But, in spite of all I have said, or, perhaps, can say, you will
probably persist in your idea that the world needs a great deal of
lawmaking; that mankind in general are not entitled to have any will,
choice, judgment, or conscience of their own; that, if not very wicked,
they are at least very ignorant and stupid; that they know very little
of what is for their own good, or how to promote their own "interests,"
"welfare," or "prosperity"; that it is therefore necessary that they
should be put under guardianship to lawmakers; that these lawmakers,
being a very superior race of beings,--wise beyond the rest of their
species,--and entirely free from all those selfish passions which tempt
common mortals to do wrong,--must be intrusted with absolute and
irresponsible dominion over the less favored of their kind; must
prescribe to the latter, authoritatively, what they may, and may not,
do; and, in general, manage the affairs of this world according to their
discretion, free of all accountability to any human tribunals.
And you seem to be perfectly confident that, under this absolute and
irresponsible dominion of the lawmakers, the affairs of this world will
be rightly managed; that the "interests," "welfare," and "prosperity" of
"a great and free people" will be properly attended to; that "the
greatest good of the greatest number" will be accomplished, etc., etc.
And yet you hold that all this lawmaking, and all this subjection of the
great body of the people to the arbitrary, irresponsible dominion of the
lawmakers, will not interfere at all with "our liberty," if only "every
citizen" will but keep "a vigilant watch and close scrutiny" of the
lawmakers.
Well, perhaps this is all so; although this subjection to the arbitrary
will of any man, or body of men, whatever, and under any pretence
whatever, seems, on the face of it, to be much more like slavery, than
it does like "liberty".
If, therefore, you really intend to continue this system of lawmaking,
it seems indispensable that you should explain to us what you mean by
the term "our liberty."
So far as your address gives us any light on the subject, you evidently
mean, by the term "our liberty," just such, and only such, "liberty," as
the lawmakers may see fit to allow us to have.
You seem to have no conception of any other "liberty" whatever.
You give us no idea of any other "liberty" that we can secure to
ourselves, even though "every citizen"--fifty millions and more of
them--shall all keep "a vigilant watch and close scrutiny" upon the
lawmakers.
Now, inasmuch as the human race always have had all the "liberty" their
lawmakers have seen fit to permit them to have; and inasmuch as, under
your system of lawmaking, they always will have as much "liberty" as
their lawmakers shall see fit to give them; and inasmuch as you
apparently concede the right, which the lawmakers have always claimed,
of killing all those who are not content with so much "liberty" as their
lawmakers have seen fit to allow them,--it seems very plain that you
have not added anything to our stock of knowledge on the subject of "our
liberty."
Leaving us thus, as you do, in as great darkness as we ever were, on
this all-important subject of "our liberty," I think you ought to submit
patiently to a little questioning on the part of those of us, who feel
that all this lawmaking--each and every separate particle of it--is a
violation of "our liberty."
Will you, therefore, please tell us whether any, and, if any, how much,
of that _natural_ liberty--of that natural, inherent, inalienable,
_individual_ right to liberty--with which it has generally been supposed
that God, or Nature, has endowed every human being, will be left to us,
if the lawmakers are to continue, as you would have them do, the
exercise of their arbitrary, irresponsible dominion over us?
Are you prepared to answer that question?
No. You appear to have never given a thought to any such question as
that.
I will therefore answer it for you.
And my answer is, that from the moment it is conceded that any man, or
body of men, whatever, under any pretence whatever, have the right to
_make laws of their own invention_, and compel other men to obey them,
every vestige of man's _natural_ and rightful liberty is denied him.
That this is so is proved by the fact that _all_ a man's _natural_
rights stand upon one and the same basis, _viz._, that they are the gift
of God, or Nature, to him, _as an individual_, for his own uses, and for
his own happiness. If any one of these natural rights may be arbitrarily
taken from him by other men, _all_ of them may be taken from him on the
same reason. No one of these rights is any more sacred or inviolable in
its nature, than are all the others. The denial of any one of these
rights is therefore equivalent to a denial of all the others. The
violation of any one of these rights, by lawmakers, is equivalent to the
assertion of a right to violate all of them.
Plainly, unless _all_ a man's natural rights are inviolable by
lawmakers, _none_ of them are. It is an absurdity to say that a man has
any rights _of his own_, if other men, whether calling themselves a
government, or by any other name, have the right to take them from him,
without his consent. Therefore the very idea of a lawmaking government
necessarily implies a denial of all such things as individual liberty,
or individual rights.
