution and destruction, who preaches the use of the bomb and the torch, who plants the poison in the hearts of his fellowmen, and incites them to revolutionary action is more guilty of wrong than are those who, stirred by his appeals, carry out his wishes.[pg 079]In punishing those who thus violate every principle of loyalty, patriotism, and right the constitutional provision is in no manner modified. The worst revolutionist has the freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed to him. The law which punishes him does so only because under the protection of the Constitution, he commits a crime against his country and against humanity.America has done more than any other nation in the world in the cause of educating the common people. It should exercise care that the people should be educated in the true spirit of America, that their minds should not be poisoned by the vicious teachings of those, not Americans at heart, who seek to poison souls and rob the people of their patriotism and of their loyalty.In the olden days so tyrannical was the king that in many instances when the people complained of their burdens and sought rights and privileges they were punished for daring to seek relief. The king would usually give them what he thought they ought to have and would not listen to complaints. One of the rights which the people always hoped for was the privilege of assembling, meeting together, talking over their troubles, drawing up a petition, signing, and presenting it, praying“a redress of grievance”. When the representatives of the people met in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia they had before their minds the things that the people had suffered under old forms of government and it was their earnest effort to provide constitutional guaranties which would prevent the abuses to which the people were compelled to submit in the old world. Therefore one of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States is the following:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”57[pg 080]Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our representative government where the people themselves select those who make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some member arise and say,“Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding officer, would respond in substance,“the request of the gentleman will be granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that[pg 081]there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought, and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation. There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion. The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.[pg 084]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship passed?5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they thought.7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you have freedom of speech?8. Is the Constitution of the United States in force in all the States of the Union?9. Are there other constitutions which the people of different States must observe?10. Why did the people want the right to assemble?11. Do you know of any countries where they do not allow it?12. Do you know of anyone who ever sent a petition to a State legislature? To Congress? What was it like?13. How many assemblies of people and petitions help to make our representatives do what we want them to do?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Name the places in the world, where to-day there is religious persecution.B. Describe the conditions in Armenia.C. What are the real advantages of religions liberty?D. Just how would it affect a person if freedom of speech were not allowed?E. How may the right to freedom of speech be abused?F. During the recent war, men were punished for what they said under what is known as the Espionage Act. How can this be reconciled with freedom of speech?G. Discuss the method of organizing a community meeting.H. Discuss the method of preparing a petition.I. Suppose the opinion of the meeting should be divided, what should be the procedure?J. Plan a method to make the people talk more about government.K. What are the dangers of a lack of interest in the affairs of government?L. How will a congressman represent the wishes of the people if he receives no petitions?M. Write a paper on the following:The Story of the PilgrimsRoger Williams and the Providence ColonyLord BaltimoreThomas Jefferson and Religious LibertyCensorship of the Press and Freedom of SpeechWhat to do with an Anarchist MeetingSocialist PapersThe Importance of the Right of PetitionKeeping In Touch with our RepresentativesSome Petitions I have SeenThings for Which We Should Petition the Legislature[pg 085]
VII. The ConstitutionPersonal Guaranties Grouped Under The Title "The Short Constitution"We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this room. It is our great charter.Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”35It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully and study it thoroughly.The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government, procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States. These are important.But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.36To make our task more simple, I have selected from the[pg 056]Constitution those sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page217.) I have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it“The Short Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It makes it more convenient for us.Take this“Short Constitution”home with you. Bring it with you when you come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.Now I am going to read this:THE SHORT CONSTITUTIONArticle I (Amendment I.)Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37Article II (Amendment II.)A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Article III (Amendment III.)No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.[pg 057]Article IV (Amendment IV.)The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Article V (Amendment V.)No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Article VI (Amendment VI.)In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Article VII (Amendment VII.)In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by[pg 058]jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Article IX (Amendment IX.)The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Article X (Amendment X.)The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.[pg 059]Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their[pg 060]Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the United States.I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the original Constitution by the convention—1787.39That was more than a century and a quarter ago.I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.I also want you to understand something of the[pg 061]changes and additions made by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people, and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make additions to it whenever they want to.40So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of the Constitution.[pg 065]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Compare“The Short Constitution”on pages 56-60 with the complete Constitution found at the back of the book.2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there any similarity in the various parts selected?3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the United States?4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Why are we interested in our rights?B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.D. Write a paper on the following:The Officials Provided by the ConstitutionThe American Bill of Rights
We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this room. It is our great charter.
Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”35It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully and study it thoroughly.
The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government, procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States. These are important.
But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.36
To make our task more simple, I have selected from the[pg 056]Constitution those sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page217.) I have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it“The Short Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It makes it more convenient for us.
