Classical High School - Classic Myths Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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The Con titution and il Changing World mfhis Constitution for the United States of Aniericaw was the result not of theoretical doctrines or natural desire, of spontaneous determination or continued prosperity, but of a struggle against the consequences of mistakes, of trial, of dis- appointment and pain, of the stern lessons of experience. MWe the People sought to form ua more perfect Union because we had experienced the disadvantages of disuniong we longed to establish justicen and uinsure domestic tranquillityn because we had felt the lash of tyranny and had endured armies in our midst in times of peace, we desired to Mprovide for the common defense and 'gpromote the general welfarew because we had been forced to realize that the prime interest of us all was the same, indeed, the dread rumblings of anarchy were close at hand when the repre- sentatives of the people gathered to try Mto secure the blessingsa' of their hard-won liberty. It was at such an unhappy time that our forefathers had to establish a new form of government in whose eyes all men should be equal-and the only predeces- sors to guide them Were unsuccessful attempts of others, a few gleamings from Roman legal philosophy, and some maxims from the English law which they had so recently found oppressive. Wlell did they know what a mighty task would be the founding of such a government, and they knew, too, that if it proved unsuccessful and short-lived it would be, as Alexander Hamilton said, udisgraced and lost among ourselves, dis- graced and lost to mankind foreverf, Yet, summoning to the task not only all their intellectual brilliance, but remarkable courage, patriotism, and understanding, in the words of James Beck, wllhis people, without shedding a drop of blood, calmly and deliberately abolished one government, substituted another, and erected it upon foun- dations which have hitherto proved enduring. The quality of our great document is made still more amazing when we realize how few have been the changes in its original articles during the more than one hun- dred fifty years of its existence. Only the method of electing President and Senators, and the time of the meetings of Congress have been changed, the powers of Congress have been altered merely to permit the levying of an income tax, while stateis au- thority has been varied only as regards the right of suffrage and the Supreme Court's prerogative to prevent seizure of ulife, liberty, or property without due process of lawf' But the very fact that this production has survived practically in its original form tends to make us forget that the hardships, the difficulties of maintaining it many times were as great as those of creating it. Let us again recall that it had to Eighteen

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CQ assfc Cyylyflts We had never been organized as a class before, and so we chose class ofiicers for the first time. Billy Connors was elected president, Betty French vice-president, Mar- jorie Lovell secretary, and Ray Peterson treasurer. About this time we said a final goodbye to North and returned to Classical bag and baggage. The thought that was uppermost in everyone's mind was that a change is good for everybody, but there is still no place like home. We broke a precedent this year when we chose beside our regular class day speakers two class marshals, Jimmy Horgan and Mary Darling. There was every reason for us to be proud of Haskell Grodberg when he won the Massachusetts Oratorical Contest. This year the Green Room Club's presentation was exceptionally good. Danny Breen as the hero of uBroken Dishesfl along with Barrett Lonstein, Leonard Israel, Violet Griliiths, Richard Stearns, and Franklin Silverman gave us many hilarious moments. As we end our high school career these notes will perhaps show what type of class we have been. We owe innumerable debts of gratitude and thousands of pardons to our thoughtful teachers. We are glad to be back in this building surrounded by familiar objects and persons, for we see now more clearly than we ever have what a wonderful institution Classical is. Seventeen

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Q assi c Ofnyfhs guide a nationis growth across a continent, and, with this accomplished, was threatened by enticements of gold and power. Not without good cause did Clarence McCartney cry, '4Empire and military glory lure us on, but above their siren songs I hear voices of the past crying to us from across the ages. From dungeons, from martyrs' stakes, from all the battlefields that scar man's upward path, countless voices acljure us to be faithful to our trustf, Let us remember that the Constitution had to accept into its fold peoples from many lands with many differences, and the fact that it did so suc- cessfully demonstrates the universality of its nature. Let us recollect the menace of the growth in strength of the Second United States Bank until the question actually arose whether this organization or the government was the more powerful. And we must remember that in destroying slavery and surviving nullification the Constitu- tion suffered the saddest test it could possibly undergoefa bloody Civil War, and, following this plunge into the depths, it weathered the rough waves of reconstruction. And yet, not weakened, but wiser and stronger from its misfortunes, this beacon has led its people to a position of unparalleled prestige and unequalled glory in the history of nations. But what was it,-one may well inquire,fwhat was it the founding fathers had learned from their experiences that enabled them to produce this living code? What was it Jackson and Lincoln and all the great succeeding leaders perceived that em- powered them to preserve this supreme law of the land? What is the reason this form of government has survived while others have risen and fallen? The answer is a simple one. Our chiefs were aware of a great truth. They recognized that secular rights are derived from spiritual rights. Taking their cue from the teachings of religion, they asserted in the Declaration of Independence that all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governedf' So it was that the Constitution was made to begin with the words ive the Peoplew when it could quite easily have had as its commencement 'aWe the Statesfi Thus it was that the American Bill of Rights was made to end with the words, MThe powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people? Herein lies the great- ness of the American form of government. The Constitution not only has a body-it has a soul! Yet to-day, l fear, the Constitution faces its sternest trial. From without, we be- hold raging about us hatred, tyranny, and war. ln nations throughout the world, for the sake of false hopes of economic security, men have sacrificed their most precious possession-personal liberty. Dangerous doctrines of classes and masses have arisen, and here lies the threat to America. ln our very midst there are some who would abolish the guardian of the Constitution, the Supreme Court, there are others who fC0ntinzLed on Page 3U Nineteen,