The Declaration [of Independence] was not a protest against government, but against the excess of government. It prescribed the pr...oper role of government, to secure the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and happiness. In modern society, no individual can do this alone. So government is not a necessary evil but a necessary good.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
We must remember when we speak of the "negativism" of the toddler that this is also the child who is intoxicated with the discover...ies of the second year, a joyful child who is firmly bound to his parents and his new-found world through ties of love. The so-called negativism is one of the aspects of this development, but under ordinary circumstances it does not become anarchy. It's a kind of declaration of independence, but there is no intention to unseat the government.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
I enclose to you a copy of the declaration of independence as agreed to by the House, and also, as originally framed. You will jud...ge whether it is the better or worse for the Critics.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
This I do know and can say to you: Our country is in more danger now than at any time since the Declaration of Independence. We do...n't dare follow the Lindberghs, Wheelers and Nyes, casting suspicion, sowing discord around the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt. We don't want revolution among ourselves.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
We were here before the mighty words of the Declaration of Independence were etched across the pages of history. Our forebears lab...ored without wages. They made cotton "king." And yet out of a bottomless vitality, they continued to thrive and develop. If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.... Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature--opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice.... Repeal the Missouri comp...romise--repeal all compromises--repeal the declaration of independence--repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
[The Declaration of Independence] meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered ...by all; constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »