This past week I came across something that I thought
would be worth sharing on this 4th of July. It is President Calvin
Coolidge’s 1926 speech—the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration
of Independence. ISI (Interscholastic Studies Institute, of International
Review) posted it. In case you’re not familiar, ISI and
IR are great sources of learning for conservatives. They promote these six coreprinciples: limited government, individual liberty, free markets, the rule of
law, personal responsibility, and traditional morality. I’d say they’re on the
right track.
Anyway, the Coolidge speech is excerpted from a book
called What So Proudly We Hail, an
anthology of story, speech, and song of America. We’re a decade short of 100
years after this speech—we should read it now and heed it, so we have cause to
celebrate in another ten years.
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| The book is available through Intercollegiate Review |
There are things in the speech I wanted to highlight—because
I believe Coolidge knew then what we need to know now. So the highlighting is
mine, but the words are from a great president. I hope reading this will add
something to your day of celebration.
President Calvin Coolidge, Philadelphia,
July 4, 1926
We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. That coming
of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the
individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our
vision, that only makes it more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder
increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay
our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty
event that we annually observe the 4th day of July. Whatever may have been the
impression created by the news which went out from this city on that summer day
in 1776, there can be no doubt as to the estimate which is now placed upon it.
At the end of 150 years the four corners of the earth unite in coming to
Philadelphia as to a holy shrine in grateful acknowledgment of a service so
great, which a few inspired men here rendered to humanity, that it is still the
preeminent support of free government throughout the world.
Although a century and a half measured in comparison with
the length of human experience is but a short time, yet measured in the life of
governments and nations it ranks as a very respectable period. Certainly enough
time has elapsed to demonstrate with a great deal of thoroughness the value of
our institutions and their dependability as rules for the regulation of human
conduct and the advancement of civilization. They have been in existence long
enough to become very well seasoned. They have met, and met successfully, the
test of experience.
It is not so much, then, for the purpose of undertaking
to proclaim new theories and principles that this annual celebration is
maintained, but rather to reaffirm and reestablish those old theories and
principles which time and the unerring logic of events have demonstrated to be
sound. 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.
Whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in
the knowledge that the ultimate application of the law of the land will provide
an adequate defense and protection. . . .
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. Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached
by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their
importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the
Declaration of Independence. 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 inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of
government must be derived from the consent of the
governed. . . .
In its main features the Declaration of
Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material
but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the
rights of man—these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are
ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions.
They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in
these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration
will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect
and abandon the cause. . . .
About the Declaration there is a finality that is
exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal
of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which
have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may
therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But
that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with
inalienable 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. . . .
Under a system of popular government there will always be
those who will seek for political preferment by clamoring for reform. While
there is very little of this which is not sincere, there is a large portion
that is not well informed. In my opinion very little of just criticism can
attach to the theories and principles of our institutions. There is far more
danger of harm than there is hope of good in any radical changes. We do need a
better understanding and comprehension of them and a better knowledge of the
foundations of government in general. Our
forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of
action which have been a great blessing to the world. Before we can understand
their conclusions we must go back and review the course which they followed. We
must think the thoughts which they thought. Their intellectual life centered
around the meetinghouse. They were intent upon religious worship. While there
were always among them men of deep learning, and later those who had
comparatively large possessions, the mind of the people was not so much
engrossed in how much they knew, or how much they had, as in how they were
going to live. While scantily provided with other literature, there was a
wide acquaintance with the Scriptures. Over a period as great as that which
measures the existence of our independence they were subject to this discipline
not only in their religious life and educational training, but also in their
political thought. They were a people who came under the influence of a great
spiritual development and acquired a great moral power.
No other theory is adequate to explain or
comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual
insight of the people. We live in an age of science and of abounding
accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our
Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first.
Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it
may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain
the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as
the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they
had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral
leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow
with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped.
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