– Excerpts from President Calvin Coolidge’s 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence Speech – July 5 1926
There is something beyond the establishment of a new nation, great as that event would be, in the Declaration of Independence which has ever since caused it to be regarded as one of the great charters that not only was to liberate America but was everywhere to ennoble humanity.
It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history.
Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed.
If no one is to be accounted as born into a superior station, if there is to be no ruling class, and if all possess rights which can neither be bartered away nor taken from them by any earthly power, it follows as a matter of course that the practical authority of the Government has to rest on the consent of the governed.
If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with unalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.
If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.
Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken.
In all the essentials we have achieved an equality which was never possessed by any other people. Even in the less important matter of material possessions we have secured a wider and wider distribution of wealth. The rights of the individual are held sacred and protected by constitutional guaranties which even the Government itself is bound not to violate.
If there is any one thing among us that is established beyond question, it is self-government – the right of the people to rule. If there is any failure in respect to any of these principles, it is because there is a failure on the part of individuals to observe them.
Governments do not make ideals, but ideals make governments.
These excerpts come from a historic and powerful speech given by a quiet and thoughtful man. Read President Coolidge’s speech in its entirety – and natural placement. You will be glad you did.
It was our Declaration of Independence on July 2 1776 – a true and thoughtful act of real bravery – that led to the signing of our Constitution on September 18, 1787, eleven years later. These two towering documents – the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution – are uniquely intertwined in history.
From the introduction and preamble of our Declaration of Independence:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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 instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Our Declaration of Independence laid the foundation for our Constitution – and therefore our nation. For our Declaration of Independence called not only for independence from Britain but for the establishment of an entirely new set of governing principles.
As so rightly noted by President Coolidge:
Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed.
Those opening words from the Declaration of Independence ultimately led to our nation being gifted the greatest of American documents – our Constitution. A doctrine sprung from simple yet powerful principles contained in our Declaration – equality and unalienable rights which, in turn, require a government of, by and for the people.
A mere 4,400 words (7,600 including the Amendments) and just four simple pages comprise the Constitution’s entirety. It is the oldest – and shortest – written Constitution in the world. And yet, it can be said nothing more important than the creation of those four pages has occurred in our history as a nation.
Benjamin Franklin wept as he signed the Constitution – 81 years old and so infirm he required assistance – and yet he came, and he signed. And he wept.
Because he understood the moment given to him.
On leaving the Pennsylvania State House, Franklin was asked the type of government just created. Franklin responded, “A Republic, madam. If you can keep it”.
And somehow, someway, we have kept it through all these years.
With great gifts come great responsibilities – and sacrifices have been made by many in defense of this great nation – these States become United.
Our Declaration of Independence put forth a bold new set of governing principles based on inherent rights, forever held by its citizens. Unalienable rights which require and demand that government may exist only with the consent of those governed.
Celebrate that fact on this National Day – the Birthday of the United States of America.
Note: This is a re-post from July 4, 2017.
- Independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776.
- Congress approved the text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
- The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place on July 8, 1776.
- The Declaration of Independence was officially signed on August 2, 1776.
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