Take this“Short Constitution”home with you. Bring it with you when you come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.
Now I am going to read this:
THE SHORT CONSTITUTION
Article I (Amendment I.)Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37Article II (Amendment II.)A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Article III (Amendment III.)No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.[pg 057]Article IV (Amendment IV.)The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Article V (Amendment V.)No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Article VI (Amendment VI.)In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Article VII (Amendment VII.)In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by[pg 058]jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Article IX (Amendment IX.)The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Article X (Amendment X.)The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.[pg 059]Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their[pg 060]Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article I (Amendment I.)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37
Article II (Amendment II.)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Article III (Amendment III.)
No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article IV (Amendment IV.)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V (Amendment V.)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI (Amendment VI.)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Article VII (Amendment VII.)
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by[pg 058]jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX (Amendment IX.)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X (Amendment X.)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38
Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.
Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)
The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their[pg 060]Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)
No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the United States.
I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the original Constitution by the convention—1787.39That was more than a century and a quarter ago.
I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.
I also want you to understand something of the[pg 061]changes and additions made by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people, and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make additions to it whenever they want to.40
So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of the Constitution.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Compare“The Short Constitution”on pages 56-60 with the complete Constitution found at the back of the book.
2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there any similarity in the various parts selected?
3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the United States?
4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?
5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Why are we interested in our rights?
B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?
C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.
D. Write a paper on the following:
The Officials Provided by the ConstitutionThe American Bill of Rights
The Officials Provided by the Constitution
The American Bill of Rights
VIII. Making The ConstitutionHow The Convention Of 1787 Drafted The Constitution Of The United StatesYou will remember from your study of American history that when the early colonists came to this country they settled along the Atlantic coast in many separate and distinct groups. Not all had come from the same country. Most of them were English, but there were also smaller settlements of Dutch, French, Germans, and Swedes. It was not many years until the English had taken control of all the land from Maine to Georgia, but even then not all the English were alike. There were Puritans and Cavaliers, Scotch and Irish, Scotch-Irish and Quakers. They differed in their ideas of government, religion, and education.These colonists had come for many purposes. Some had come to make their fortune. Others because of trouble at home. Most had come to be free, to worship God in the way they chose, to form their own government, to make their own laws, to govern themselves; and in the early days, they had met with success.But as time went on, as more people came, as ships were built, and trade and commerce increased, the government of England became more and more tyrannical. The English people may not have favored this, but they did not direct the acts of their king and his officers. Taxes were placed on the colonists without their consent. They were forced to accept laws not of their own choosing. The king refused them the right to select their own judges. They could not trade where they pleased. If you will read the[pg 067]Declaration of Independence you will see how their liberties were restricted.41All this time the various colonies were as separate as so many distinct countries. They did not know each other. There was little travel from one to another. They were quite different. But they were alike in the fact that each wanted liberty, and that each was subject to oppression from the English king.So from time to time we find them sending delegates to some common meeting place to discuss a plan of action. In 1754 a group met at Albany to suggest a plan of union. In 1765 England passed the Stamp Act which put a tax upon certain articles such as books, newspapers, and playing cards. A person could not sell one of these articles without pasting upon it one of these stamps, the money from which went to England as a tax. It was much like our war tax upon tooth paste, shaving soap, and playing cards. The difference was this. The colonists had never given the right to make this tax. It had been imposed upon them by England; and further, if a person were accused of selling a book or newspaper without this stamp, he could be severely punished.42This enraged the colonists, and in New York in the following year, there met a group of delegates from nearly all the colonies to discuss ways and means of meeting this.Again in 1774, conditions having become worse, delegates from twelve colonies met at Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to consider the grievances against Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress following it carried on the first years of the Revolutionary War. It drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence. It raised and provided for the armies, and brought the States together.But it needed a kind of constitution. So in 1777 the Articles of Confederation were drawn up and adopted by Congress and by 1781 all the States had finally adopted[pg 068]them. But they were inadequate. Each of the thirteen States wanted all the power in its own hands.43You cannot blame them. Picture to yourself these little settlements down on the Atlantic Coast. All together they did not have as many people as there are in the State of New Jersey to-day. They and their fathers had left their homes and traveled thousands of miles over stormy seas to find liberty. They themselves had fought a long war against England to make themselves free. They did not wish to give up these powers.44But the wiser people in the different States saw that to form