A Short History of the United States
by
Edward Channing
Part 7 out of 7
patience. On August 17 Merritt felt strong enough to attack the city. It
was at once surrendered to him.
[Illustration: THE UNITED STATES IN 1900.]
[Illustration: DEPENDENCIES OF THE UNITED STATES. All on same scale as
United States, 1900.]
[Sidenote: Treaty of Peace, 1898.]
[Sidenote: Hawaii.]
484. End of the War.--The destruction of the Spanish Atlantic fleet
and the fall of Santiago convinced the Spaniards that further resistance
was useless. So it was agreed that the fighting should be stopped. This
was in July, 1898. But the actual treaty of peace was not made
until the following December. The conditions were that Spain should
abandon Cuba, should cede to the United States Porto Rico, the
Philippines, and some smaller islands, and should receive from the
United States twenty million dollars. For many years American
missionaries, merchants, and planters had been interested in the
Hawaiian Islands. The war showed the importance of these islands to the
United States as a military and naval station, and they were annexed.
485. Prosperity.--The years 1898-1900 have been a period of
unbounded prosperity for the American people. Foreign trade has
increased enormously, and the manufactures of the United States are
finding a ready market in other countries. A rebellion has been going on
in the Philippines, but it seems to be slowly dying out
(February, 1900).
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
CHAPTER 44
Sec.Sec. 464, 465.--_a_. Why was Harrison chosen President?
_b_. What is "tariff reform"? What is "reciprocity"? Do you consider
such a method wise or not? Why?
Sec.Sec. 466, 467.--_a_. Why was silver demonetized? What is meant by the word
"demonetization"?
_b_. What was the Sherman Silver Law? What effect did it have upon
business?
_c_. Was there any reason for the fear on the part of business men?
_d_. Why was Harrison defeated in 1892?
Sec.Sec. 468, 469.--_a_. Why did money become scarce in the summer of 1893?
_b_. How did the repeal of the Sherman Law affect confidence in the
future of business?
_c_. Describe the Chicago Exhibition. What is the advantage of such an
exhibition?
Sec.Sec. 470, 471.--_a_. Who were the leading candidates for the presidency in
1896? What principles did they stand for?
_b_. Explain the provisions of the Dingley Tariff.
_c_. Ask some business man what he thinks of the wisdom of changing the
tariff very often.
CHAPTER 45
Sec.Sec. 472, 473.--_a_. What promises had the Spaniards made to the Cubans
and how had they kept them?
_b_. What do you think of Weyler's policy?
_c_. Could the Spanish war have been avoided?
Sec. 474.--_a_. Why could not Admiral Dewey remain at Hong Kong?
_b_. Describe the battle of Manila Bay. What were the results of this
action?
Sec.Sec. 475-477.--_a_. Why were the American people on the Atlantic seacoast
alarmed? Were the harbors well defended?
_b_. Compare the American and the Spanish Atlantic fleets. Why was the
voyage of the _Oregon_ important?
Sec.Sec. 478, 479.--_a_. Describe the harbor of Santiago. What advantages did
it possess for the Spaniards?
_b_. How did Hobson try to prevent the escape of the Spanish fleet?
_c_. Describe the encounter between the two fleets.
_d_. To what was this great success due?
Sec.Sec. 480-482.--_a_. From what parts of the country did the volunteers
come?
_b_. Why was there so much confusion in the army?
_c_. Describe the Santiago campaign and the suffering of the soldiers.
_d_. Describe the Porto Rico expedition. Why did General Miles land on
the southern coast?
Sec.Sec. 483-485.--_a_. Why were the soldiers needed after Dewey's victory?
_b_. Give the conditions of peace. Exactly what was the condition as to
Cuba?
_c_. Why are the Hawaiian Islands important to the United States?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
_a_. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tariff?
_b_. What important matters have been definitely settled during the past
one hundred years?
_c_. What are some of the problems now before the American people?
_d_. Should the United States be a "world power"?
TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK
_a_. Present condition of any part of the United States or dependent
territories.
_b_. Any campaign or battle of the Spanish War.
