We Mutually Pledge
Dublin Core
Title
We Mutually Pledge
Description
One hundred and seventy-three years ago this Fourth of July there rang forth upon a then unheeding world the “unanimous Declaration of the thirteen UNITED states of America.”
At the time, though bells rang and crowds in the streets of Philadelphia, cheered, only a few far-seeing individuals realized the true significance of the Declaration of Independence. To the rest of the world the proclamation was mere words.
But the “words” made a nation and more than a nation, they made a way of life. They were the clarion cell which proclaimed not merely a revolution against a constituted authority. They were a challenge to return to first principles- to the basic ideal of the great monotheistic religions, Christianity and Judaism,- that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…”
In this Declaration, though thoughtful, conscientious men, whom we call the founding fathers, affirm what has come to be called “Americanism,” the spirit which animates and unifies the nation composed of so many divergent and different racial, national and religious groups. They proclaimed the philosophy that the people should an could govern themselves, and that by working together in a spirit of equality, they could insure to themselves and to each other the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The pledge which they then made is still the price of our rights. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we MUTUALLY pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honour". "
At the time, though bells rang and crowds in the streets of Philadelphia, cheered, only a few far-seeing individuals realized the true significance of the Declaration of Independence. To the rest of the world the proclamation was mere words.
But the “words” made a nation and more than a nation, they made a way of life. They were the clarion cell which proclaimed not merely a revolution against a constituted authority. They were a challenge to return to first principles- to the basic ideal of the great monotheistic religions, Christianity and Judaism,- that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…”
In this Declaration, though thoughtful, conscientious men, whom we call the founding fathers, affirm what has come to be called “Americanism,” the spirit which animates and unifies the nation composed of so many divergent and different racial, national and religious groups. They proclaimed the philosophy that the people should an could govern themselves, and that by working together in a spirit of equality, they could insure to themselves and to each other the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The pledge which they then made is still the price of our rights. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we MUTUALLY pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honour". "
Creator
Ruth Taylor
Publisher
Negro Star
Date
1949-7-1
Collection
Citation
Ruth Taylor, “We Mutually Pledge,” African American Fourth of July, accessed May 1, 2024, https://africanamerican4th.omeka.net/items/show/326.