Now recognizing that there is in this Nation a lack of respect for the Constitution, and knowing something of the causes which underlie this feeling, and realizing that the Constitution is in very truth the fortress and the glory of our republic, what is our duty?
The duty of every man, woman, and child in America is to defend the Constitution with his life, if necessary, against those who condemn and traduce and seek to destroy.
But how shall we defend it? Shall we oppose all amendments of the Constitution? No, by its very terms it is subject to amendment; but in contemplating its amendment, we should approach this sacred document in the same reverent spirit we would have if we were entering upon some holy shrine. It is the people's Constitution; it is their right to amend it. Yea, it is their duty to amend it, if upon due deliberation, the rights of the whole people can be better protected or enforced.
Complaint is sometimes made because of the delay involved in its amendment; but the provisions of the Constitution requiring [pg 208] deliberation were wisely inserted. It was intended that fundamental principles should not be changed under the inspiration of sudden passion. It contemplated mature deliberation. The fathers of the Republic were mindful of the storms which at times in the history of the world had swept the people to destruction.[115]
Shall we rebuke the people who seek reforms? Shall we decry progress or change? No, we should be the leaders in all such reforms. We should aid in guiding public sentiment along channels safe and sound and constitutional. We should give recognition to the appeals of those who would lighten the burdens of our brothers who may be heavy laden. We should aid in convincing the people that the Constitution is no restraint upon their aspirations for higher and better things; that it is in truth the guide and inspiration to better things.
Shall we condemn those who through lack of knowledge do not appreciate the great value of the Constitution? No, we should teach them. We should lead them. We should inspire them with love and veneration for this great bulwark of human freedom.
We must in very truth become teachers of all the people. We must carry to them the light of our knowledge. We must point out to them the rocks upon which other republics have been wrecked.[116]
We must teach them that in the Constitution we find an absolute guaranty of protection for life, for liberty, and for property rights. That there is no man so lowly, that he cannot point to the Constitution as his shield from the acts of the tyrant, that he cannot point to his humble home as his “castle”, and under the sacred guaranties of the Constitution defy all the unlawful force of the world.
We must teach them that it guarantees the inviolability of [pg 209] contracts, that it prevents even a great State from taking the life or property of its humblest citizen without a trial under due process of law, that trial by jury is preserved, and that no man can be convicted of a crime without the privilege of being represented by counsel, and that no man can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
We must recall to them the awful tragedies enacted in the days of old, where, under Star Chamber proceedings, men were deprived of their property and their lives upon charges of treason, which were never proven; and then we must point out to them the burning words of the Constitution, which provides that no man can be found guilty of treason without at least two witnesses to the overt act.