_c_. Present political parties and their principles.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
Interesting constitutional questions will inevitably arise in teaching
this section, but the events are too recent to admit of dogmatizing on
lines of policy. The Spanish War and the Philippine trouble are too near
to be properly judged, and the facts only should be taught. The duties
and responsibilities resting upon the United States through its closer
connection with all parts of the world can, however, be emphasized
without the display of partisan spirit. Furthermore, the causes of
present prosperity and the industrial advantages of the United States
may well demand attention. Throughout every part of this section, also,
the importance of good citizenship, in the broadest sense of the word,
should receive special emphasis.
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA[1]
WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish
this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.
ARTICLE. I.
SECTION. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.
SECTION. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the
Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for
Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the
Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State
in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several
States which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of
Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law
direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative;
and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire
shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey
four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten,
North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such
Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other
Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
SECTION. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes.
The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the
Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of
the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth
Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the
Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then
fill such Vacancies.
No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he
shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro
tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise
the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two
thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office
of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial,
Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
SECTION. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for
Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or
alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by
Law appoint a different Day.
SECTION. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of
absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House
may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two
thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on
any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be
entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
SECTION. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out
of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except
Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest
during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and
in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in
either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof
shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any
Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during
his Continuance in Office.
SECTION. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments
as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the
Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of
the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall
return it, with his Objections, to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal,
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds
of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together
with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and
against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within
ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him,
the same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless
the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it
shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of
Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States;
and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or
being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate
and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations
prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
SECTION. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common
Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties,
Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,
and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the
subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix
the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas,
and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use
shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the
United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of
the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of
particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of
the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over
all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in
which the same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals,
dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And To make all Laws which
shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the
Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.
SECTION. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may
require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion
to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to
the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound
to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties
in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from
time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office,
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
SECTION. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit
Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in
Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law
impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or
Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and
Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use
of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject
to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or
engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as
will not admit of delay.
ARTICLE. II.
SECTION, 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of
four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same
Term, be elected, as follows Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as
the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the
whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person
holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot
for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the
same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the
Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the
Government of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes
shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number
of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such
Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of
Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for
President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest
on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But
in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the
Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this
Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice.
In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the
greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President.
But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate
shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day
on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty
five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said
Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress
may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or
Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act
accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall
be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any
of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:--
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my
Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States."
SECTION. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States,
when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require
the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the
executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their
respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and
Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur;
and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and
which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the
Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen
during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall
expire at the End of their next Session.
SECTION. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information
of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such
Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on
extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in
Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper;
he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the
Officers of the United States.
SECTION. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the
United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
ARTICLE III.
SECTION. 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and
inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and
shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation,
which shall not be diminished during their continuance in Office.
SECTION. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States,
and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to
all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to
all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to
which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two
or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another
State;--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between
a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens
or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have
original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the
supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and
Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress
shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by
Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the
Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law
have directed.
SECTION. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them
Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the
Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in
open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but
no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture
except during the Life of the Person attainted.
ARTICLE. IV.
SECTION. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And
the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such
Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
SECTION. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who
shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand
of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered
up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or
Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall
be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour
may be due.
SECTION. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of
any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more
States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of
the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules
and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to
the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so
construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any
particular State.
SECTION. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them
against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the
Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against
domestic Violence.
ARTICLE. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States,
shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case,
shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the
several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one
or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first
and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that
no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage
in the Senate.
ARTICLE. VI.
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made
in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of
the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any
Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary
notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of
the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by
Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test
shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States.
ARTICLE. VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient
for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so
ratifying the Same.
THE AMENDMENTS.
I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
II.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.
III.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without
the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
IV.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
V.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be
subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.
VI.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favor,
and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
VII.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the
United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
IX.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
X.
The 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.
XI.
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the
United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects
of any Foreign State.
XII.
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists
of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the
votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of
votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person
have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not
exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House
of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.
But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth
day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of
votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall
consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of
the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible
to that of Vice-President of the United States.
XIII.
SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.
SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
XIV.
SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States: nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
SECTION 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of
persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right
to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and
Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the
Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States,
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the
whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
SECTION 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such
disability.
SECTION 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims
shall be held illegal and void.