a more perfect union it was necessary to grant the central government more powers, and to fix forever certain rights which every American citizen should enjoy throughout the years to come. So the people selected men as their representatives and authorized them to meet with the representatives from other States at Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up a plan of government which would be strong enough to hold the country together and govern it effectively.Now who were these men? They were men who were selected by their neighbors to represent them, just as men are elected to-day to represent us in the legislature of our State or in Congress. To be sure, in those days not all men were allowed the right to vote. In some States a man had to have a certain amount of money before he could vote. In others men of certain religious faiths were not allowed to vote. But the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were men who were fairly representative of all the people. When we consider the work that they did, that they wrote our Constitution, that they were able to do this at the time they did, we must feel that a wise Providence guided their selection and inspired them in their wonderful work.There in Independence Hall in Philadelphia were Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, James Madison and[pg 069]Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. Almost all the prominent men of the time took part.45They took the best that they knew of the experience of the human race in government, especially the experience of England and America, and from this they drew up the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of the government under which we live.46When they had finished their work—that part of the Constitution which precedes the amendments—they submitted it to the States. They were very careful to see to it that the people themselves should approve of this. So instead of having the usual legislature of each State vote upon it, they provided that the people of each State should elect delegates for a special convention, the sole purpose of which was to decide whether or not they would like to live under a government like this.47These conventions, elected by the people for this special purpose, met and one after another, often after a bitter struggle, ratified the Constitution. The chief objection was that the rights of all Americans were not clearly stated.So at the first meeting of Congress, the first ten amendments—our American Bill of Rights—were adopted and in 1791 they were ratified by the States. Since then the Constitution has been rarely amended. In 1798 and in 1804 the eleventh and twelfth amendments regarding the courts and the election of the President were adopted. After the Civil War three amendments were adopted regarding the problem of the negro citizen. Since then we have added changes regarding the income tax, the election of United States Senators, and prohibition. The last amendment, dealing with the extension of the vote to women, was ratified by Tennessee as the thirty-sixth State on August 18, 1920.To-day then, our government is founded upon the Constitution made shortly after the Revolutionary War. It represents[pg 070]the aims and ambitions of the fathers of our country. They came to this land to be free. They suffered persecution. They threw off the yoke of the oppressor. They established a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people selected the men who drew it up. They selected the men who amended it. Our task is to understand what it means, to obey it, and protect it.The lofty purpose of the fathers of the republic in establishing this, the first real government by the people, is expressed in these thrilling words:“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.”[pg 072]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Why did the early settlers come to America?2. From what countries did they come? Which countries were most important?3. Why did they become dissatisfied with English rule here?4. Why did they wish to unite? Name some of the earlier attempts at union.5. When was the Stamp Act passed? What was it supposed to do? Why did the colonists object?6. Why were the Articles of Confederation not satisfactory?7. What was the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? How were the representatives at this meeting chosen? How did they try to see that the representatives at this meeting actually represented the people?8. How was the Constitution ratified by the people? In what way did they try to make it the actual will of the people?9. When was our Bill of Rights passed?10. What amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. How did the makers of the Constitution guard against the abuses cited in the Declaration of Independence?B. How were the defects in the Articles of Confederation guarded against and remedied?C. What experience had the makers of the Constitution had which enabled them to prepare so successful a document?D. Would you say that Gladstone's statement,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man”was literally true?E. How did the allusions to other countries made during the convention show the advantage of America's being a“melting pot”?F. What people were allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?G. What were the chief objections urged against ratification of the Constitution?H. Write a paper on the following:Why the People Needed a ConstitutionThe Main Points IncludedA Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers to Questions J Chapter TwoGeorge WashingtonBenjamin FranklinAlexander HamiltonJames Madison
You will remember from your study of American history that when the early colonists came to this country they settled along the Atlantic coast in many separate and distinct groups. Not all had come from the same country. Most of them were English, but there were also smaller settlements of Dutch, French, Germans, and Swedes. It was not many years until the English had taken control of all the land from Maine to Georgia, but even then not all the English were alike. There were Puritans and Cavaliers, Scotch and Irish, Scotch-Irish and Quakers. They differed in their ideas of government, religion, and education.
These colonists had come for many purposes. Some had come to make their fortune. Others because of trouble at home. Most had come to be free, to worship God in the way they chose, to form their own government, to make their own laws, to govern themselves; and in the early days, they had met with success.
But as time went on, as more people came, as ships were built, and trade and commerce increased, the government of England became more and more tyrannical. The English people may not have favored this, but they did not direct the acts of their king and his officers. Taxes were placed on the colonists without their consent. They were forced to accept laws not of their own choosing. The king refused them the right to select their own judges. They could not trade where they pleased. If you will read the[pg 067]Declaration of Independence you will see how their liberties were restricted.41
All this time the various colonies were as separate as so many distinct countries. They did not know each other. There was little travel from one to another. They were quite different. But they were alike in the fact that each wanted liberty, and that each was subject to oppression from the English king.
So from time to time we find them sending delegates to some common meeting place to discuss a plan of action. In 1754 a group met at Albany to suggest a plan of union. In 1765 England passed the Stamp Act which put a tax upon certain articles such as books, newspapers, and playing cards. A person could not sell one of these articles without pasting upon it one of these stamps, the money from which went to England as a tax. It was much like our war tax upon tooth paste, shaving soap, and playing cards. The difference was this. The colonists had never given the right to make this tax. It had been imposed upon them by England; and further, if a person were accused of selling a book or newspaper without this stamp, he could be severely punished.42This enraged the colonists, and in New York in the following year, there met a group of delegates from nearly all the colonies to discuss ways and means of meeting this.
Again in 1774, conditions having become worse, delegates from twelve colonies met at Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to consider the grievances against Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress following it carried on the first years of the Revolutionary War. It drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence. It raised and provided for the armies, and brought the States together.
But it needed a kind of constitution. So in 1777 the Articles of Confederation were drawn up and adopted by Congress and by 1781 all the States had finally adopted[pg 068]them. But they were inadequate. Each of the thirteen States wanted all the power in its own hands.43
You cannot blame them. Picture to yourself these little settlements down on the Atlantic Coast. All together they did not have as many people as there are in the State of New Jersey to-day. They and their fathers had left their homes and traveled thousands of miles over stormy seas to find liberty. They themselves had fought a long war against England to make themselves free. They did not wish to give up these powers.44
But the wiser people in the different States saw that to form a more perfect union it was necessary to grant the central government more powers, and to fix forever certain rights which every American citizen should enjoy throughout the years to come. So the people selected men as their representatives and authorized them to meet with the representatives from other States at Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up a plan of government which would be strong enough to hold the country together and govern it effectively.
Now who were these men? They were men who were selected by their neighbors to represent them, just as men are elected to-day to represent us in the legislature of our State or in Congress. To be sure, in those days not all men were allowed the right to vote. In some States a man had to have a certain amount of money before he could vote. In others men of certain religious faiths were not allowed to vote. But the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were men who were fairly representative of all the people. When we consider the work that they did, that they wrote our Constitution, that they were able to do this at the time they did, we must feel that a wise Providence guided their selection and inspired them in their wonderful work.
There in Independence Hall in Philadelphia were Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, James Madison and[pg 069]Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. Almost all the prominent men of the time took part.45
They took the best that they knew of the experience of the human race in government, especially the experience of England and America, and from this they drew up the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of the government under which we live.46
When they had finished their work—that part of the Constitution which precedes the amendments—they submitted it to the States. They were very careful to see to it that the people themselves should approve of this. So instead of having the usual legislature of each State vote upon it, they provided that the people of each State should elect delegates for a special convention, the sole purpose of which was to decide whether or not they would like to live under a government like this.47These conventions, elected by the people for this special purpose, met and one after another, often after a bitter struggle, ratified the Constitution. The chief objection was that the rights of all Americans were not clearly stated.
So at the first meeting of Congress, the first ten amendments—our American Bill of Rights—were adopted and in 1791 they were ratified by the States. Since then the Constitution has been rarely amended. In 1798 and in 1804 the eleventh and twelfth amendments regarding the courts and the election of the President were adopted. After the Civil War three amendments were adopted regarding the problem of the negro citizen. Since then we have added changes regarding the income tax, the election of United States Senators, and prohibition. The last amendment, dealing with the extension of the vote to women, was ratified by Tennessee as the thirty-sixth State on August 18, 1920.
To-day then, our government is founded upon the Constitution made shortly after the Revolutionary War. It represents[pg 070]the aims and ambitions of the fathers of our country. They came to this land to be free. They suffered persecution. They threw off the yoke of the oppressor. They established a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people selected the men who drew it up. They selected the men who amended it. Our task is to understand what it means, to obey it, and protect it.
The lofty purpose of the fathers of the republic in establishing this, the first real government by the people, is expressed in these thrilling words:
“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.”
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why did the early settlers come to America?
2. From what countries did they come? Which countries were most important?
3. Why did they become dissatisfied with English rule here?
4. Why did they wish to unite? Name some of the earlier attempts at union.
5. When was the Stamp Act passed? What was it supposed to do? Why did the colonists object?
6. Why were the Articles of Confederation not satisfactory?
7. What was the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? How were the representatives at this meeting chosen? How did they try to see that the representatives at this meeting actually represented the people?
8. How was the Constitution ratified by the people? In what way did they try to make it the actual will of the people?
9. When was our Bill of Rights passed?
10. What amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. How did the makers of the Constitution guard against the abuses cited in the Declaration of Independence?
B. How were the defects in the Articles of Confederation guarded against and remedied?
C. What experience had the makers of the Constitution had which enabled them to prepare so successful a document?
D. Would you say that Gladstone's statement,“It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man”was literally true?
