Page:Frank David Ely -Why defend the nation? Sound Americanism... (1924).pdf/28



HE community desire of the country is that we be let alone in all that pertains to government. This Nation is homemade, and we are proud both of the product and of the handiwork. If there is any fault to be found with either we wish to find it ourselves, and anyone who reads our press or who listens from the galleries to our legislatures or to our Congress will soon be convinced that we are masters of that art. Admiring the real attainments and successes of other nations and individuals the whole world over, cognizant of our weaknesses but also of our ideals, and imbued with a feverish desire to improve, we are well pleased with our own Republic; and we are more than pleased—we are convinced that no nation, no other form of government, compares with our own in affording to freemen a desirable place of residence and one in which we can enjoy our work and amass a competence for old age.

We have said that the Nation is “homemade.” Mr. Gladstone said of our Constitution that it “is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” This intended compliment has aroused a storm of protest and some indignation over its imputation that the Constitution was made off-hand, the product of invention. As a matter of fact the Constitution was the outgrowth of over two centuries of purely American experience gained with some sixty-nine forms of government, including all the old Colonial charters and the many constitutions of 1776 or immediately following, from the first charter granted to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 down to the framing of the present Constitution in 1787. Each Colony knew intimately its own experiences as well as many of the experiences in government of its neighbors; and all the experience gained was ultimately availed of when the representatives of all the Colonies met to frame our present Constitution. Some claims are advanced