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Show 202 TilE BASIS OF TilE addressed to the people of the United Stutes: "Let it be remembered thut it bas ever been tlJC pride and boast of America, that the Rights for which she contended were the Rights of Iluman Natmc." No one will eontcncl that our Fnthcre, after effecting the Revolution and the indcpcmlcncc of their country, by proclaiming this system of bencf\ccnt political philosophy, cstablishccl an entirely different one in the constiLuLion assigned to "its govcrnrncnt. 'rhis philosophy, then, is the basis of the American Constitution. It is, mmcover, ::; true philosophy, deduced from the nature of man and the chamctcr of the Creator. If there were no supreme law, then the worl<l would be a scene of upiversal anarchy, resulting from the eternal conflict of pcculim· institutions and antagonistic laws. 'J.1here being such a universal law, lf any Luman constitution and lows diliering from i\ coul<l haYC any authority, then that universal Jaw coulll not be supreme. That supreme law is necessarily bosccl on the equality of nations, of races, and of men. It is a simple, self-evident basis. One nation, race, or "individual, may not oppress or injure another, because the safety and welfare of each is csscntiol to the common A MERICAN CONS TI '£UT I O~ . 203 8aroty and wclf1rc of all. If all ore not equal and free, then who is entitled to be free, and what evidence of l1i~ superiority can he bring fi·om nature or revelation? All men ncccf-'sarily lu:wc a common interest in the promulgation and maintenance of these principles, bccn. u:-;c it ls equally in tho naturu of men to be content with the enjoyment or tllcir just rights, nnd to be discontented under tl<c privation of them. Just so far us these principle> pmclically prevail, the stringency of government is safely relaxed, and peace and harmony obtain. Dut men cannot maintain these principles, or even comprehend them, without a very consitlcrablc advance in knmrlcUgc and virtue. rrhc bw of n::Ltiow~, designed to preserve peace among mankind, was unknown to the ancients. It has been perfected iu our own times, Uy means of the more general dissemination of knowledge and practice of the virtues inculcated by Christianity. To clioscmiuate knowledge, and to increase virtue therefore among men, is to establish :~nd maintain the prineiplcs on which the J·ccovcr.r anJ preservation of their inherent natural rights depend; and the Stale tl1at docs this most faithfully, adnnccs mo't elfeclually the common cause of IIuman Nature. For myself, I a~ sure that this cause is not a |