Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/210

* LIBERTY CAP. 192 LIBERTY PARTY. cap on the end of a pole; niid coins were stamped witU a cap between two daggers at the command of Brutus and Cassius. The symbol was also adopted in the Netherlands at the time when they threw oil the yoke of Spain: hut it is most fa- mous for its connection willi the French Kevolu- tion. Louis XI. on June 20, 1792, was forced to put it on his head as a token of his sympathy with the popular demands. In August of the same year it was otlicially adopted as the badge of a 'patriot.' The cap has also appeared on the head of the Goddess of Liberty or on a pole by her side on some of the coins of the United States. LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND FRATER- NITY. The watchword of the Fronih KcV(ilu- tion, denoting the salient principles of the teach- ings of the social philosophers of the eighteenth century. The phrase may be conceived as the political confession of faith of" the first French Kepublic, and lay at the basis of its institutions in much the same sense as the similar phrase in the Declaration of lndepen<lence underlies the recognition of the sovereignty of the people in the Constitution of tlu' United States. See Xatubal Law. LIBERTY HALL. The name given by Squire Hardcastle to liis house in (ioldsmith's »S7i(" Stoops to Coiiqmr, and a proverbial term for a house where guests are free to follow their own inclinations. LIBERTY OF THE INDIVIDUAL. In- dividual liberty has reference to a sphere of ac- tion in which the individual is referred to his own will so far as the limitations of Government are concerned. Viewed from one side it consists of iitimiiiiitirx or exemptidiis from the operatinn of governmental ])ower; loiiked at from the other side it consists of positive ri{ihls which it is the duty of the Government to enforce and protect. While the content of individual liberty varies among races, the Western nations have reached a substantial consensus in regard to its essentials. It now generally includes freedom of person and of property, freedom of conscience and its expression, freedom of ojiinion and its expres- sion, subject to the restrictions everywhere imposed by the law of libel and slander, and diuality before the law. IJesides this sphere, which is now practically universal, a still wider realm of liberty has Ix'cn created in many States, and is embodied in their constitutions. In the Constitution of the Inited States, it in- cludes the right of assend)ly for the ptirpose of petitioning the Government for redress of griev- ances, the right of bearing arms, ininmnity from the (|uartering of sobliers in one's house, immu- nity from unreasonable .searches, immunity from prosecution by the Government except in accord with usages and procedure which have been in common use from time immemorial. In States having the federal system of government it is necessary to provide a dou1)le sphere of libertv for the individual: one against the operation of the general Government, and one against the operation of the local governments. Tn the Cnited States the great source of individual liberty is the Constitution, In fact, the .American Consti- tution is quite as much an instrument of liberty as of government. The national Constitution and all of the State constitutions, with one or two exceptions, have elaborate bills of rights in which a sphere of liberty is marked out and upon which the Government is forbidilcn to encroach or to permit any individual to encroacli. The same feature appears in modilied form in the tierman Imperial, the Swiss, and the Prussian constitutions, but not in the Constitution of the French Kepublic or those of the remaining Euro- l)ean States. The chief guarantee of individual liberty in the Lnited States is the power of linal interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court, and the power of Congress to impeach and remove all civil ollicers of the United States. LIBERTY OF THE PRESS, See Libel; Newsi'ai'i:!!. LIBERTY PARTY. A political party which exislcil in tlic Nortlicrn States of the American Union from 18311 to 1H48, and was the first regu- lar organization that attempted to oppose slav- ery by political means. The abolitionist follow- ers of Villiaiii Lloyd (iarrison ((|.v.) had adopt- ed the doctrine of non-participation and non- resistance. With this polic.v the practical anti- slavery men were not satisfied, anil after seeing the futility of their attemjit to make their in- iluence felt by interrogating candidates for oHice as to their position on the slavery question, they concluded that a party organization was the only rational means of accomplishing anything of value. Tills view, particularly strong in western New York, Ohio, and .Micliigan, found perhaps its ablest advocate in jMyroii IloUev, who at a meet- ing of the American Anti-Slavery Society in vain introduced and advocated a resolution declaring that "it was time to form a new political party," and proposed the noiiiination of candidates for the Presidency and Vice- Presidency. Within a month (November l.'i, IS.'ili), at a local conven- tion at Warsaw, N. V., Hollcy was instrumental in securing the nomination of .James G. Uirney (q.v. ) and Francis J. Lemovne as candidates for President and Vice-President respect ivel.v. A 'national' convention composed mostly of New York delegates, and held at Albany, April 1, 1840, confirmed Birnev's nomination, nominated Tlioinas Earle for Vice-President, and adopted the name of Liberal Party. But the enthusiasm of the 'Tijipccanoe and Tvler too' campaign retained in the Whig ranks most of those whose anti-slav- erv views might otherwise have led them to sup- port the new party's ticket; and despite the fact that an active campaign was carried on. the ticket ])olled a total of only 7059 votes. 2798 of which were cast in New York. Disappointing as was the result, the Liberty Party leaders did not lose heart, but at once set about preparing for the camjiaign of 1844. On May 12, 1841, the first really national convention of the party was held in New York, in which all the New England States, New York, Pennsylvania. New .Tersey, Ohio, and Indiana were represented. Birney and Thomas Morris were nominated as the part.v's candidates for 1844, and a complete national or- ganization was planned. The party at this time was made up of the more moderate abolitionists, who held that the Constitution gave the general Government no power to abolish slavery in the States, and proposed only its abolitiim in the District of Columbia and the Territories, through l^ederal action, leaving the several States to act as they could be persuaded. The next convention was held in Buffalo on .August ^. 1844. A slight movement within the party favorable to Clay, who had pronounced against Texan annexation on the ground that it would involve the United.