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    "title": "Remarks of the President, the Vice President, Carl Albert, and Warren E. Burger [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 28 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nJULY 2, 1976\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nTHE VICE PRESIDENT\nCARL ALBERT\nSPEAKER OF THE HOUSE\nAND\nWARREN E. BURGER\nCHIEF JUSTICE\nUNITED STATES SUPREME COURT\nTHE NATIONAL ARCHIVES\n9:13 P.M. EDT\nTHE VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. President, Mr. Speaker,\nMr. Chief Justice: Tonight we will hear from the three\ngreat Americans who each head one of the three separate\nbranches of our Federal Government. First, a great and wise\nhuman being, the distinguished Chief Justice of the United\nStates, the Honorable Warren Burger.\nCHIEF JUSTICE BURGER: Mr. Vice President, Mr.\nPresident, Mr. Speaker, distinguished guests, ladies and\ngentlemen:\nThe Declaration that is being honored tonight had\nno binding legal effect when it was announced 200 years ago,\nbut it guided the men who, 11 years later, drafted the\nConstitution. The Declaration was a statement of intent and\npurpose. The Constitution was a compact of people, a contract,\nif vou will, to carry out the Declaration. Our Constitution\ncreated a Government in which the people have the supreme and\nultimate power. The opening words of the preamble tell us\nthat \"We, the people, have agreed among ourselves that power\nmust be used in an orderly way under rules laid down in the\nConstitution.\nAs school children, we learned that those who came\nto our shores agreed to give up some of their individual\nfreedom for the common good. The Mayflower Compact and others\nlike it were in a sense the forerunners of the Constitution,\nand that Constitution now stands as the greatest human compact\nin history. Our form of Government differs from all others\never devised, and ever since it was adopted the Constitution\nhas operated like the stars that guided the first travelers\non the open seas where there were no landmarks to guide them.\nOur Constitution is not perfect, and even less so\nare the mortals who must try to say what it means. But,\nwhat is important is that it has been the guide to keep us\non the paths of freedom that were laid out so long ago.\nThe American people have firmly supported the Constitution\nand the means established to enforce its guarantees. It has\nbeen tested under the stress of internal and external war-\nfare, by economic catastrophies and in political crises,\nand on every occasion the country has emerged stronger.\nMORE\nPage 2\nThese two documents, the Declaration and the\nConstitution, embark the American people on an experiment in\na new form of Government, self-government, that has survived\nlonger than any other kind of Government in recorded history.\nIn this experiment, that remarkable group of American leaders\nwisely recognized the paradox of freedom that to preserve\nliberty each one of us must give some of it up.\nThis is why we have come to call our system one\nof ordered liberty, liberty exercised in an orderly way with\nrestraints and with respect for the rights of others. To\ncreate and maintain such a system was the function of our\nConstitution.\nThe problems and burdens of those 3 million early\nAmericans who began this experiment were so great from 1776\nto 1789 that those leaders constantly called for divine\nguidance in their efforts. With the complexities of a Nation\nnow grown to 215 million people, and the world problems that\nwe must share, can we survive without it?\nWashington, both as a General and as President,\nconstantly called for divine guidance and credited all\nprogress and success to that source. When the Declaration\nwas signed, John Adams wrote his wife Abigail saying that\nUuly 4 ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by\nsolemn acts of devotion to Almighty God.\" And when the\nConstitution was finally approved, James Madison observed\nthat \"All people must perceive in the Constitution a finger\nof that Almighty hand which has been so frequently extended\nto our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.\"\nWe have survived and prospered for 200 years now\nbecause the strength of our Nation was not simply in the words\nof the Declaration and the Constitution, great as they are,\nbut because of the strength of the people, of personal\nintegrity, of individual responsibility and of the tradition\nof home and family and of religious beliefs.\nOur Constitution, no constitution, can solve all\nour problems. At its best, our Constitution gives the American\npeople the means and the opportunity to find solutions, by\ntheir own efforts, by their dedication and by their love of\ncountry.