We are all familiar with the stated causes for revolt, but they were the excitement of the moment as compared with the pride of conscious strength and the desire America had to be left alone to work out her own problems.
The special grievances2, the principles in dispute brought forth3 the great leaders, but probably their minds were less influenced by them than they imagined, and back of all was the feeling only partially4 recognized that America was a nation and needed no instruction or guidance from abroad. Of course they did not say that, they were honest in the beginning in disclaiming5 any idea of independence; they did, with rare exceptions, honestly look forward to a reconciliation6 with the mother country; but all the while, though they did not see it then, the terms of reconciliation formulated7 in their minds were impossible of attainment8 in any other way than by independence.
It does not impugn9 their good faith or wisdom that like all great leaders of revolutions they failed to estimate the force of the current bearing them on; but it is plain to our eyes that a revolt in the name of the King against the Parliament to establish rights that King and Parliament alike desired to[8] withhold10 was a fiction which in the nature of things could only be temporary, and which the first clash of arms was certain to dissipate into thin air. Events moved too fast for men’s control, and independence came because no other result than that of absolute submission11 was possible.
Consider for a moment how rapidly at last America drifted towards revolution and separation, and how each step forward, as usual, lopped off the hesitating and timid, and made it more and more difficult for the bolder leaders to retrace12 their path.
In 1761 James Otis struck the keynote in his great argument against the writs13 of assistance,—the general principles of independence which operated later were then so clearly enunciated14 that the people caught the breath of freedom, and the unrest and turmoil15 and frequent outbreaks during the nine years following showed that the lesson could not be unlearned.
March 5, 1770, came the Boston Massacre16 on State Street, the first conflict of the Revolution, in which the people were stricken down by murderous bullets; December 16, 1773, the mob openly defied British law by throwing the tea overboard in Boston Harbor; May, 1774, General Gage17 arrived in Boston to assume the position of Royal Governor, and was escorted from Long Wharf18 to the Town House in King, now State, Street by the Boston Cadets, under the command of John Hancock, probably the last act of loyalty19 to Great Britain by the Corps20 or its officers; June 1, 1774, the Port of Boston was closed by Act of Parliament; September, 1774, the Continental21 Congress or Conference of States gathered at Philadelphia; October 5, 1774, the Massachusetts House of Representatives met at Salem, summoned by Governor Gage, and being notified that their meeting was revoked22, immediately constituted themselves a Provincial23 Congress, assumed administration,[9] and passed orders for putting the Province into a condition for defence,—the winter passed in fruitless disputes with the Governor and Royal officers, but the Congress was busy with active and positive work nearly approaching rebellion; April 19, 1775, the natural result came in the fight at Lexington and Concord24, fairly opening the Revolution, and followed by the gathering25 of a large army of half-armed troops at Cambridge to besiege26 Boston, the Continental Congress finding a commander for them in the person of George Washington; May 10, 1775, Ticonderoga and Crown Point were taken by force; on June 17, 1775, before Washington had reached the army, Bunker Hill was fought; March 17, 1776, Boston was evacuated27 by the British, the scene of action was transferred to a larger field at New York, and then, July 4, 1776, came the time to write the Revolution into the Declaration of Independence, so that the world might behold28 the new nation and find also a government with a novelty, one that based itself upon certain ideal truths, and thus differentiated29 the American Revolution from all preceding revolutions.
However old the subject may be, and however hopeless the thought of adding anything new to the discussion, it may still be interesting to consider this extraordinary Declaration from a purely30 historical standpoint, and to revive our recollections of its truths, as well as to consider how far in reality they were intended to go. As no political party has any proprietorship31 in those truths, and no party has yet taken a position in opposition32 to them, we can freely discuss them in the hope of clarifying our view of the deeper meaning of the Revolution. Present conditions are not to be considered in this discussion, we are now concerned only with the question of the permanent or transitory nature of the document itself, and of its effectiveness as a rule of national conduct.
Separating from the Declaration its catalogue of specific and temporary reasons for revolt, its whole purport33 is to set[10] forth—the natural freedom and equality of all men before the law; the fundamental right of those governed to pass upon the form of government they shall live under, and to subvert34 it if not satisfactory; and the right of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,—this last phrase seeming a broad generalization35 capable of wide interpretation36.
No one of these doctrines37 was original with the signers, and the Committee reporting the Declaration made no pretence38 to have originated them. Every principle had been stated and advocated long before by European philosophers and writers,—and the claim has been made that the Declaration itself bore a strong resemblance to that of the United Netherlands,—but it was the first practical application of such principles to an actual system of popular government. The author of the Declaration said in later years, “I did not consider it as any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether, and to offer no sentiment which had ever been expressed before.”