SECTION 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
XV.
SECTION 1. The right citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
[1] Reprinted from the text issued by the State Department.
INDEX
Abolitionists.
Acadia.
Adams, John; Vice-President; President; his administration.
Adams, John Quincy, portrait; and the Monroe Doctrine; President,
his administration; and the right of petition.
Adams, Samuel.
Alabama claims.
Alaska, purchase of; map of.
Albany Congress.
Algerine War.
Alien and Sedition Acts.
Allen, Ethan.
America, discovery of; naming of.
American Association.
Americus Vespucius, see Vespucius.
Andre, Major.
Andros, Sir Edmund.
Antietam, battle of.
Antislavery agitation.
Appomattox, surrender at.
Arnold, Benedict, at Quebec; in Burgoyne's campaign; treason of.
Arthur, C.A., Vice-President; President.
Articles of Confederation.
Atlanta Campaign.
Bacon's Rebellion.
Balboa discovers Pacific Ocean.
Baltimore, Lord.
Bank of the United States, the First; the Second.
Bennington, battle of.
Blaine, J.G., candidate for the Presidency.
Blair, F.P.
Blockade of Confederate seaports.
"Border States" in Civil War.
Boston, founded; massacre at; destruction of tea at; closing of the
port of; siege of; map of siege.
Braddock, British general.
Bragg, Confederate general.
Brandy wine, battle of.
Breckinridge, John C., Vice-President; defeated for Presidency.
Brown, General Jacob, invades Canada.
Brown, John, in Kansas; at Harper's Ferry; executed.
Buchanan, James, President; comes out for the Union.
Buell, General.
Bull Run, battles of.
Bunker Hill, battle of.
Burgoyne's campaign.
Burnside, General A.E.
Cabot, John, discovers North America.
Calhoun, John C., portrait; in Congress; Vice-President;
his _Exposition_.
California, Drake on the coast of; seized by Americans;
discovery of gold in; seeks admission to the Union.
Camden, battle of.
Canada, conquest of; invasion of 1775; in War of 1812.
Carolina, settlement of; rebellion in 1719;
separated into two provinces.
Cartier (kar'tia').
Cass, Lewis, defeated for the Presidency.
Cathay.
Champlain, Samuel de.
Champlain, Lake.
Chancellorsville, battle of.
Charles II, his colonial policy.
Charleston, S.C., attacked; captured; in Civil War.
Chattanooga, battle of.
"Chesapeake," outrage on the.
Chicago, growth of; great fire at.
Columbian Exhibition.
Chickamauga, battle of.
Cipango.
Civil Service under Washington and Adams; under Jefferson;
"Spoils System" in the; reform of the.
Clark, General G.R., conquers the Northwest.
Clay, Henry, portrait; in Congress; and the Missouri Compromise;
defeated for the Presidency; and the Compromise of 1850.
Cleveland, Grover, portrait; President; reelected President.
Clinton, British general.
Columbus discovers America.
Committees of Correspondence.
Compromises of the Constitution; of 1820; of 1850.
Concord, battle of.
Confederate States.
Confederation of New England.
Confederation of the United States, Articles of.
Connecticut, settlement of; charter of.
Constitution, formation of the; facsimile of first lines;
first ten amendments; text of, Appendix.
"Constitution," the frigate, chased by a British fleet;
and the "Guerriere."
Constitutional Union Party.
Continental Congress, first; second.
Coronade, in the Southwest.
Cotton gin.
Cowpens, battle of.
Crawford, William H., defeated for the Presidency.
Creek War.
Critical Period.
Crittenden Compromise.
Cromwell, Oliver, and the colonies.
Cuba, rebellions in (1867-77); (1894-98).
Dale, Sir Thomas.
Davis, Jefferson.
Decatur, Stephen, portrait; in Algerine War.
Declaration of Independence.
Declaratory Act.
Democratic Party.
Detroit, surrender of.
Dewey, Admiral.
Dickinson, John.
Douglas, Stephen A., Kansas-Nebraska Act; debate with Lincoln;
defeated for Presidency; comes out for the Union.
Draft Riots.
Drake, Sir Francis, his great voyage.
Dred Scott Decision.
