1

Great American Documents

and Speeches

2

Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress

OCTOBER 14, 1774

Whereas, since the close of the last war, the British parliament, claiming a power, of right, to

bind the people of America by statutes in all cases whatsoever, hath, in some acts, expressly

imposed taxes on them, and in others, under various presences, but in fact for the purpose of raising

a revenue, hath imposed rates and duties payable in these colonies, established a board of

commissioners, with unconstitutional powers, and extended the jurisdiction of courts of admiralty, not

only for collecting the said duties, but for the trial of causes merely arising within the body of a

county:

And whereas, in consequence of other statutes, judges, who before held only estates at will in

their offices, have been made dependant on the crown alone for their salaries, and standing armies

kept in times of peace: And whereas it has lately been resolved in parliament, that by force of a

statute, made in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, colonists may be

transported to England, and tried there upon accusations for treasons and misprisions, or

concealments of treasons committed in the colonies, and by a late statute, such trials have been

directed in cases therein mentioned:

And whereas, in the last session of parliament, three statutes were made; one entitled, "An act

to discontinue, in such manner and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and

discharging, lading, or shipping of goods, wares and merchandise, at the town, and within the

harbour of Boston, in the province of Massachusetts-Bay in New England;" another entitled, "An act

for the better regulating the government of the province of Massachusetts-Bay in New England;" and

another entitled, "An act for the impartial administration of justice, in the cases of persons questioned

for any act done by them in the execution of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults, in

the province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New England;" and another statute was then made, "for

making more effectual provision for the government of the province of Quebec, etc." All which

statutes are impolitic, unjust, and cruel, as well as unconstitutional, and most dangerous and

destructive of American rights:

And whereas, assemblies have been frequently dissolved, contrary to the rights of the people,

when they attempted to deliberate on grievances; and their dutiful, humble, loyal, and reasonable

petitions to the crown for redress, have been repeatedly treated with contempt, by his Majesty's

ministers of state:

3

The good people of the several colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode Island

and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Newcastle, Kent,

and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North- Carolina and South-Carolina, justly alarmed at

these arbitrary proceedings of parliament and administration, have severally elected, constituted,

and appointed deputies to meet, and sit in general Congress, in the city of Philadelphia, in order to

obtain such establishment, as that their religion, laws, and liberties, may not be subverted:

Whereupon the deputies so appointed being now assembled, in a full and free representation of

these colonies, taking into their most serious consideration, the best means of attaining the ends

aforesaid, do, in the first place, as Englishmen, their ancestors in like cases have usually done, for

asserting and vindicating their rights and liberties, DECLARE,

That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature,

the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following

RIGHTS:

Resolved, N.C.D. 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never

ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent.

Resolved, N.C.D. 2. That our ancestors, who first settled these colonies, were at the time of

their emigration from the mother country, entitled to all the rights, liberties, and immunities of free

and natural- born subjects, within the realm of England.

Resolved, N.C.D. 3. That by such emigration they by no means forfeited, surrendered, or lost

any of those rights, but that they were, and their descendants now are, entitled to the exercise and

enjoyment of all such of them, as their local and other circumstances enable them to exercise and

enjoy.

Resolved, 4. That the foundation of English liberty, and of all free government, is a right in the

people to participate in their legislative council: and as the English colonists are not represented, and

from their local and other circumstances, cannot properly be represented in the British parliament,

they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several provincial legislatures,

where their right of representation can alone be preserved, in all cases of taxation and internal polity,

subject only to the negative of their sovereign, in such manner as has been heretofore used and

accustomed: But, from the necessity of the case, and a regard to the mutual interest of both

countries, we cheerfully consent to the operation of such acts of the British parliament, as are

bonfide, restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the

commercial advantages of the whole empire to the mother country, and the commercial benefits of

its respective members; excluding every idea of taxation internal or external, for raising a revenue on

the subjects, in America, without their consent.

4

Resolved, N.C.D. 5. That the respective colonies are entitled to the common law of England,

and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the

vicinage, according to the course of that law.

