walk of life, of every section of
the country, and of every shade of political sentiment and
religious belief, have concurred in the measure."

In their appeal, they most earnestly request every lover of his country
to join in forming auxiliary associations, circulate documents, attend
conventions, sign the memorial to Congress, &c., &c.

In their plea for an amended Constitution, they ask the people to

"Consider that God is not once named in our National Constitution.
There is nothing in it which requires an 'oath of God,' as the
Bible styles it (which, after all, is the great bond both of
loyalty in the citizen and of fidel in the magistrate); nothing
which requires the ob of the day of rest and of worship, or which
re its sanctity. If we do not have the mails carried and the
post-offices open on Sunday, it is because we have a
Postmaster-General who respects the day. If our Supreme Courts are
not held, and if Congress does not sit on that day, it is custom,
and not law, that makes it so. Nothing in the Constitution gives
Sunday quiet to the custom house, the navy yard, the barracks, or
any of the departments of government.

"Consider that they fairly express the mind of the great body of
the American people. This is a Christian people. These amendments
agree with the faith, the feelings, and the forms of every
Christian church or sect. The Catholic and the Protestant, the
Unitarian and the Trinitarian, profess and approve all that is here
proposed. Why should their wishes not become law? Why should not
the Constitution be made to suhf and to represent a constituency so
overwhelmingly in the majority?...

"This great majority is becoming daily more conscious not only of
their rights, but of their power. Their number grows, and their
column becomes more solid. They have quietly, steadily opposed
infidelity, until it has, at least, become politically unpopular.
They have asserted the rights of man and the rights of the
government, until the nation's faith has become measurably fixed
and declared on these points. And now that the close of the war
gives us occasion to amend our Constitution, that it may clearly
and fully represent the mind of the people on these points, they
feel that it should also be so amended as to recognize the rights
of God in man