Americanism
Address delivered before the
Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall
Tuesday Evening, October 12, 1915
Four centuries and a quarter have goneby since Columbus by discovering Americaopened the greatest era in world history.Four centuries have passed since the Spaniardsbegan that colonization on the mainland which has resulted in the growth ofthe nations of Latin-America. Three centurieshave passed since, with the settlementson the coasts of Virginia and Massachusetts,the real history of what is nowthe United States began. All this we ultimatelyowe to the action of an Italian seamanin the service of a Spanish King anda Spanish Queen. It is eminently fittingthat one of the largest and most influentialsocial organizations of this great Republic,—aRepublic in which the tongue isEnglish, and the blood derived from manysources should, in its name commemoratethe great Italian. It is eminently fitting tomake an address on Americanism beforethis society.
DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES.
We of the United States need above allthings to remember that, while we are byblood and culture kin to each of the nationsof Europe, we are also separate from eachof them. We are a new and distinct nationality.We are developing our own distinctiveculture and civilization, and the worthof this civilization will largely depend uponour determination to keep it distinctivelyour own. Our sons and daughters shouldbe educated here and not abroad. Weshould freely take from every other nation[2]whatever we can make of use, but weshould adopt and develop to our own peculiarneeds what we thus take, and neverbe content merely to copy.
Our nation was founded to perpetuatedemocratic principles. These principles arethat each man is to be treated on his worthas a man without regard to the land fromwhich his forefathers came and without regardto the creed which he professes. Ifthe United States proves false to theseprinciples of civil and religious liberty, itwill have inflicted the greatest blow on thesystem of free popular government that hasever been inflicted. Here we have had avirgin continent on which to try the experimentof making out of divers race stocks anew nation and of treating all the citizensof that nation in such a fashion as to preservethem equality of opportunity in industrial,civil and political life. Our dutyis to secure each man against any injusticeby his fellows.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
One of the most important things to securefor him is the right to hold and to expressthe religious views that best meet hisown soul needs. Any political movementdirected against any body of our fellow citizensbecause of their religious creed is agrave offense against American principlesand American institutions. It is a wickedthing either to support or to oppose a manbecause of the creed he professes. Thisapplies to Jew and Gentile, to Catholic andProtestant, and to the man who would beregarded as unorthodox by all of themalike. Political movements directed againstmen because of their religious belief, andintended to prevent men of that creed from[3]