Resolved, N.C.D. 6. That they are entitled to the benefit of such of the English statutes, as

existed at the time of their colonization; and which they have, by experience, respectively found to

be applicable to their several local and other circumstances.

Resolved, N.C.D. 7. That these, his Majesty's colonies, are likewise entitled to all the immunities

and privileges granted and confirmed to them by royal charters, or secured by their several codes of

provincial laws.

Resolved, N.C.D. 8. That they have a right peaceably to assemble, consider of their grievances,

and petition the king; and that all prosecutions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the

same, are illegal.

Resolved, N.C.D. 9. That the keeping a standing army in these colonies, in times of peace,

without the consent of the legislature of that colony, in which such army is kept, is against law.

Resolved, N.C.D. 10. It is indispensably necessary to good government, and rendered essential

by the English constitution, that the constituent branches of the legislature be independent of each

other; that, therefore, the exercise of legislative power in several colonies, by a council appointed,

during pleasure, by the crown, is unconstitutional, dangerous and destructive to the freedom of

American legislation.

All and each of which the aforesaid deputies, in behalf of themselves, and their constituents, do

claim, demand, and insist on, as their indubitable rights and liberties, which cannot be legally taken

from them, altered or abridged by any power whatever, without their own consent, by their

representatives in their several provincial legislature.

In the course of our inquiry, we find many infringements and violations of the foregoing rights,

which, from an ardent desire, that harmony and mutual intercourse of affection and interest may be

restored, we pass over for the present, and proceed to state such acts and measures as have been

adopted since the last war, which demonstrate a system formed to enslave America.

Resolved, N.C.D. That the following acts of parliament are infringements and violations of the

rights of the colonists; and that the repeal of them is essentially necessary, in order to restore

harmony between Great Britain and the American colonies, viz.

The several acts of Geo. III. ch. 15, and ch. 34.-5 Geo. III. ch.25.-6 Geo. ch. 52.-7 Geo.III. ch. 41

and ch. 46.-8 Geo. III. ch. 22. which impose duties for the purpose of raising a revenue in America,

extend the power of the admiralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subject of

5

trial by jury, authorize the judges certificate to indemnify the prosecutor from damages, that he might

otherwise be liable to, requiring oppressive security from a claimant of ships and goods seized,

before he shall be allowed to defend his property, and are subversive of American rights.

Also 12 Geo. III. ch. 24, intituled, "An act for the better securing his majesty's dockyards,

magazines, ships, ammunition, and stores," which declares a new offence in America, and deprives

the American subject of a constitutional trial by jury of the vicinage, by authorizing the trial of any

person, charged with the committing any offence described in the said act, out of the realm, to be

indicted and tried for the same in any shire or county within the realm.

Also the three acts passed in the last session of parliament, for stopping the port and blocking

up the harbour of Boston, for altering the charter and government of Massachusetts-Bay, and that

which is entitled, "An act for the better administration of justice, etc."

Also the act passed in the same session for establishing the Roman Catholic religion, in the

province of Quebec, abolishing the equitable system of English laws, and erecting a tyranny there, to

the great danger (from so total a dissimilarity of religion, law and government) of the neighboring

British colonies, by the assistance of whose blood and treasure the said country was conquered

from France.

Also the act passed in the same session, for the better providing suitable quarters for officers

and soldiers in his majesty's service, in North-America.

Also, that the keeping a standing army in several of these colonies, in time of peace, without the

consent of the legislature of that colony, in which such army is kept, is against law.

To these grievous acts and measures, Americans cannot submit, but in hopes their fellow

subjects in Great Britain will, on a revision of them, restore us to that state, in which both countries

found happiness and prosperity, we have for the present, only resolved to pursue the following

peaceable measures: 1. To enter into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation

agreement or association. 2. To prepare an address to the people of Great-Britain, and a memorial

to the inhabitants of British America: and 3. To prepare a loyal address to his majesty, agreeable to

resolutions already entered into.

6

Virginia Declaration of Rights I That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of

which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their

posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing

property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

II That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are

their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them.

