Sample Reading - Let Freedom Ring
Sample Reading - Let Freedom Ring
ABRAHAM LINCOLN – INTERPRETER OF THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Abraham Lincoln is considered by many to be the interpreter of The Declaration of Independence. It is he who applied "that old Declaration of Independence," as he affectionately called it, to the practical question that was at the center of the Civil War – the question of civil and human rights for all. He said of himself, "I never had a feeling politically that did not stream from the sentiments embodied in The Declaration of Independence
Lincoln applied the Declaration's "all men are created equal" to the entire question of slavery. This conviction was the basis of his Emancipation Proclamation, which, in one sweeping action, freed all slaves in America. In doing so, Lincoln was true to the intent of The Declaration of Independence.
Lincoln insisted that The Declaration of Independence declares all people to be equal by definition. He explained, "They are equal, not in color, size, intellect, moral development or social capacity – but equal in certain unalienable, God-given rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Lincoln saw "the pursuit of happiness" as the right of all to be able to work to promote their own and their families' happiness by providing for their needs. Our present-day "equal opportunity in the work place laws" surely grew out of this.
In speaking of the right to liberty Lincoln said, "The word 'liberty' means for each man to do as he pleases with himself and the produce of his labor." He agreed, of course, that this kind of personal liberty must be limited when it encroaches on and threatens the rights of others. He pointed to freedom of conscience, freedom to worship and to adopt one's own philosophy of life, and freedom of speech, freedom to express one's views openly, as hallmarks of a society that is free.
The Declaration of Independence laid down the basic principle of liberty. The Constitution of the United States of America followed, and gave the principle its practical application and realization. As he frequently did, Lincoln quoted Scripture in relating the two documents. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a picture of silver." Lincoln said, "The assertion of liberty in The Declaration of Independence was the 'word fitly spoken,' which has proved to be an apple of gold to us. The Constitution is the picture of silver framed around it, not to conceal or destroy the apple, but to adorn and preserve it. The picture was made for the apple, not the apple for the picture."