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first line. Later they were further exasperated to find that the petition was not for the abolition of slavery, but for quite the opposite.

As the aging Adams fought on for what he thought was right, the opposition slowly melted away. Finally, on December 3, 1845, when the man was 78, the vote against the gag rule became a majority position. In 14 years Adams had won new members to his side and had worn down his opponents. The right of petition in America was dramatically reasserted.-THE ADAMS FAMILY, Adams, p. 214.

Madison and Liberty

Although born and brought up in a slave-holding State, James Madison detested slavery. He even took up the study of law in order to earn his living "depending as little as possible upon the labour of slaves." During the Revolution he suggested that Virginia free its slaves and allow them to join the army and fight for the principles of liberty. "That would be consonant to the principles of liberty, which ought never to be lost sight of in a contest for liberty."

At the end of the war his Negro boy Billy ran away. Madison wrote his father not to return the runaway to Virginia, because he was unwilling to transport him and punish him for simply "coveting that liberty for which we have paid the price of so much blood and have proclaimed so often to be the right and worthy pursuit of every human being."-LIFE OF JAMES MADISON, Hunt, p. 70.

Washington and a Crown

"George Washington will see the wisdom of our proposal and will no doubt accept the crown; and here, before it is disbanded, is the American army which, we pledge ourselves, will support and defend him against all who refuse their allegiance."

This was the idea of some of Washington's friends; men who had been associated with the General in some of his Revolutionary campaigns. After many secret consultations they went in a group one morning to Washington's headquarters. When they urged the General to become their king, his kindly greetings changed into tears. He turned away his face, leaving the dreamers of empire, who had planned to make themselves the courtiers of the new king, wondering at their folly.-THE STORY OF LIBERTY, Baldwin, p. 160

"It Is a Rising Sun"

While the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were signing the completed draft of the famous document, Benjamin Franklin

pointed toward the

President's chair, on the back of which was painted a half-sun. Franklin said to those around him:

"I have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun."-FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION, Farrand, p. 194.

Those Who Lifted Their Voices

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Action, John Emerich, Lord (1834-1902). English historian, Cambridge Modern History.

Adams, James Truslow (1878- ). American historian, Epic of America and March of Democracy.

Adams, John (1735-1826).

United States Ambassador to England; Vice Presi

dent; President, 1797-1801. Quotation is from his defense of English soldiers after the Boston Massacre.

Adams, John Quincy (1767-1848). American statesman, son of John Adams; Secretary of State; President, 1825-29; Congressman from Massachusetts, 1831-48.

Adams, Samuel (1722-1803).

Addison, Joseph (1672-1719).

American statesman; Governor of Massachusetts.
English author; member of Parliament.

Aristides The Just (550-467 B. C.). Greek statesman and general.

Ashurst, Henry F. (1874Austin, Alfred (1835-1913). tional Review.

). American statesman; Senator from Arizona. English author and poet laureate; editor, Na

Bacon, Francis (1561-1626). English author, Advancement of Learning; member of Parliament; Lord Chancellor.

Bagehot, Walter (1826-77). English author, The English Constitution; editor, Economist.

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Beecher, Edward (1803–95). American clergyman; college president; author, The Concord of Ages.

Beecher, Henry Ward (1813-87). American clergyman; editor, The Independent and Christian Union.

Benjamin-Constant, Jean Joseph (1845-1902). French painter; member of the Legion of Honor.

Berkeley, George (1685-1753). Irish bishop; author, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge.

Black, Hugo LaFayette (1886- ). Senator from Alabama; Justice United States Supreme Court.

Blackstone, Sir William (1723-80). English jurist; author, Commentaries on the Laws of England.

Blankenburg, Rudolph (1843-1918).

Mayor of Philadelphia; born in Germany. Bolingbroke, Henry Saint-John, Viscount (1678-1751). English statesman; member of Parliament; Secretary of War; Secretary of State. Bonaparte, Charles Joseph (1851-1921). American statesman; Secretary of the Navy; Attorney General.

Borah, William Edgar (1865-1940). American statesman; Senator from Idaho.

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