III That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security

of the people, nation or community; of all the various modes and forms of government that is best,

which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety and is most effectually

secured against the danger of maladministration; and that, whenever any government shall be found

inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable,

unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged

most conducive to the public weal.

IV That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges

from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither

ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge be hereditary.

V That the legislative and executive powers of the state should be separate and distinct from the

judicative; and, that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression by feeling and

participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private

station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by

frequent, certain, and regular elections in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again

eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct.

VI That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people in assembly ought to be

free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and

attachment to, the community have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their

property for public uses without their own consent or that of their representatives so elected, nor

bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public good.

VII That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority without consent

of the representatives of the people is injurious to their rights and ought not to be exercised.

VIII That in all capital or criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand the cause and

nature of his accusation to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his

favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he

7

cannot be found guilty, nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be

deprived of his liberty except by the law of the land or the judgement of his peers.

IX That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed; nor cruel and

unusual punishments inflicted.

X That general warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search

suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not

named, or whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and

oppressive and ought not to be granted.

XI That in controversies respecting property and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial

by jury is preferable to any other and ought to be held sacred.

XII That the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty and can never be

restrained but by despotic governments.

XIII That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the

proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be

avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict

subordination to, and be governed by, the civil power.

XIV That the people have a right to uniform government; and therefore, that no government

separate from, or independent of, the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established

within the limits thereof.

XV That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a

firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue and by frequent recurrence

to fundamental principles.

XVI That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can

be directed by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally

entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the

mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.

Adopted unanimously June 12, 1776 Virginia Convention of Delegates drafted by Mr. George

Mason

8

In Congress, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate

that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient

causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to

suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to

which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing

invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism,

it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards

for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and

such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of

Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated

injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute

Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public

good.

9

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance,

unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so

suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people,

unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a

right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant

from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into

compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness

his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected;

whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People

at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the

dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose

obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to

encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of

Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for

establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the

amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to

harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our

legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

10

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution,

and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended

Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they

should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing

therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once

an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these

Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering

fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to

legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging

War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the

lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the

works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty &

perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of

a civilized nation.

11

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms

against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall

themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on

the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of

warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most

humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A

Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit

to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them

from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction

over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement

here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured

them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would

inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to

the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the

necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of

mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General

Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of

our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies,

solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be

Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British

Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is

and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have

full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to

do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the

support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,

we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

12

Georgia Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton

North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn

South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward, Jr. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton

Massachusetts John Hancock Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson, Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton

Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware Caesar Rodney George Read Thomas McKean

New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris

New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark

New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple

Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island

13

Stephen Hopkins William Ellery

Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire Matthew Thornton

14

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish

Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the

general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do

ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article. I.

Section. 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States,

which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second

Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the

Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State

Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty

five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not,

when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which

may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall

be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to

Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other

Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first

Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten

Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives

shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one

Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire

shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence

Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,

15

Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and

Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority

thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall

have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each

State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one

Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they

shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of

the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second

Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the

sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies

happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State,

the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the

Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and

been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an

Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have

no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the

Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the

United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that

Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States

16

is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the

Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from

Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under

the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to

Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4.

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,

shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at

any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing

Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be

on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5.

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own

Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a

smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the

Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each

House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for

disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the

same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas

and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one

fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other,

adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two

Houses shall be sitting.

17

Section. 6.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to

be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in

all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest

during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and

returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not

be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be

appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have

been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time;

and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either

House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the

Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall,

before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he

approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in

which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal,

and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall

agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House,

by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it

shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be

determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the

Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be

returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been

presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless

the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a

Law.

18

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of

Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be

presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect,

shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds

of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations

prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,

to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the

United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the

United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with

the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of

Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of

Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the

United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to

Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences

against the Law of Nations;

19

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning

Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a

longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of

the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress

Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such

Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the

States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the

Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not

exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the

Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and

to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of

the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals,

dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the

foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government

of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall

think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one

thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such

Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in

Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

20

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or

enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports

of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be

obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations

made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures

of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any

Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept

of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince,

or foreign State.