From this statement it does not follow that every lawmaking government
will, in practice, take from every man _all_ his natural rights. It will
do as it pleases about it. It will take some, leaving him to enjoy
others, just as its own pleasure or discretion shall dictate at the
time. It would defeat its own ends, if it were wantonly to take away
_all_ his natural rights,--as, for example, his right to live, and to
breathe,--for then he would be dead, and the government could then get
nothing more out of him. The most tyrannical government will, therefore,
if it have any sense, leave its victims enough liberty to enable them to
provide for their own subsistence, to pay their taxes, and to render
such military or other service as the government may have need of. _But
it will do this for its own good, and not for theirs._ In allowing them
this liberty, it does not at all recognize their right to it, but only
consults its own interests.
Now, sir, this is the real character of the government of the United
States, as it is of all other _lawmaking_ governments. There is not a
single human right, which the government of the United States recognises
as inviolable. It tramples upon any and every individual right, whenever
its own will, pleasure, or discretion shall so dictate. It takes men's
property, liberty, and lives whenever it can serve its own purposes by
doing so.
All these things prove that the government does not exist at all for the
protection of men's _rights_; but that it absolutely denies to the
people any rights, or any liberty, whatever, except such as it shall see
fit to permit them to have for the time being. It virtually declares
that it does not itself exist at all for the good of the people, but
that the people exist solely for the use of the government.
All these things prove that the government is not one voluntarily
established and sustained by the people, for the protection of their
natural, inherent, individual rights, but that it is merely a government
of usurpers, robbers, and tyrants, who claim to own the people as their
slaves, and claim the right to dispose of them, and their property, at
their (the usurpers') pleasure or discretion.
Now, sir, since you may be disposed to deny that such is the real
character of the government, I propose to prove it, by evidences so
numerous and conclusive that you cannot dispute them.
My proposition, then, is, that there is not a single _natural_, human
right, that the government of the United States recognizes as
inviolable; that there is not a single _natural_, human right, that it
hesitates to trample under foot, whenever it thinks it can promote its
own interests by doing so.
The proofs of this proposition are so numerous, that only a few of the
most important can here be enumerated.
1. The government does not even recognize a man's natural right to his
own life. If it have need of him, for the maintenance of its power, it
takes him, against his will (conscripts him), and puts him before the
cannon's mouth, to be blown in pieces, as if he were a mere senseless
thing, having no more _rights_ than if he were a shell, a canister, or a
torpedo. It considers him simply as so much senseless war material, to
be consumed, expended, and destroyed for the maintenance of its power.
It no more recognizes his right to have anything to say in the matter,
than if he were but so much weight of powder or ball. It does not
recognize him at all as a human being, having any rights whatever of his
own, but only as an instrument, a weapon, or a machine, to be used in
killing other men.
2. The government not only denies a man's right, as a moral human being,
to have any will, any judgment, or any conscience of his own, as to
whether he himself will be killed in battle, but it equally denies his
right to have any will, any judgment, or any conscience of his own, as a
moral human being, as to whether he shall be used as a mere weapon for
killing other men. If he refuses to kill any, or all, other men, whom it
commands him to kill, it takes his own life, as unceremoniously as if he
were but a dog.
Is it possible to conceive of a more complete denial of all a man's
_natural_, _human_ rights, than is the denial of his right to have any
will, judgment, or conscience of his own, either as to his being killed
himself, or as to his being used as a mere weapon for killing other men?
3. But in still another way, than by its conscriptions, the government
denies a man's right to any will, choice, judgment, or conscience of his
own, in regard either to being killed himself, or used as a weapon in
its hands for killing other people.
If, in private life, a man enters into a perfectly voluntary agreement
to work for another, at some innocent and useful labor, for a day, a
week, a month, or a year, he cannot lawfully be compelled to fulfil that
contract; because such compulsion would be an acknowledgment of his
right to sell his own liberty. And this is what no one can do.
This right of personal liberty is inalienable. No man can sell it, or
transfer it to another; or give to another any right of arbitrary
dominion over him. All contracts for such a purpose are absurd and void
contracts, that no man can rightfully be compelled to fulfil.
