The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., February 01, 1925, Page 8, Image 8

Page Eight
THE UNITED AMERICAN
FEBRUARY, 1925
Becoming an American
By A. C. STRANGE, Superintendent, City Schools of Astoria
II.
T N THIS, my second letter, I shall write about the
first of America’s great fundamental documents,
the Declaration of Independence. Every citizen and
everyone planning to become a citizen should study
this document and become familiar with the senti­
ments contained therein. He will find it more than
a statement of the reasons why the colonists rebelled
against a foreign rule. He will find there the greater
fundamental principle of democratic government.
However, it is so written that he Should read it with
an open mind. If he is anxious to find grievances
against Government, he will find them there, for the
paper is just what it purports to be, a statement of
the reason wjfry the colonists demanded their in­
dependence. If, however, he reads it, as I urge him
to, as a fundamental document, he will find there
the reasons why we have the kind of government
we do have. He will find great emphasis placed
on fairness in all our relations, on confidence
in our fellow men, on such respect for them
as they deserve, on the spirit of co-operation
and on the need for an earnest devotion to one’s
country and all that it stands for. So I urge that
you read carefully this great paper. You will find
there no demand that you fail in your affection for
your native land. No fair minded person expects
you to lose this natural affection. In fact, those
who look back to the land of their birth with great
love are those, ordinarily, who become the best Ameri­
can citizens. You were bom there, your parents lived
there and may be buried there, and many of your
childhood friends are still there. It is natural that
as long as you live you will never forget the old home.
It was there, too, that you first learned something
of government, its character and its necessity. But
now you are in America where you expect to spend
the rest of your lives and to bring up your children
as citizens. It may be that you will see some one of
these citizens rise to high place in this government.
Several men of high position in the Cabinet, in Con­
gress, and in the Judiciary, are children of immi­
grants. Your children may be equally successful, for
America is still a land of great opportunities for
those who are ambitious and have a firm determina­
tion to make much of life. Hence, again I urge you
to try to understand America fully. Learn how its
government differs from the government of your native
country. You may find methods and conditions you
believe open to criticism. The fair mainded per­
son will not condemn honest criticism unless he
feels that it is an attempt to tear down our institutions.
Express your criticism to your teacher in night school
or to someone else who understands our government,
and ask for an explanation. You will probably find
that you are wrong. Yet it is only by seeking infor­
mation that you can come to an understanding of
the nature of American rule.
Second Colonial Congress, wrote and adopted this I
great statement of human rights, were not from Eng- 1
land alone. Scattered along the Atlantic coast there I
were at the time colonies of Dutch, of Swedes, of
French, of Germans, of Scotch, and of Irish. All were I
lovers of liberty and all valued highly the few I
privileges of self-government which had been granted I
them. These men, in association with the English!
settlers, who were in the majority, were responsible!
for this daring act of declaring themselves indepen- 1
dent of England. They had many reasons for this!
rebellion. The King of England, in the belief that the I
people of his country and of his colonies were merely I
his chattels, had attempted to' deprive the colonists I
of most of their privileges of self-rule. Naturally!
this aroused great dissatisfaction and in the various!
colonies delegates were elected to a conference with I
the purpose that this conference should remonstrate!
against this arbitrary policy. Few thought of inde­
pendence, yet when the delegates came together and!
discussed the matter, a majority came to the belief
that there was no other alternative. Hence a Declare- 1
tion of Independence was written and adopted. Even!
then, few people expected from the movement any­
thing more than the frightening of the English!
government into taking a more lenient policy. It is I
not my thought, however, to trace out the history!
of this movement, but rather to speak of the govern-1
mental purposes contained in the document.
The first statement is one about the need for I
frankness and honesty in all our relations. In Amer-1
ica, we should be very careful to elect to office only I
good men, and then we should place confidence in I
¡them. If we disapprove of their policies, the only I
fair way is to tell them so. In no other way can we I
bring about better government. This opening state-1
ment, that “a decent respect for the opinions of man- 1
kind requires that we should declare the causes,” I
is fundamental in America. Often newspaper criti-1
cisms of public officials are unjust, and yet out of this I
condemnation, unfair as it may be, great good may I
come. Officers are so led to study harder how to I
carry their responsibilities properly. One of our I
greatest dangers is under-handed criticism of the!
officer. This merely weakens him in his office without I
giving him the chance to correct his mistakes.!
Furthermore, it adds expense to the taxpayer and!
brings some part of the government often into an I
undeserved disrespect. So it is also in our relations I
with foreign countries; an open, frank statement oil
our position is the only fair policy. This was an-!
nounced to the World in the Declaration as the!
colonists’ idea of one of the greatest fundamentals oil
good government and has always remained a corner-l
stone of our government.
In the second place, the government is based on I
the statement'that all men are created equal. This!
does not mean that all men are ¡born equal in physical«
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and mental powers. Some babies are strong andl
The Declaration of Independence was adopted others are weak, and they will become strong or weak!
July 4, 1776. The people whose delegates in the men. It means on the contrary, that all men are bornl