E. How did the allusions to other countries made during the convention show the advantage of America's being a“melting pot”?
F. What people were allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?
G. What were the chief objections urged against ratification of the Constitution?
H. Write a paper on the following:
Why the People Needed a ConstitutionThe Main Points IncludedA Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers to Questions J Chapter TwoGeorge WashingtonBenjamin FranklinAlexander HamiltonJames Madison
Why the People Needed a Constitution
The Main Points Included
A Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers to Questions J Chapter Two
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
IX. FreedomHow Freedom Of Worship, Speech, The Press, And Assembly Are GuaranteedThis morning we begin the consideration of what I believe to be the most important of all the subjects we have talked about. I think people are more interested in their privileges and rights than they are in their duties. In fact we hear a great deal and we read a great deal about“rights”, but we do not find very much said on the streets, in the homes, or in the newspapers about our“duties”.48Now we have considered in a very general way the nature of our government and something of our powers and duties under the Constitution. I know that you will be interested in considering our rights and privileges under the Constitution of the United States.Always keep in mind that each State has a Constitution, and that the Nation has a Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States covers the entire Nation, not only the original thirteen colonies, but the present forty-eight States, and that any States that may hereafter be brought in the Union will have as their fundamental law the Constitution adopted by the people in the long ago.49Also always keep in mind that the Nation has certain powers, and that the Constitution of the United States is supreme only as to the things over which the United States as a Nation has control.But it is important to bear in mind that the great principles of the Constitution of the United States have been carried into the Constitutions of the various States, and that the rights and privileges of the people under the Constitution[pg 074]of the United States have also to a large extent been guaranteed by the Constitutions of the States.50This morning we take up a constitutional guaranty which you perhaps have not thought much about, but which is one of the most important in the whole Constitution—Freedom of Worship. The Constitution provides:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”51As we look back through the history of the world we are startled to find that this was the first written guaranty that the people of any nation ever had permitting them to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.52Now some of you may not realize how important this is; but there is nothing so dear to the human heart as the right, the privilege, of belonging to that church and worshipping God in that manner which each individual may desire. We do not realize the value of such a privilege until some one, or some power, seeks to take it away from us. All through the world men and women and children have fought, and many of them have died, for this privilege. It was the custom of the nations of the world before our Constitution to have an established religion, a National religion, and in many of the countries it was the law that every one must belong to the state church, and must actually believe in the religion of the state. In fact, in many countries, refusal to believe in the religion of the state was punished by death—sometimes by burning to death, and I am sure you will be surprised to realize that while America was first settled by people who were seeking religious freedom, they were still so imbued with a feeling of the old days that persons must worship, not as their conscience might dictate, but as the state might dictate, that for many years in this country in certain of the colonies a state religion was recognized, and[pg 075]obligation to conform to the established religion enforced by severe penalties.In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished by burning to death. This is startling, isn't it, to hear of such a brutal law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.53The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal statute was adopted in Virginia.Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be. But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of[pg 076]the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to their own will, their own conscience.The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution, not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express your religious faith.Not only this, but this constitutional guaranty protects every one in his right to belong to no church if he so elects. The soul is free. No power can compel one to belong to any church, nor in any manner to hold or exercise religious faith, or religious duty or obligation.In other words, men are free, and this freedom, aside from any other guaranty of the Constitution, should make us all feel affection and veneration for this great charter of human liberty.But freedom of worship is only one of the many rights and privileges guaranteed to the people—to all the people.Another great natural right—God given right—is firmly and finally established:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”54Here again remember, when you are thinking of what you owe to your country, that this declaration of the Constitution was the first in all the history of the world by which a Nation guaranteed to all the people the right freely to express their thoughts in words or in writing. This was the first time the chains were taken from the human intellect. No one will ever be able to number the men and women who, throughout the history of the world, were condemned to death, because they dared to express their sentiments. If[pg 077]Patrick Henry had delivered his famous speech in which he said,“Give me liberty, or give me death”, in England rather than America, he would have been promptly punished. Hundreds of the colonists would have been hanged by the British government if they had expressed themselves in the mother country instead of in the new world. Kings to hold their power in the old world, to keep the people so terrorized that they would submit to their will, made the practice of hanging or beheading those who freely spoke their sentiments against the government.55Of course under the old laws those who expressed their religious convictions in opposition to the state church by speech or writing were usually promptly imprisoned, hanged, or burned.Now do not have any misunderstanding about this guaranty of freedom of speech and of the press. We often hear complaints of certain people about certain laws punishing those who abuse the privilege of free speech; but there is no law of State or Nation which prohibits the speaking or writing of anything in this country. Men may speak and write what they will; but there are some laws punishing those who abuse this great privilege to the injury of another person, or to the injury of the Nation. Of course no one would feel that it was right to allow another to write libelous articles about your neighbors. You would not feel that it