Duquesne, Fort.
Dutch Colonies.
Elections, presidential, of 1800; of 1824; of 1840; of 1844;
of 1848; of 1852; of 1856; of 1860; of 1868; of 1872;
of 1876; of 1880; of 1884; of 1888; of 1892; of 1896.
Electoral Commission.
Embargo, Jefferson's.
Era of Good Feeling.
Ericson, Leif (Life er'ik-son).
Ericsson, John.
Erie Canal.
Farragut, Admiral D.G., portrait; at New Orleans.
Federal Ratio.
Federalist Party.
Fifteenth Amendment.
Fillmore, Millard, portrait; chosen Vice-President; becomes President.
Florida, discovered; settled; purchased.
Fourteenth Amendment.
France, explorers and colonists of; colonists conquered by British;
recognizes independence of the United States;
influence of revolution in, on America; controversy.
Franklin, Benjamin, portrait; early life of; examined by House of
Commons; Minister to France; in Federal Convention.
Fredericksburg, battle of.
Free Soil Party.
Freeman's Farm, battles of.
Fremont, John C.; portrait; in California; defeated for the Presidency.
Fugitive Slave Act.
Fulton, Robert.
Gadsden Purchase.
Gag Resolutions.
Gage, British general.
Gama, da (dae gae'mae).
Garfield, J. A.; elected President; murdered.
Garrison, W. L.
Gates, General; in Burgoyne's campaign; defeated at Camden.
Genet, French Minister.
Georgia, settlement of.
Gettysburg, battle of.
Ghent, Treaty of.
Grant, General U.S.; portrait; seizes Cairo; captures Fort Donelson;
at Shiloh; captures Vicksburg; at Chattanooga; Lieutenant-General;
his Virginia Campaign; elected President; reelected President.
Great Britain; Treaty of 1783; Jay's Treaty; Treaty of Ghent;
Treaty of 1842; Oregon Treaty; Alabama claims.
Greeley, Horace; portrait; on secession; defeated for Presidency.
Greene, General, his Southern Campaigns.
Grenville, George.
Guilford, battle of.
Hamilton, Alexander; Secretary of the Treasury; his financial policy;
his constitutional ideas; intrigues against Adams.
Harrison, Benjamin, elected President.
Harrison, General W.H.; at Tippecanoe; elected President; his death.
Hartford Convention.
Harvester, the.
Hawaii annexed.
Hawkins, Sir John.
Hayes, R.B., elected President.
Henry, Patrick; portrait; Parson's Cause; his Stamp Act Resolutions;
in Continental Congress; opposes Constitution.
Hood, Confederate general.
Hooker, General Joseph.
Hudson, Henry.
Impressment.
Iroquois.
Jackson, General Andrew; portrait; a Creek War; defends New Orleans;
candidate for Presidency; elected President; his administration.
Jamestown, founded.
Jay, John.
Jay's Treaty.
Jefferson, Thomas; portrait; writes Declaration of Independence;
Secretary of State; his constitutional ideas; Vice-President;
writes Kentucky Resolutions; elected President; his administrations.
Johnson, Andrew; portrait; President; his reconstruction policy;
impeached.
Johnston, Confederate general.
Judiciary Act of 1801.
Kansas, struggle for.
Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Kentucky Resolutions.
Kieft, Dutch governor.
King Philip's War.
King's Mountain, battle of.
Lake Erie, battle of.
La Salle, his explorations.
Lee, R. E., Confederate general.
Lee, R. H.
Leon, Ponce de.
Lewis and Clark.
Lexington, battle of.
"Liberty," the, seized.
Lincoln, Abraham; portrait; early life; Debate with Douglas;
elected President; first inaugural; Emancipation Proclamation;
murdered; reconstruction policy.
Livingston, R. R.; portrait; negotiates Louisiana Purchase.
Locomotive invented.
Louisiana; settlement of; ceded to Spain; returned to France;
purchased by United States.
Loyalists.
Lundy's Lane, battle of.
Madison, James; portrait; in Federal convention;
writes Virginia Resolutions; President; his war message.
Magellan, his great voyage.
"Maine," destruction of the.
Manhattan Island.
