The Short Constitution Part 3

F. How did the American government come into being?

G. How would you organise a literary society? List the steps in detail.

Would you have a const.i.tution? What should be included in any const.i.tution?

H. Discuss the effect of a sudden breakdown in government.

I. What were the first steps in the actual organisation of the government of the United States?

J. Write a paper on:

The Ways in Which the Postmaster, Superintendent of Schools, Sheriff, Coroner, or Judge Serves the People

Why We Cannot Locate Our Government On the Map

The Advantages of Having a Government

What a Const.i.tution Should Include

III. LIBERTY

Definition Of Liberty And The Historical Background Of The Struggle For It

I hope that we now all understand that the purpose of government is to maintain the liberty of the people. I wish that every child would learn from the Declaration of Independence the following:

"_We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are inst.i.tuted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed._"(12)

This expresses the whole purpose of government-to secure the right to life, to liberty, and to happiness.

I suppose every child here would like to be rich some day. A great many people feel that riches bring happiness. The experience of men, however, is that riches more often bring disappointments, burdens, and grief.

_What is the most valuable thing in the world?_ It is not money, lands, nor jewels. The most valuable thing in the world is human liberty. I do not believe that we, born here in America, realize the value of human liberty. It comes to us as a heritage. We accept it as we accept the sunlight, the springtime, the harvest. I am afraid that we seldom stop to recall the fact that the great blessing of human liberty, as we have it here in America, did not exist before our Nation was born. Always remember that there were thousands of years before our country came into being, when the people, men, women, and children living in many countries of the world and under many forms of government dreamed, hoped, and prayed for freedom. But it never came to them. They lived, labored, and died under kings and emperors, or other rulers, never having any power, or at most very limited power, in making the laws under which they were compelled to live.(13)

To a considerable extent the history of the world is a sorrowful story of men who fought and died in struggles for liberty, the same liberty which we in this country enjoy. We must not forget that freedom in this Nation was obtained only through war, bloodshed, and sacrifice.

Now what is this liberty for which men have fought and died? It is liberty of thought, liberty of speech, liberty of conscience, liberty of action, liberty, as the Supreme Court of the United States says, "of all the faculties". Men wanted the right to form their own opinions and to express them in speech or in writing. They wished to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d according to the dictates of their own consciences, and not as directed by the ruler of the government. They wanted to work in employments of their own choice, to have their own earnings for themselves and their families, instead of having it taken as t.i.thes or taxes to buy purple robes for some monarch upon a throne. They wanted the right to own property, to own a home; and they hoped and prayed for the day when their children might have a chance to advance in life according to their merits. They hoped some day to have the door of opportunity open to the son of the poor man as well as the rich. They hoped to see cla.s.s and privilege wiped away.(14)

These were the things that men and women throughout the centuries struggled for, but which were never attained in the whole history of the world, by any race or by any nation, until America opened its doors to all the peoples of the earth, guaranteeing to them all the blessings which had been so long denied to the human race.

You will understand better the functions of government with relation to human liberty if you will realize that human liberty is a natural right.

It comes from no man and no government. It is "G.o.d given". Men are born free. The love of freedom is in every human heart. Again recall the words of the Declaration of Independence-"all men are created equal ... they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights", among which is liberty.

America does not confer liberty upon the individual. America realizes that the individual possesses the right to liberty, and the whole structure of the American government is framed with the special purpose of protecting each individual in his natural liberty.(15)

Now there is no danger to the liberty of any one except from two sources-the wrong of a fellowman, or the wrong of the government, which in this country is a mere organization of men and women and children. Here we see emphasized the necessity for law in order to protect the liberty of the individual. Government is organized to protect individuals in their liberties. This protection is furnished by laws enacted by the people to protect the weak against the strong, the good against the evil; and in this country the same law applies to every individual. There are no special laws for special cla.s.ses; every one is equally interested in having these laws as just and fair as possible. Liberty under law is the privilege of doing everything one wishes to do, except in so far as his acts may interfere in some way with like privileges of those who are about him in society.

Therefore always keep in mind that the great achievement of those who founded America was the establishment of a Nation where liberty would have a home. Of course liberty could not be fully established in this country until the Nation was fully established, until the Const.i.tution was adopted, until laws were enacted; but from the adoption of the Const.i.tution to the present time the people have enacted laws from time to time, and still enact laws, the better to protect every man in his liberty and to enlarge his opportunities in life.

Now in order to understand clearly how the liberties of the people are protected through our government, we must understand the nature and form of our government; and this subject we must take up at our next meeting.

ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS

1. What is your idea of the right to "life"? Does it mean that no one shall ever be sentenced to death for murder?

2. What is your idea of the right to "property"? Does this mean that everyone shall be wealthy? Does it mean that everyone shall own his own home?

3. What is your idea of the right to "pursuit of happiness"? Does this mean that everyone can do as he pleases?

4. Why does the judge say that liberty is the most valuable thing in the world? What would you trade for it?

5. Note the dangers to liberty that the judge points out. What are they?

6. Give an ill.u.s.tration of each of these dangers.

7. How may we protect ourselves against these dangers?

8. Where does this liberty that we enjoy come from? Who grants it?

ADVANCED QUESTIONS

A. In what particular ways does the Const.i.tution of the United States guarantee liberty?

B. What forms of government existed before the United States? What liberties did the people of Russia, or France, or England enjoy in 1600?

C. Who really possesses the power of government in the United States?

D. How is the liberty of the individual protected in the United States?

E. In what ways were the people of Ma.s.sachusetts in 1650 not as free as we are to-day?

F. What does it mean when we say "all men are created equal"?

G. Discuss the real meaning of the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

H. Write a paper on:

Ways in Which We Have an Equal Chance

How We Can Make Chances Still More Equal

"I hope to see the time when every American citizen will have an unfettered start and an equal chance in the race of life."-Abraham Lincoln