Section. 10.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque

and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin

a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law

impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on

Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's

inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on

Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all

such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep

Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with

another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in

such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

21

Article. II.

Section. 1.

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He

shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice

President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a

Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to

which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or

Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed

an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of

whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And

they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each;

which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government

of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the

Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the

Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest

Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole

Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority,

and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall

immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a

Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse

the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the

Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall

consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the

States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President,

the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice

President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate

shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

22

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which

they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of

the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall

any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five

Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or

Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve

on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal,

Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what

Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the

Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which

shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have

been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the

United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or

Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of

President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and

defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States,

and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United

States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the

executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective

Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against

the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make

Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate,

23

and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors,

other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers

of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and

which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment

of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of

Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the

Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their

next Session.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,

and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and

expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of

them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of

Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall

receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be

faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be

removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other

high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III.

Section. 1.

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in

such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The

Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good

24

Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which

shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this

Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,

under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and

Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to

which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more

States;— between a State and Citizens of another State,—between Citizens of different

States,—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different

States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or

Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in

which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all

the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction,

both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the

Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such

Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but

when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the

Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in

adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted

of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on

Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder

of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the

Person attainted.

25

Article. IV.

Section. 1.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and

judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws

prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved,

and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens

in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from

Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of

the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having

Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping

into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged

from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom

such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be

formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by

the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the

Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and

Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;

and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the

United States, or of any particular State.

26

Section. 4.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of

Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the

Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against

domestic Violence.

Article. V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall

propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of

two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments,

which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this

Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or

by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification

may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made

prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the

first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without

its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this

Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as

under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance

thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the

United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State

shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the

Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several

State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and

27

of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution;

but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public

Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the

Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first

Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the

first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third

Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and

forty fourth Lines of the second Page.

Attest William Jackson Secretary

done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth

Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty

seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness

whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

G°. Washington

Presidt and deputy from Virginia

Delaware

Geo: Read

Gunning Bedford jun

John Dickinson

Richard Bassett

Jaco: Broom

Maryland

James McHenry

Dan of St Thos. Jenifer

Danl. Carroll

Virginia

John Blair

James Madison Jr.

North Carolina

Wm. Blount

Richd. Dobbs Spaight

Hu Williamson

South Carolina

J. Rutledge

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

28

Charles Pinckney

Pierce Butler

Georgia

William Few

Abr Baldwin

New Hampshire

John Langdon

Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts

Nathaniel Gorham

Rufus King

Connecticut

Wm. Saml. Johnson

Roger Sherman

New York

Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey

Wil: Livingston

David Brearley

Wm. Paterson

Jona: Dayton

Pennsylvania

B Franklin

Thomas Mifflin

Robt. Morris

Geo. Clymer

Thos. FitzSimons

Jared Ingersoll

James Wilson

Gouv Morris

29

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

1791

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the

press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of

the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent

of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and

effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and

no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or

affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons

or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,

unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in

30

the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or

public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice

put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a

witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due

process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just

compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and

public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall

have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by

law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be

confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for

obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his

defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty

dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury,

shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according

to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and

unusual punishments inflicted.

31

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to

deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited

by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

32

The Gettysburg Address

Executive Mansion November 19, 1863

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new

nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created

equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so

conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that

war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those

who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper

that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not

hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have

consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor

long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us

the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought

here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the

great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased

devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we

here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under

God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the

people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

33

Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1865

Fellow-Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less

occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement

somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the

expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called

forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and

engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress

of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to

myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope

for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously

directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While

the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving

the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without

war--seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties

deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and

the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally

over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a

peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the

war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the

insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to

do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the

war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that

the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease.

Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both

read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the

34

other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in

wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we

be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been

answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of

offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the

offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses

which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued

through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North

and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we

discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living

God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty

scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the

wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be

sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn

with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the

judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives

us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's

wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his

orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among

ourselves and with all nations.