But when a deluded or ignorant young man has once been enticed into a
contract to kill others, and to take his chances of being killed
himself, in the service of the government, for any given number of
years, the government holds that such a contract to sell his liberty,
his judgment, his conscience, and his life, is a valid and binding
contract; and that if he fails to fulfil it, he may rightfully be shot.
All these things prove that the government recognizes no right of the
individual, to his own life, or liberty, or to the exercise of his own
will, judgment, or conscience, in regard to his killing his fellow-men,
or to being killed himself, if the government sees fit to use him as
mere war material, in maintaining its arbitrary dominion over other
human beings.
4. The government recognizes no such thing as any _natural_ right of
property, on the part of individuals.
This is proved by the fact that it takes, for its own uses, any and
every man's property--when it pleases, and as much of it as it
pleases--without obtaining, or even asking, his consent.
This taking of a man's property, without his consent, is a denial of his
right of property; for the right of property is the right of supreme,
absolute, and irresponsible dominion over anything that is naturally a
subject of property,--that is, of ownership. _It is a right against all
the world._ And this right of property--this right of supreme, absolute,
and irresponsible dominion over anything that is naturally a subject of
ownership--is subject only to this qualification, _viz._, that each man
must so use his own, as not to injure another.
If A uses his own property so as to injure the person or property of B,
his own property may rightfully be taken to any extent that is necessary
to make reparation for the wrong he has done.
This is the only qualification to which the _natural_ right of property
is subject.
When, therefore, a government takes a man's property, for its own
support, or for its own uses, without his consent, it practically denies
his right of property altogether; for it practically asserts that _its_
right of dominion is superior to his.
No man can be said to have any right of property at all, in any
thing--that is, any right of supreme, absolute, and irresponsible
dominion over any thing--of which any other men may rightfully deprive
him at their pleasure.
Now, the government of the United States, in asserting its right to take
at pleasure the property of individuals, without their consent,
virtually denies their right of property altogether, because it asserts
that _its_ right of dominion over it, is superior to theirs.
5. The government denies the _natural_ right of human beings to live on
this planet. This it does by denying their _natural_ right to those
things that are indispensable to the maintenance of life. It says that,
for every thing necessary to the maintenance of life, they must have a
special permit from the government; and that the government cannot be
required to grant them any other means of living than it chooses to
grant them.
All this is shown as follows, _viz._:
The government denies the _natural_ right of individuals to take
possession of wilderness land, and hold and cultivate it for their own
subsistence.
It asserts that wilderness land is the property of the government; and
that individuals have no right to take possession of, or cultivate, it,
unless by special grant of the government. And if an individual attempts
to exercise this natural right, the government punishes him as a
trespasser and a criminal.
The government has no more right to claim the ownership of wilderness
lands, than it has to claim the ownership of the sunshine, the water, or
the atmosphere. And it has no more right to punish a man for taking
possession of wilderness land, and cultivating it, without the consent
of the government, than it has to punish him for breathing the air,
drinking the water, or enjoying the sunshine, without a special grant
from the government.
In thus asserting the government's right of property in wilderness land,
and in denying men's right to take possession of and cultivate it,
except on first obtaining a grant from the government,--which grant the
government may withhold if it pleases,--the government plainly denies
the _natural_ right of men to live on this planet, by denying their
_natural_ right to the means that are indispensable to their procuring
the food that is necessary for supporting life.
In asserting its right of arbitrary dominion over that natural wealth
that is indispensable to the support of human life, it asserts its right
to withhold that wealth from those whose lives are dependent upon it. In
this way it denies the _natural_ right of human beings to live on the
planet. It asserts that government owns the planet, and that men have no
right to live on it, except by first getting a permit from the
government.
This denial of men's _natural_ right to take possession of and cultivate
wilderness land is not altered at all by the fact that the government
consents to sell as much land as it thinks it expedient or profitable to
sell; nor by the fact that, in certain cases, it gives outright certain
lands to certain persons. Notwithstanding these sales and gifts, the
fact remains that the government claims the original ownership of the
lands; and thus denies the _natural_ right of individuals to take
possession of and cultivate them. In denying this _natural_ right of
individuals, it denies their _natural_ right to live on the earth; and
asserts that they have no other right to life than the government, by
its own mere will, pleasure, and discretion, may see fit to grant them.
In thus denying man's _natural_ right to life, it of course denies every
other _natural_ right of human beings; and asserts that they have no
_natural_ right to anything; but that, for all other things, as well as
for life itself, they must depend wholly upon the good pleasure and
discretion of the government.