rawn, so far as its heart is concerned, into
anybody's quarrel. Not because it does not understand the quarrel, not
because it does not in its head assess the merits of the controversy,
but because America has promised the world to stand apart and maintain
certain principles of action which are grounded in law and in justice.
We are not trying to keep out of trouble; we are trying to preserve the
foundations upon which peace can be rebuilt. Peace can be rebuilt only
upon the ancient and accepted principles of international law, only upon
those things which remind nations of their duties to each other, and,
deeper than that, of their duties to mankind and to humanity.

America has a great cause which is not confined to the American
continent. It is the cause of humanity itself. I do not mean in anything
that I say even to imply a judgment upon any nation or upon any policy,
for my object here this afternoon is not to sit in judgment upon anybody
but ourselves and to challenge you to assist all of us who are trying to
make America more than ever conscious of her own principles and her own
duty. I look forward to the necessity in every political agitation in
the years which are immediately at hand of calling upon every man to
declare himself, where he stands. Is it America first, or is it not?

We ought to be very careful about some of the impressions that we are
forming just now. There is too general an impression, I fear, that very
large numbers of our fellow citizens born in other lands have not
entertained with sufficient intensity and affection the American ideal.
But the number of such is, I am sure, not large. Those who would seek to
represent them are very vocal, but they are not very influential. Some
of the best stuff of America has come out of foreign lands, and some of
the best stuff in America is in the men who are naturalized citizens of
the United States. I would not be afraid upon the test of "America
first" to take a census of all the foreign-born citizens of the United
States, for I know that the vast majority of them came here because they
believed in America; and their belief in America has made them better
citizens than some people who were born in America. They can say that
they have bought this privilege with a great price. They have left their
homes, they have left their kindred, they have broken all the nearest
and dearest ties of human life in order to come to a new land, take a
new rootage, begin