I told you a while ago that this is the first real democracy in the world. So few people stop to think about this. The world is thousands of years old. Humanity in all these thousands of years has been made up of men, women, and children just like us. They hoped for, and dreamed of freedom, but until America became a Nation no government in the world had ever been a real government by the people. They had always been ruled by a king, a queen, an emperor, by some other ruler, by a small group of men who were rulers, or by a certain class. Your father may be a blacksmith, or a street sweeper, but on election day he can vote. Up to the organization of this government no such right existed anywhere in the world. In some countries, a few men who owned a certain amount of property could vote; but the wise men of the world sneered at the American plan to give every man the right to vote whether he owned a dollar’s worth of property or not. Always remember this, too, that even when America became a Nation, the right of all the people to vote was not granted at once. Many of our States for many years required that a voter must have a certain amount of property. Finally this was all wiped away. America has been a growth, each generation doing a little more to expand the power of the people, and this growth, this expansion must continue. We are still a young Nation and we all have much to do to aid in making this democracy a better place in which to live. When you hear of other democracies now existing in the world, remember that America has been their guide and inspiration. Men came from France to help fight our revolution, and carried back with them the spirit of America. In time democracy was established in France. So with all the countries in the world which to-day have a greater or less degree of democracy, to them all, America has been a beacon light, a source of courage and of inspiration. Did any of you ever see the great Statue of Liberty at the entrance to the New York harbor? If you did, you saw that grand figure looking out to the east over the great expanse of water, holding aloft the great torch which in the darkness of the night is aglow with light, the great flaming torch, which is emblematic of America enlightening the world. ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1. Which was the first real democracy to be established in the world? 2. What is a democracy? What is the difference between “democracy” and a “Democrat”? 3. Who governs in a democracy? 4. In a democracy, who makes the laws? 5. How is power in government expressed in a democracy? In America, does one man have more power than another? 6. How many times can a person vote on election day? 7. Suppose Congress or the legislature in our State passes a law that we do not like. Do we have to obey it? What can we do about it? How can we secure a change in the law? ADVANCED QUESTIONS A. What does “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” mean?