Manila Bay, battle of.
Manila, captured.
Maryland Toleration Act.
Mason and Dixon's Line.
Massachusetts Circular Letter.
Mayflower compact.
McClellan, General G.B.; portrait; Peninsular Campaign; at Antietam.
McCormick, C.H., invents horse reaper.
McKinley, William; portrait; President.
Meade, General G.G.
Menendez (mae-nen'deth).
Mexico; War with; the French in.
Missouri Compromise.
"Monitor" and "Merrimac."
Monmouth, battle of.
Monroe Doctrine.
Monroe, James; portrait; negotiates Louisiana Purchase; President.
Morgan, General D..
Morse, S.F.B.
Moultrie, General.
Murfreesboro', battle of.
Nashville, battle of.
National debt; origin of; Jefferson and the.
Neutral commerce.
Neutrality Proclamation.
New Amsterdam.
New England colonies, settlement of.
New England Confederation.
New Jersey.
New Netherland.
New Orleans; defended by Jackson; captured by Farragut.
New Sweden.
New York City; in 1800; in 1830; in 1860.
Non-Conformists.
Non-Importation agreements.
Non-Intercourse Act.
North Carolina.
Nullification.
Oglethorpe, General.
Ordinance of 1787.
Oregon; claims to; divided.
Oriskany, battle of.
Otis, James.
Pacific Ocean, discovered.
Panic; of 1837; of 1873.
Paris; Peace of (1763); (1783).
Parson's cause.
Parties, political, formation of.
Peninsular Campaign.
Penn, William.
Pennsylvania, settlement of.
Pequod War.
Perry, Commodore.
Petersburg, blockade of.
Petition, right of.
Philadelphia.
Pierce, Franklin; portrait; President; comes out for the Union.
Pilgrims.
Pitt, William.
Plattsburg, battle of.
Plymouth, settlement of.
Polk, James K.; portrait; President.
Polo, Marco.
Pope, General John.
Porto Rico, occupied.
President, how chosen.
Princeton, battle of.
Proclamation of 1763.
Providence, founded.
Puritans, the.
Quakers.
Quebec Act.
Quebec; founded; captured.
Railroads, growth of.
Ralegh, Sir Walter.
Reaper, the horse.
Reconstruction Acts.
Religion.
Republican Party; of Jefferson; of Lincoln.
Revolutionary War, campaigns of.
Rhode Island, settlement of.
Ribault (re'bo'), French explorer.
Rockingham Ministry.
Rosecrans, General.
St. Augustine, founded.
Sampson, Admiral.
Sandys, Sir Edwin.
Santiago.
Saratoga, Burgoyne's surrender at.
Schuyler. General.
Scott, General Winfield; his Mexican campaign; defeated for Presidency;
views on secession.
Secession.
Separatists.
Seward, W.H.; portrait; on Kansas.
Shays's Rebellion.
Sheridan, General Philip; portrait; at Chickamauga; in Virginia;
his Valley Campaigns.
Sherman, General W.T.; portrait; at Chattanooga; captures Atlanta;
the march through Georgia; the march through the Carolinas.
Shiloh, battle of.
Slavery; in Virginia; compromises; Missouri Compromise;
petitions in Congress; Compromise of 1850; abolished.
Soto, de (dae so'to) in the Southeast.
South Carolina; settlement of; nullification in; secession of.
Spain; pioneers of; Treaty with (1795); War with.
Spotsylvania, battle of.
"Squatter Sovereignty."
Stamp Act.
Stamp Act Congress.
Stark, General.
Steamboat, the.
Stephen, A. H.
Steuben, Baron.
Stowe, Mrs. H.B.
Stuart Tyranny in the colonies.
Stuyvesant, Dutch governor.
Sumter, fall of Fort.
Tariffs; 1789; of 1816, 1824, 1828; the Compromise; McKinley; Dingley.
Taylor, General Zachary; portrait; his Mexican Campaign; President;
death.
Tea Tax.
Tecumseh or Tecumthe.
Telegraph, the.
Tenure of Office Acts; Crawford's; of 1867.
Texas; Republic of; admitted to the Union.
Thirteenth Amendment.