35

Free at Last

Refrain: Free at last, free at last;

I thank God I'm free at last; Free at last, Free at last,

I thank God I'm free at O Free at last, free at last;

I thank God I'm free at last; Free at last, Free at last,

I thank God I'm free at last.

'Way down yonder in the graveyard walk,

I thank God I'm free at last, Me and my Jesus goin' to meet and talk

I thank God I'm free at last, O [Refrain]

Ona my knees when the light passed by,

I thank God I'm free at last. Thought my soul would rise and fly

I thank God I'm free at last, O [Refrain]

Some of these mornings, bright and fair, I thank God I'm free at last,

Goin' meet King Jesus in the air, I thank God I'm free at last, O [Refrain]

36

I Have a Dream

By Martin Luther King, Jr.

Delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the

greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand

today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came

as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been

seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to

end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years

later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of

segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the

Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of

material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in

the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the

architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution

and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note

to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all

men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the

"unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is

obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as

her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred

37

obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which

has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to

believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of

this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us

upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce

urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to

take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the

promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate

valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to

lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of

brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's

children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This

sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until

there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-

three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro

needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude

awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be

neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his

citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the

foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the

warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of

gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us

not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of

bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high

38

plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to

degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the

majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must

not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers,

as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their

destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their

freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march

ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you

be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of

the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as

long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in

the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be

satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a

larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of

their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites

Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote

and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no,

we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like

waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and

tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some

of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you

battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police

39

brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work

with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi,

go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back

to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities,

knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still

have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true

meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men

are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former

slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together

at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering

with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be

transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where

they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their

character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with

its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and

"nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black

girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters

and brothers.

I have a dream today!

40

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and

mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the

crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be

revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone

of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of

our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will

be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail

together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one

day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will

be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

41

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring

from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will

be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white

men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands

and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

42

Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama

United States Capitol

January 21, 2013

THE PRESIDENT: Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice,

members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength

of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds

this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of

our names. What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American -- is our allegiance

to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“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.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with

the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident,

they’ve never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be

secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the

tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a

republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to

keep safe our founding creed.

And for more than two hundred years, we have.

43

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union

founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.

We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to

speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure

competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its

people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have

we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government

alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and

personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our

founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our

individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can

no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers

could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No

single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our

children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring

new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things

together, as one nation and one people.

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and

proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has

begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this

world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an

endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made

for this moment, and we will seize it -- so long as we seize it together.

44

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few

do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity

must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America

thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the

wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our

creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same

chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she

is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. So we

must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax

code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work

harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose

endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.

That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and

dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size

of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the

generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.

For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and

parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.

We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for

the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us

at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible

storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and

Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. They do not

make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves,

but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the

failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny

45

the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of

raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But

America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations

the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise.

That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure -- our

forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will

preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to

the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require

perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle,

are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we

have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their

sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are

also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war; who turned sworn enemies

into the surest of friends -- and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of

law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations

peacefully –- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because

engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.

America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe. And we

will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no

one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will

support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because

our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for

freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the

victims of prejudice –- not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires

the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance

and opportunity, human dignity and justice.

46

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created

equal –- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca

Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and

unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot

walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to

the freedom of every soul on Earth.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey

is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to

their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated

like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we

commit to one another must be equal as wellOur journey is not complete until no citizen

is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until

we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America

as a land of opportunity until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our

workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all

our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of

Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task -- to make these words, these rights, these values of life

and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American. Being true to our

founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life. It does not

mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow the same precise path to

happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role

of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time.

For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake

absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as

reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act,

knowing that today’s victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand

here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit

once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

47

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by

others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction.

And we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the

words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier

signs up for duty or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from

the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as

citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the

obligation to shape the debates of our time -- not only with the votes we cast, but with

the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting

birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let

us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of

freedom.

Thank you. God bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.