would be right to permit some vile person to write false and vicious articles about your mother or your father; and yet any one may do so. They cannot be prohibited or enjoined from doing so, but they may be punished after doing so, after they have been tried in a court and found guilty of libel by a jury of their fellowmen.56So if one writes a threatening letter to your father, telling him that he will kidnap his child unless he pays ten thousand dollars by a certain time, such person is exercising his[pg 078]constitutional right to freedom of expression, but no one would think that it was right to permit him thus to abuse his constitutional right without being punished for it; and consequently such person may be arrested and tried, and if found guilty, punished.So in these later days it has been found wise, not to prohibit persons from giving expression to their views about our government, but to punish those who show by their words or writing that they are rebels against our government, endeavoring by their words to cause a revolution, to incite people to use force, bombs, or the torch to destroy our government.No one can ever be punished for criticising our government, or any of the officers of our government, so long as he does not undertake to destroy our government, and I am sure that you would not think it right to permit any one to destroy the government controlled by ourselves which has brought to us so many blessings. Nearly every one agrees that if a person should use bombs or the torch in an effort to cause revolution and destroy our form of government, such a person should be punished; but there are a few who think that they should not be punished until they actually begin destruction. Of course we cannot agree with them. The man who goes out on the street corner and advocates the use of the bomb and the torch to destroy our government, who arouses passions willfully with the purpose of destroying the government, is doing just as much wrong as is done by the person who follows his advice and uses the bomb and the torch. In fact the man who advocates revolution and destruction, who preaches the use of the bomb and the torch, who plants the poison in the hearts of his fellowmen, and incites them to revolutionary action is more guilty of wrong than are those who, stirred by his appeals, carry out his wishes.[pg 079]In punishing those who thus violate every principle of loyalty, patriotism, and right the constitutional provision is in no manner modified. The worst revolutionist has the freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed to him. The law which punishes him does so only because under the protection of the Constitution, he commits a crime against his country and against humanity.America has done more than any other nation in the world in the cause of educating the common people. It should exercise care that the people should be educated in the true spirit of America, that their minds should not be poisoned by the vicious teachings of those, not Americans at heart, who seek to poison souls and rob the people of their patriotism and of their loyalty.In the olden days so tyrannical was the king that in many instances when the people complained of their burdens and sought rights and privileges they were punished for daring to seek relief. The king would usually give them what he thought they ought to have and would not listen to complaints. One of the rights which the people always hoped for was the privilege of assembling, meeting together, talking over their troubles, drawing up a petition, signing, and presenting it, praying“a redress of grievance”. When the representatives of the people met in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia they had before their minds the things that the people had suffered under old forms of government and it was their earnest effort to provide constitutional guaranties which would prevent the abuses to which the people were compelled to submit in the old world. Therefore one of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States is the following:“Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”57[pg 080]Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our representative government where the people themselves select those who make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some member arise and say,“Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding officer, would respond in substance,“the request of the gentleman will be granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that[pg 081]there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought, and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation. There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion. The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.[pg 084]ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship passed?5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they thought.7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you have freedom of speech?8. Is the Constitution of the United States in force in all the States of the Union?9. Are there other constitutions which the people of different States must observe?10. Why did the people want the right to assemble?11. Do you know of any countries where they do not allow it?12. Do you know of anyone who ever sent a petition to a State legislature? To Congress? What was it like?13. How many assemblies of people and petitions help to make our representatives do what we want them to do?ADVANCED QUESTIONSA. Name the places in the world, where to-day there is religious persecution.B. Describe the conditions in Armenia.C. What are the real advantages of religions liberty?D. Just how would it affect a person if freedom of speech were not allowed?E. How may the right to freedom of speech be abused?F. During the recent war, men were punished for what they said under what is known as the Espionage Act. How can this be reconciled with freedom of speech?G. Discuss the method of organizing a community meeting.H. Discuss the method of preparing a petition.I. Suppose the opinion of the meeting should be divided, what should be the procedure?J. Plan a method to make the people talk more about government.K. What are the dangers of a lack of interest in the affairs of government?L. How will a congressman represent the wishes of the people if he receives no petitions?M. Write a paper on the following:The Story of the PilgrimsRoger Williams and the Providence ColonyLord BaltimoreThomas Jefferson and Religious LibertyCensorship of the Press and Freedom of SpeechWhat to do with an Anarchist MeetingSocialist PapersThe Importance of the Right of PetitionKeeping In Touch with our RepresentativesSome Petitions I have SeenThings for Which We Should Petition the Legislature
This morning we begin the consideration of what I believe to be the most important of all the subjects we have talked about. I think people are more interested in their privileges and rights than they are in their duties. In fact we hear a great deal and we read a great deal about“rights”, but we do not find very much said on the streets, in the homes, or in the newspapers about our“duties”.48
Now we have considered in a very general way the nature of our government and something of our powers and duties under the Constitution. I know that you will be interested in considering our rights and privileges under the Constitution of the United States.