Thomas, General George H.; portrait; his services.
Ticonderoga.
Tippecanoe, battle of.
Townshend Acts, the.
Treaties; 1778 (with France); 1783 (with Great Britain); Jay's Treaty;
1795 (with Spain); 1800 (with France); Louisiana Purchase; of Ghent;
Florida Purchase; 1842 (with Great Britain); Oregon Treaty;
1848 (with Mexico); Gadsden Purchase; 1898 (with Spain).
Trent Affair.
Trenton, battle of.
Twelfth Amendment.
Tyler, John; portrait; Vice-President; President.
United States, area and population of; in 1800; in 1830; in 1860.
Van Buren, Martin; President; defeated for Presidency.
Verrazano (ver-rae-tsae'no).
Vespucius, Americus; portrait; his voyages.
Vicksburg, Campaign of.
Vinland.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
Virginia Resolves of 1769.
Virginia, settlement of.
War of 1812.
Washington, George; portrait; his early life; first campaign;
on the Boston Post Act; in Continental Congress;
in Revolutionary War; in Federal Convention; President;
his neutrality proclamation; farewell address; death.
Washington City.
Webster, Daniel; portrait; his reply to Hayne.
Webster, Noah, portrait; his Dictionary.
Whig Party, the.
Whiskey Insurrection.
Whitney.
Wilderness, battle of the.
Williams, Roger.
Wilmot Proviso.
Wolfe, General.
Writs of Assistance.
X.Y.Z. Affair.
Yorktown, capture of.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
_In Congress, July 4, 1776_,
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a
decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 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, That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long
established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train
of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a
design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is
their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for
their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these
Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter
their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of
Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over
these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to
attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with
his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with
manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others
to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise;
the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that
purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing
to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent
to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their
offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the
Consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to
the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to
their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging
its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument
for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and
altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves invested
with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection
and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to
compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to
bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their
friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages,
whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in
the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our Brittish brethren. We have
warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend
an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to
their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the
ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have
been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,
therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in
Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in
General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world
for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the Name, and by Authority
of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That
these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent
States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between them and the State of Great
Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and
Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace,
contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and
Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of
this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and
our sacred Honor.
JOHN HANCOCK.
_New Hampshire_--JOSIAH BARTLETT, WM. WHIPPLE, MATTHEW THORNTON.
_Massachusetts Bay_--SAML. ADAMS, JOHN ADAMS, ROBT. TREAT PAINE,
ELBRIDGE GERRY.
_Rhode Island_--STEP. HOPKINS, WILLIAM ELLERY.
_Connecticut_--ROGER SHERMAN, SAM'EL HUNTINGTON, WM. WILLIAMS, OLIVER
WOLCOTT.
_New York_--WM. FLOYD, PHIL. LIVINGSTON, FRANS. LEWIS, LEWIS MORRIS.
_New Jersey_--RICHD. STOCKTON, JNO. WITHERSPOON, FRAS. HOPKINSON, JOHN
HART, ABRA. CLARK.
_Pennsylvania_--ROBT. MORRIS, BENJAMIN RUSH, BENJA. FRANKLIN, JOHN
MORTON, GEO. CLYMER, JAS. SMITH, GEO. TAYLOR, JAMES WILSON, GEO. ROSS.
_Delaware_-CAESAR RODNEY, GEO. READ, THO. M'KEAN.
_Maryland_--SAMUEL CHASE, WM. PACA, THOS. STONE, CHARLES CARROLL of
Carrollton.
_Virginia_--GEORGE WYTHE, RICHARD HENRY LEE, TH. JEFFERSON, BENJA.
HARRISON, THOS. NELSON, jr., FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, CARTER BRAXTON.
_North Carolina_--WM. HOOPER, JOSEPH HEWES, JOHN PENN.
_South Carolina_--EDWARD RUTLEDGE, THOS. HEYWARD, Junr., THOMAS LYNCH,
Junr., ARTHUR MIDDLETON.
_Georgia_--BUTTON GWINNETT, LYMAN HALL, GEO. WALTON.[2]
[2] This arrangement of the names is made for convenience. The States
are not mentioned in the original.
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