It may properly be regarded, therefore, as a crystallization of old theories, and as such its promulgation39 excited surprise in Europe, mingled40 with a good deal of skepticism as to its being a working basis for government or as to the possibility of adherence41 to it in practice. This feeling was a natural one, for if its doctrines were true and extended elsewhere the prospect42 was dark for theories of the divine right of kings, of despotic power, or even of current monarchical43 systems; and therein lies the very pith of the Declaration, and it was no wonder that when the seeds sown here ripened44 a little later in France and the bloody45 revolution there ended in a military despotism the prophets of evil quickly seized upon the result as a practical test and welcome proof of the absurdity46 of our position.
In the Orient it made no impression and in fact had no meaning, for such theories were not within the Oriental conception;[11] nor are they now so far as they spell Republicanism.
Dr. Edward Everett Hale recently sent a letter to an United States Senator, which well represents how such doctrines impress the Oriental mind, and is worth quoting as follows:
“When Commodore Perry opened the ports of Japan the Japanese Government had in prison a young fellow from Washington Territory who had been shipwrecked on their coast,—he was in prison only because he was a foreigner. They cross-examined him and asked him what officer in our government held higher rank than the men they knew. He said the officers of the Navy had to obey the Secretary of the Navy, and that he was under the President. They asked him who was greater than the President. This boy said that ‘the people is greater than the Presidency,’ and in giving the account of this afterward47 he said, ‘of this they could make nothing.’”
In other words, “a government of the people for the people and by the people” was not within their purview48.
When the Declaration was signed and issued to the country as a platform for a new nation, it can hardly be doubted that its doctrines were believed by its authors, and by those who accepted it, to be applicable to every people and to all times,—notwithstanding the recognized fact that unfortunate conditions here regarding African slavery revealed an apparent inconsistency.
How far the words of the Declaration applied49 to negro slaves will always be disputed, but that Jefferson intended no exception is to be gathered from his oft-quoted expressions, and from the fact that in the original draft the British Government were severely50 condemned51 for establishing slavery here and not repressing the slave trade. The historian Bancroft expressed in his history the Jeffersonian view, saying, “The heart of Thomas Jefferson in writing the Declaration, and of Congress in adopting it, beat for all humanity; the assertion of right was made for all mankind and all coming generations, without any exception whatever,[12] for the proposition which admits of exceptions can never be self-evident.”
It should be added that at that time, North and South, it was the opinion that slavery would soon disappear, and it was only unforeseen inventions which changed the situation. But taking whatever view we please of the intention of the makers52 in this regard, there can be no question that the Declaration announced important and high ideals for the future. Jefferson emphasized this when he said, “It is indeed an animating53 thought that while we are securing the rights of ourselves and our posterity54 we are pointing out the way to struggling nations who wish like us to emerge from their tyrannies also,” and again, “Every man and every body of men on earth possesses the right of self government. They receive it with their being from the hand of nature.” And so Charles Sumner later said, “The words that governments derive55 their just powers from the consent of the governed are sacred words, full of life-giving energy. Not simply national independence was here proclaimed, but also the primal56 rights of all mankind.” Abraham Lincoln said, “In these early days the Declaration of Independence was held sacred by all and thought to include all;” and again, “If that Declaration is not the truth, let us get the Statute57 book in which we find it and tear it out.” These statements have been echoed and re-echoed by all our great statesmen, from Washington and Adams and Jefferson to Webster, Sumner, and Lincoln; they have even been asserted more than once in political platforms of great parties, and wherever the voice of dissent58 was feebly raised and doubters found, it was until recent times invariably among the apologists for slavery, or among those who feared interference with it, never by the men whom we of the present day look upon as leaders, or whose interpretation we would ever have been willing to follow.
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1
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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3
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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disclaiming
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| v.否认( disclaim的现在分词 ) | |
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reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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7
formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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8
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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impugn
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| v.指责，对…表示怀疑 | |
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10
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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12
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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13
writs
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| n.书面命令，令状( writ的名词复数 ) | |
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enunciated
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| v.（清晰地）发音( enunciate的过去式和过去分词 )；确切地说明 | |
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15
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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16
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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17
gage
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| n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge] | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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revoked
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| adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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25
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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besiege
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| vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围 | |
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evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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29
differentiated
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| 区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征 | |
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30
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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31
proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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32
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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33
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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34
subvert
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| v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱 | |
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35
generalization
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| n.普遍性，一般性，概括 | |
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36
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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37
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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38
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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promulgation
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| n.颁布 | |
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40
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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41
adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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42
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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43
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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44
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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46
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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47
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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48
purview
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| n.范围；眼界 | |
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49
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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50
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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51
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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52
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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53
animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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54
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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55
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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56
primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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57
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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58
dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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