Always keep in mind that each State has a Constitution, and that the Nation has a Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States covers the entire Nation, not only the original thirteen colonies, but the present forty-eight States, and that any States that may hereafter be brought in the Union will have as their fundamental law the Constitution adopted by the people in the long ago.49
Also always keep in mind that the Nation has certain powers, and that the Constitution of the United States is supreme only as to the things over which the United States as a Nation has control.
But it is important to bear in mind that the great principles of the Constitution of the United States have been carried into the Constitutions of the various States, and that the rights and privileges of the people under the Constitution[pg 074]of the United States have also to a large extent been guaranteed by the Constitutions of the States.50
This morning we take up a constitutional guaranty which you perhaps have not thought much about, but which is one of the most important in the whole Constitution—Freedom of Worship. The Constitution provides:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”51
As we look back through the history of the world we are startled to find that this was the first written guaranty that the people of any nation ever had permitting them to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.52
Now some of you may not realize how important this is; but there is nothing so dear to the human heart as the right, the privilege, of belonging to that church and worshipping God in that manner which each individual may desire. We do not realize the value of such a privilege until some one, or some power, seeks to take it away from us. All through the world men and women and children have fought, and many of them have died, for this privilege. It was the custom of the nations of the world before our Constitution to have an established religion, a National religion, and in many of the countries it was the law that every one must belong to the state church, and must actually believe in the religion of the state. In fact, in many countries, refusal to believe in the religion of the state was punished by death—sometimes by burning to death, and I am sure you will be surprised to realize that while America was first settled by people who were seeking religious freedom, they were still so imbued with a feeling of the old days that persons must worship, not as their conscience might dictate, but as the state might dictate, that for many years in this country in certain of the colonies a state religion was recognized, and[pg 075]obligation to conform to the established religion enforced by severe penalties.
In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished by burning to death. This is startling, isn't it, to hear of such a brutal law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.53
The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal statute was adopted in Virginia.
Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be. But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of[pg 076]the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to their own will, their own conscience.
The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution, not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express your religious faith.
Not only this, but this constitutional guaranty protects every one in his right to belong to no church if he so elects. The soul is free. No power can compel one to belong to any church, nor in any manner to hold or exercise religious faith, or religious duty or obligation.In other words, men are free, and this freedom, aside from any other guaranty of the Constitution, should make us all feel affection and veneration for this great charter of human liberty.
But freedom of worship is only one of the many rights and privileges guaranteed to the people—to all the people.
Another great natural right—God given right—is firmly and finally established:
“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”54
Here again remember, when you are thinking of what you owe to your country, that this declaration of the Constitution was the first in all the history of the world by which a Nation guaranteed to all the people the right freely to express their thoughts in words or in writing. This was the first time the chains were taken from the human intellect. No one will ever be able to number the men and women who, throughout the history of the world, were condemned to death, because they dared to express their sentiments. If[pg 077]Patrick Henry had delivered his famous speech in which he said,“Give me liberty, or give me death”, in England rather than America, he would have been promptly punished. Hundreds of the colonists would have been hanged by the British government if they had expressed themselves in the mother country instead of in the new world. Kings to hold their power in the old world, to keep the people so terrorized that they would submit to their will, made the practice of hanging or beheading those who freely spoke their sentiments against the government.55
Of course under the old laws those who expressed their religious convictions in opposition to the state church by speech or writing were usually promptly imprisoned, hanged, or burned.
Now do not have any misunderstanding about this guaranty of freedom of speech and of the press. We often hear complaints of certain people about certain laws punishing those who abuse the privilege of free speech; but there is no law of State or Nation which prohibits the speaking or writing of anything in this country. Men may speak and write what they will; but there are some laws punishing those who abuse this great privilege to the injury of another person, or to the injury of the Nation. Of course no one would feel that it was right to allow another to write libelous articles about your neighbors. You would not feel that it would be right to permit some vile person to write false and vicious articles about your mother or your father; and yet any one may do so. They cannot be prohibited or enjoined from doing so, but they may be punished after doing so, after they have been tried in a court and found guilty of libel by a jury of their fellowmen.56
So if one writes a threatening letter to your father, telling him that he will kidnap his child unless he pays ten thousand dollars by a certain time, such person is exercising his[pg 078]constitutional right to freedom of expression, but no one would think that it was right to permit him thus to abuse his constitutional right without being punished for it; and consequently such person may be arrested and tried, and if found guilty, punished.
