Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to
his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to
violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and
never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of
seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of
Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws,
let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred
honor;-let every man remember that to violate the law, is to
trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of
his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws,
be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe,
that prattles on her lap-let it be taught in schools, in
seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers,
spelling books, and in Almanacs;-let it be preached from the
pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts
of justice.
In the end, Lincoln’s solution must be ours:
Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;-let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap-let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;-let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.
Pray