patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of
men throughout the world.
Now, sirs, for the purpose of squaring things with this idea of "don't
care if slavery is voted up or voted down"; for sustaining the Dred
Scott decision; for holding that the Declaration of Independence did not
mean anything at all,--we have Judge Douglas giving his exposition of
what the Declaration of Independence means, and we have him saying that
the people of America are equal to the people of England. According to
his construction, you Germans are not connected with it. Now, I ask you
in all soberness, if all these things, if indulged in, if ratified, if
confirmed and indorsed, if taught to our children and repeated to them,
do not tend to rub out the sentiment of liberty in the country, and to
transform this government into a government of some other form? Those
arguments that are made, that the inferior race are to be treated with
as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying; that as much is to be
done for them as their condition will allow,--what are these arguments?
They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in
all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favour of
kingcraft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the
people,--not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were
better off for being ridden. That is their argument; and this argument
of the Judge is the same old serpent, that says, "You work, and I eat;
you toil, and I will enjoy the fruits of it." Turn in whatever way you
will,--whether it come from the mouth of a king, an excuse for enslaving
the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a
reason for enslaving the men of another race,--it is all the same old
serpent; and I hold, if that course of argumentation that is made for
the purpose of convincing the public mind that we should not care about
this, should be granted, it does not stop with the negro. I should like
to know--taking this old Declaration of Independence, which declares
that all men are equal, upon principle, and making exceptions to
it--where will it stop? If one man says it does not mean a negro, why
not another say it does not mean some other man? If that Declaration is
not the truth, let us get the statute-book in which we find it, and tear
it out! Who is so bold as to do it? If it is not true, let us tear it
out. [Cries of "No! No!"] Let us stick to it, then; let us stand firmly
by it, then.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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