Anonymous

“ It is a fearful thing to lead this great, peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. ”

“ Washington stands alone and unapproachable like a snow peak rising above its fellows into the clear air of morning, with a dignity, constancy, and purity which have made him the ideal type of civic virtue to succeeding generations.
James Bryce
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life, pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere, uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting. ”

“ Attention should be given to the great statue of Lincoln before the Court House in Newark, New Jersey. It presents our most admired statesman seated on a bench absorbed in thought. The statue is a wonderful work of art. From every angle it is unique, beautiful, and a masterpiece. At all times of day passersby may see the children of the city sitting in his arm, lovingly admiring the fatherly face. On his knees and on the bench they gather, children of all races, rejoicing in the freedom which he gave to mankind. ”

“ At length, my dear marquis, I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if the globe was insufficient for us all ... can have very little conception. ”

“ Thanksgiving is a universal holiday; it is for all the people. As heretofore, each year brings new households, enlarged families, increased affections, comfortable homes, plentiful tables, abundant harvests, a beneficent government, free schools, and religious liberty. There is much to be grateful for in our national history. Whatever may have been our sense of past duty, it is the privilege of all to thank God that He has given us the unexpected and unsought for opportunity to relieve much oppression and to extend the blessings of good government and fair freedom to many millions of people. ”

“ Where is the man to be found who wishes to remain indebted for the defense of his own person and property to the exertions, the bravery, and the blood of others, without making one generous effort to repay the debt of honor and gratitude?
There is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity. ”

“ We want men of original perception and original action, who can open their eyes wider than to a nationality—namely, to considerations of benefit to the human race—can act in the interest of civilization; men of elastic, men of moral mind, who can live in the moment and take a step forward. Columbus was no backward-creeping crab, nor was Martin Luther, nor John Adams, nor Patrick Henry, nor Thomas Jefferson; and the Genius or Destiny of America is no log or sluggard, but a man incessantly advancing, as the shadow on the dial's face, or the heavenly body by whose light it is marked. ”

“ My fellow-countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom I represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature, they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which they are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating, for annual patriotic pilgrimage, these historic heights, which drank such copious draughts of American blood, poured so freely in discharge of duty, as each conceived it—a Mecca for the North, which so grandly defended, a Mecca for the South, which so bravely and persistently stormed it. ”

“ The child who writes an appreciation of Washington, or recites from his addresses, or renders a poem commemorating him, or dramatizes something from his life, enters into his spirit, and in the child Washington lives again.
The Declaration of Independence asserts the lofty principle of equality in liberty. All men are created free, and equal in the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is a declaration of rights, not of duties. Each person has a right to his life, his liberty, the pursuit of his happiness. ”

“ SAID BY WASHINGTON
To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.
There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.
The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.
The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government. ”

“ Simple in living, steadfast in purpose, kindly in spirit, he towered among his fellows, exemplary of that manhood toward which all boys who would be of worth to mankind should aspire.
At the present time it is especially opportune that Lincoln's birthday be celebrated most impressively. The freedom for which we have just been fighting is a greater freedom than that of '61. That was for the freedom of the slave, this for a greater freedom of men already free; that was freedom for a part of mankind, this a freedom for all, for the democracy of the world. ”

“ Indeed, their greatest service to mankind is the fact that they incarnated those ideals.
It is not so easy to venerate abstract principles and to submit one's life to them as it is to imitate great personalities whose deeds have embodied those principles.
Because we love our national heroes and venerate them personally, they still live and work through us. The principles of democracy are established eternally in their deeds and in ours. ”

“ I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts. For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory in the making. ”

“ That girl will never forget her wonder and awe as she watched Nature stage one of her most beautiful miracles. Any teacher would find it an inspiration and a delight to bring such a charming bit of nature into her morning exercises. Every day Nature is unfolding just as wonderful stories. Our eyes must be open to see them.
The opening exercises, conducted as they should be, may be a source of inspiration and a means of training for moral and social behavior, for patriotism, for health, for vocational usefulness, for the right use of leisure—in other words, for useful, patriotic citizenship. ”

“ In order that our country may continue this proud record of self-reliance, each one of us has a special obligation. Every citizen in his individual life should live up to the same ideal of self-reliance. The young citizen who relies on himself, who does honest work in school, never cheating or shirking, who is always, ready to do a little more than is actually required of him, who thinks for himself, acts rightly because he loves right actions—such a citizen is doing his part in helping to achieve our national ideal of self-reliance. ”

“ Among these men whose union in purpose and action made the strength and stability of the republic, Washington was first, not only in the largeness of his nature, the loftiness of his desires, and the vigor of his will, but also in that representative quality which makes a man able to stand as the true hero of a great people. ”

“ The name American must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.
To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable.
Every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest should be indignantly frowned upon.
Let us impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.
Let us erect a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.
'Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. ”

“ If we know that she sympathizes with our ideals and her heart has been with us all the time, shall we not feel safe with her, and find in Englishmen brothers with whom we may work for the good of the world?
English historians have an appreciation of Washington which we cannot surpass. Writing English history for the instruction of English boys and girls, and men and women, they justify our Revolution and laud our national hero as a world hero. No American orator has ever magnified Washington in more laudatory terms than are to be found in Green's "History of England." ”

“ It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ”

“ We celebrate the day of its birth; and from its birth until now it has witnessed a great history, has floated on high the symbol of great events, of a great plan of life worked out by a great people. We are about to carry it into battle, to lift it where it will draw the fire of our enemies. ”

“ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? ”

“ The fame of Columbus is not local or limited. It does not belong to any single country or people. It is the proud possession of the whole civilized world. In all the transactions of history there is no act which for vastness and performance can be compared with the discovery of the continent of America, "the like of which was never done by any man in ancient or in later times." ”

“ Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprise of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.... ”

“ The deeds of Washington embodied not only these principles, but emphasized the duty of service. In our time our country has fully justified a new statement of political faith, which Washington lived. All men are born equal in the right to opportunity—each to make the best of himself—so that he may render the best service. ”

“ These are the potent, the commanding, the enduring men—in our own history, men like Washington and Lincoln. They may fail, they may be defeated, they may perish; but onward moves the cause, and their souls go marching on with it, for they are part of it, they have believed in it. ”

“ It is universally acknowledged that the enlarged prospects of happiness, opened by the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, almost exceed the power of description. And shall not the brave men who have contributed so essentially to these inestimable acquisitions, retiring victorious from the field of war to the field of agriculture, participate in all the blessings which have been obtained? In such a republic, who will exclude them from the rights of citizens and the fruits of their labor? ”

“ It is a war to save America, to preserve self-respect, to justify our right to live as we have lived, not as some one else wishes us to live. It is more precious that this America shall live than that we Americans should live. ”