So in these later days it has been found wise, not to prohibit persons from giving expression to their views about our government, but to punish those who show by their words or writing that they are rebels against our government, endeavoring by their words to cause a revolution, to incite people to use force, bombs, or the torch to destroy our government.
No one can ever be punished for criticising our government, or any of the officers of our government, so long as he does not undertake to destroy our government, and I am sure that you would not think it right to permit any one to destroy the government controlled by ourselves which has brought to us so many blessings. Nearly every one agrees that if a person should use bombs or the torch in an effort to cause revolution and destroy our form of government, such a person should be punished; but there are a few who think that they should not be punished until they actually begin destruction. Of course we cannot agree with them. The man who goes out on the street corner and advocates the use of the bomb and the torch to destroy our government, who arouses passions willfully with the purpose of destroying the government, is doing just as much wrong as is done by the person who follows his advice and uses the bomb and the torch. In fact the man who advocates revolution and destruction, who preaches the use of the bomb and the torch, who plants the poison in the hearts of his fellowmen, and incites them to revolutionary action is more guilty of wrong than are those who, stirred by his appeals, carry out his wishes.
In punishing those who thus violate every principle of loyalty, patriotism, and right the constitutional provision is in no manner modified. The worst revolutionist has the freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed to him. The law which punishes him does so only because under the protection of the Constitution, he commits a crime against his country and against humanity.
America has done more than any other nation in the world in the cause of educating the common people. It should exercise care that the people should be educated in the true spirit of America, that their minds should not be poisoned by the vicious teachings of those, not Americans at heart, who seek to poison souls and rob the people of their patriotism and of their loyalty.
In the olden days so tyrannical was the king that in many instances when the people complained of their burdens and sought rights and privileges they were punished for daring to seek relief. The king would usually give them what he thought they ought to have and would not listen to complaints. One of the rights which the people always hoped for was the privilege of assembling, meeting together, talking over their troubles, drawing up a petition, signing, and presenting it, praying“a redress of grievance”. When the representatives of the people met in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia they had before their minds the things that the people had suffered under old forms of government and it was their earnest effort to provide constitutional guaranties which would prevent the abuses to which the people were compelled to submit in the old world. Therefore one of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States is the following:
“Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”57
Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our representative government where the people themselves select those who make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some member arise and say,“Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding officer, would respond in substance,“the request of the gentleman will be granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.
What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that[pg 081]there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought, and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation. There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion. The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?
2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?
3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?
4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship passed?
5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?
6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they thought.
7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you have freedom of speech?
8. Is the Constitution of the United States in force in all the States of the Union?
9. Are there other constitutions which the people of different States must observe?
10. Why did the people want the right to assemble?
11. Do you know of any countries where they do not allow it?
12. Do you know of anyone who ever sent a petition to a State legislature? To Congress? What was it like?
13. How many assemblies of people and petitions help to make our representatives do what we want them to do?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Name the places in the world, where to-day there is religious persecution.
B. Describe the conditions in Armenia.
C. What are the real advantages of religions liberty?
D. Just how would it affect a person if freedom of speech were not allowed?
E. How may the right to freedom of speech be abused?
F. During the recent war, men were punished for what they said under what is known as the Espionage Act. How can this be reconciled with freedom of speech?
G. Discuss the method of organizing a community meeting.
H. Discuss the method of preparing a petition.
I. Suppose the opinion of the meeting should be divided, what should be the procedure?
J. Plan a method to make the people talk more about government.
K. What are the dangers of a lack of interest in the affairs of government?
L. How will a congressman represent the wishes of the people if he receives no petitions?
M. Write a paper on the following:
The Story of the PilgrimsRoger Williams and the Providence ColonyLord BaltimoreThomas Jefferson and Religious LibertyCensorship of the Press and Freedom of SpeechWhat to do with an Anarchist MeetingSocialist PapersThe Importance of the Right of PetitionKeeping In Touch with our RepresentativesSome Petitions I have SeenThings for Which We Should Petition the Legislature
The Story of the Pilgrims
Roger Williams and the Providence Colony
Lord Baltimore
Thomas Jefferson and Religious Liberty
Censorship of the Press and Freedom of Speech
What to do with an Anarchist Meeting
Socialist Papers
The Importance of the Right of Petition
Keeping In Touch with our Representatives
Some Petitions I have Seen
Things for Which We Should Petition the Legislature