their attempts to live by it, but none have
successfully disputed its truth. It is the realization of the true
glory and worth of man, which, when once admitted, wrought vast changes
that have marked all history since its day. All this relates to natural
rights, fascinating to dwell upon, but not sufficient to live by. The
signers knew that well; more important still, the people whom they
represented knew it. So they did not stop there. After asserting that
man was to stand out in the universe with a new and supreme importance,
and that governments were instituted to insure life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness, they did not shrink from the logical conclusion of
this doctrine. They knew that the duty between the citizen and the State
was reciprocal. They knew that the State called on its citizens for
their property and their lives; they laid down the proposition that
government was to protect the citizen in his life, liberty, and pursuit
of happiness. At some expense? Yes. Those prudent and thrifty men had no
false notions about incurring expense. They knew the value of
increasing their material resources, but they knew that prosperity was a
means, not an end. At cost of life? Yes. These sons of the Puritans, of
the Huguenots, of the men of Londonderry, braved exile to secure peace,
but they were not afraid to die in defence of their convictions. They
put no limit on what the State must do for the citizen in his hour of
need. While they required all, they gave all. Let us read their
conclusion in their own words, and mark its simplicity and majesty: "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." There is no cringing
reservation here, no alternative, and no delay. Here is the voice of the
plain men of Middlesex, promising Yorktown, promising Appomattox.

The doctrine of the Declaration of Independence, predicated upon the
glory of man, and the corresponding duty of society, is that the rights
of citizens are to be protected with every power and resource of the
State, and a government that does any less is false to the teachings of
that great document, of the name American. Beyond this, the principle
that it is the obligation of the people to rise and overthrow government
which fails in these respects. But above all, the call to duty, the
pledge of fortune and of life, nobility of c