Southwest High School - Roundup Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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PER.SONIFICATIONS OF DEMOCRACY By LEROY HART A nation is made great, not alone by its fruitful acres, but by the men who cultivate them, not alone by its mines, but by the men who develop them: not alone by its forests, but by the men who utilize them. America was a magnificent land when Columbus came to its shores, but Americans have made it a magniicent nation. Great Americans such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Wilson have not only proclaimed the principles of democracy to others, but applied these principles in their lives of public service. Hence they represent or personify democracy. Emerson, one of America's most pro- found philosophers, expresses this idea in his essay on Self-Reliance 'when he states that 'lEvery true man is a cause, a country, and an age: requires infinite spaces and numbers, and time fully to accomplish his design:-and posterity seems to follow his steps as a train of clients. One of the prime factors aiding Americans in making this a great nation has been the coincidence of thoughts and ideals among the great leaders who have guided their countrymen in building America. Since thoughts to become articulate must be expressed in the form of speech, the following paragraphs contain public utterances of our great leaders representing, in succeeding periods of our history, their views on the principles of Americanism and democracy. George Washington was a man among men, towering above the common in all respects. He venerated truth and virtue above profit and advantage. He sought always the public good, and preferred the approval of his own conscience to popular applause. Washington believed that Hthe preservation of the sacred fire of liberty is intrusted to the hands of the American people. He believed in the characteristic rights of freed men. He believed that Americans should observe good faith and justice toward all nations. He believed that religion and morality are indispensible supports and that without religious principles national morality cannot prevail. Living by these principles won Washington the title, Father of his country. He was truly great in every way, and was indeed Hfirst in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. To the American of the eighteenth century. Washington personified democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the personification of the democratic movement of the early nineteenth century, embodied the typical American spirit of freedom and equality. Few men, if any, have more profoundly influenced American life than Jefferson. Jefferson believed and wrote into the Declaration of Inde- pendence that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness-that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. He also expressed his belief in equal and exact justice to all men and in 'ifreedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person. Such were the tenets of Thomas Jefferson, whose confidence in the masses was hardly understandable to such Federalist leaders as Hamilton and John Adams, And so great was the influence of Jefferson in the first quarter of the nineteenth century that the forward surge of democracy in those decades has since been known as Jeffersonian' democracy. Possessing profound simplicity in speech and action, expressing great love for and patience with his countrymen, and showing the strictest truthfulness and honesty in his dealings with all men, Abraham Lincoln holds a unique place in our history. Lincoln believed that the government of the people. by the people, and for the people was the only legitimate government. In his Second Inaugural Address in 1865 he told his countrymen that the North Twenry

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concerned with their country's welfare to use wisely their honest vote. For example, in the election of 1928, only 5095 of the eligible voters went to the polls. The ballot system of expressing public opinion was intended as a system by which the people rule themselves. But many citizens who do not vote are being ruled, not by themselves, but by greedy professional political bosses and their political machines. These political bosses and machines take advantage of the failure of some citizens to vote and are thereby able to rule with their well-organized minority. These citizens, who are too busy to vote help elect these enemies of society. Yet those who do not vote are usually the first to complain about unsatisfactory ofHcers. Half-interested citizens, who fail to vote in primary elections cannot expect to go to the polls at the final election and find a choice between outstanding candidates. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy. The ofiice will not change the man. The incentive for more capable citizens to become our public oflicers, knowing they will be really serving society, may come with the decline of machine politics. Every responsible citizen Wishes a Voice in his government. Some do not use it, some abuse it. But if a person desires to say something that he feels ought to be said, he is allowed in this country the privilege of saying it publicly, in open meeting, or before the microphone, unless it disturbs the public peace. Although these precious rights of free speech and peaceable assembly are guar- anteed, yet here too arises the duty of preventing selfish persons from abusing these rights by spreading false information and arousing hatreds by appeals to prejudice and bigotry. Some who take most advantage of free speech are advocating a system which rigidly curbs the freedom of speech. These great privileges challenge citizens to be able to distinguish the sensible from the senseless and dangerous. Citizens are further privileged in America to publish information that may be helpful in advancing knowledge among men. In no other land are citizens permitted to circulate printed information so freely. Books, magazines, the daily press-these are great moulders of public opinion. But the corresponding responsibility in a democracy is clear: the responsibility of those who write to record objectively the whole truth, and the responsibility of the masses who read to search diligently for all the facts. One of the most abused human rights in many parts of the modern world is the free exercise of religious conviction. Our supreme law provides complete freedom of religion, and forbids religious qualification for public office. In this land, Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant stand perfectly equal before the law. The genuine religious spirit flourishes best in a democracy. And when Catholics, Protestants, or Jews begin to indulge in religious intolerance, then one of the cornerstones of democracy is threatened. Under-cover prejudices against certain religions are evident even in the United States. But such preju- dices cannot be tolerated in a democracy. If unchecked, this insidious force leads ultimately to chaos. In the Fourteenth Amendment states are prohibited from depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Police and courts of justice seek to prevent the taking of our property, or the endangering of our lives. We must in turn respect our fellow citizens' lives and property. Our government, national, state and local, has sought increasingly of late to provide social legislation for the economic well-being of our people. The patriotic cooperation of citizens is necessary to make social security a future reality. These privileges of American citizens form an impressive total. To maintain them necessitates a body of citizens who habitually pay their taxes and perform their duties. Knowledge and appreciation of the laws is a challenge to the education of citizens in a democracy. Let us, as citizens, strive for the perpetuation of the land of the free , and let us strive to build the ideal country composed of all peoples blended into one community life and trying to transmit to the next generation a greater, better, and more beautiful country. Nineteen

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and South are not enemies, but friends. Continuing he stated, We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. Thus Lincoln firmly believed in the preservation of the union, but a union based on understanding and cooperation among its several parts-not states loosely joined, but the United States. He believed in a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. He believed that every American, every lover of liberty should have reverence for the laws. Lincoln was acquainted with the smiles and tears of a nation torn by internal strife. However, through his simplicity, his truthfulness, his wholehearted- ness, and his trust in a just God, Lincoln led his people onward to a complete victory. Little appreciated in his lifetime, as were Washington and Jefferson, Lincoln's role as savior of the Federal Union has been increasingly clear to each succeeding generation. Woodrow Wilson, student, thinker, writer, teacher, and statesman was truly a leader. In time of world strife he became the spokesman for democracy and thereby further exalted America as the champion of liberty and justice. He believed that no government could succeed without the reign of law based on the consent of the governed and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind. He also believed that world peace should be founded on the Uequality of nations and that every people should be left free to determine its own policy, its own way of development unhindered, unthreatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful. At Versailles in l9l9 Wilson argued for peace without victory. However, unfortunately, this great humani- tarian viewpoint was not employed as the guiding principle in making the treaty, and thus the foundations for the present European chaos were laid. Regardless of our birthplace, regardless of our parentage We, as true Ameri- cans, should honor the memory of such leaders as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Wilson. Vle should express gratitude for the inheritance be- queathed to us by these men, and we should highly resolve to preserve, protect. and defend this inheritance unimpaired, and pass it on to our descendents, enlarged and enriched. Virginia I:'4lmi'nxmn Twenty-one