\nThe French historian de Tocqueville long ago wrote\nthis about America: \"I sought for the greatness and genius\nof America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers,\nand it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless\nprairies, and it was not there; in her rich gold mines and\nher vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I\nwent into the ehurches of America did I understand the secret\nof her genius and her power. America is great because she\nis good and if America ever ceases to be good, America will\ncease to be great.\"\nMORE\nPage 3\nSPEAKER ALBERT: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President,\nMr. Chief Justice, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:\nThe decisive act of inspiration from England\nactually took place on July 2, exactly 200 years ago today,\nwhen the Continental Congress adopted the resolution of\nindependence, drafted by a committee of five, headed by\nThomas Jefferson. Thus, it is especially appropriate that\nwe launch this Fourth of July weekend this evening, July 2.\nYesterday, the House of Representatives and the\nSenate unanimously passed Concurrent Resolution 672 wherein\nit was stated that \"the Congress of the United States of America\ndoes. hereby reaffirm its commitment to the ideals and\nprinciples expressed in the Declaration of Independence\nby members of the Congress assembled in Philadelphia on July\n2, 1776.\"\nThe Declaration launched our quest for freedom.\nFive long years would pass before the English forces, led\nby General Cornwallis, would surrender at Yorktown. The\nemerging Nation would struggle under ineffective Articles\nof Confederation for six more years before formulating the\nConstitution in Philadelphia in 1787. The body of our\nConstitution set up our tripartite system of Government and\ngave us a mechanism of Government that would endure for\ngenerations, that would enable us to accomplish our goals.\nIt was not until 1791, two years after the\nConstitution had been ratified, fifteen years after the\nsigning of the Declaration of Independence, that the Bill\nof Rights breathed life into the immortal document known as\nthe Declaration of Independence. It was handled in the\nCongress by James Madison, but it was the inspiration of the\nauthor of the Declaration of Independence.\nThe sage of Monticello wanted to make sure in his\nletters to many leading Americans in many States that the\nliberties which he proclaimed in 1776 would be given substance\nin the Constitution. Had it not been for that leadership\nthere would be no guaranteed freedom of worship, no freedom\nof speech, no freedom of press, no right of peaceful assemblage,\nno right to petition in case of grievances.\nBecause of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution,\nmy fellow Americans, no man may cross the threshold of your\nhome without a search warrant, no man may cast you in prison\nwithout a trial by a jury of your peers, These are the\nconcrete cornerstones of our liberty proclaimed in the\nDeclaration of Independence; these are the basic principles\nof the ends of our system of Government.\nWe meet tonight to rededicate ourselves to the\nperpetuation of these principles. To this end, it may be\nwell to repeat the closing of the Declaration of Independence\nitself: \"With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine\nProvidence we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our\nfortunes and our sacred honor.\"\nMORE\nPage 4\nTHE PRESIDENT: Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker,\nMr. Chief Justice, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:\nI am standing here before the great charters of\nAmerican liberty under law. Millions of Americans, before\nme and after me, will have looked and lingered over these\npriceless documents that have guided our 200 years of high\nadventure as \"a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated\nto the proposition that all men are created equal.\"\nThose were Lincoln's words, as he looked to the\nDeclaration of Independence for guidance when a raging storm\nobscured the Constitution. We are gathered here tonight\nto honor both.\nEven the way these parchments are displayed is\ninstructive: Together, as they must be historically under-\nstood; the Constitution and its first 10 Amendments on an\nequal plane; the Declaration of Independence properly central\nand above all.\nThe Declaration is the Polaris of our political\norder -- the fixed star of freedom. It is impervious to\nchange because it states moral truths that are eternal.\nThe Constitution provides for its own changes, having\nequal force with the original articles. It began to change\nsoon after it was ratified when the Bill of Rights was added.\nWe have since amended it 16 times more, and before we celebrate\nour 300th birthday there will be more changes.\nBut the Declaration will be there, exactly as it\nwas when the Continental Congress adopted it -- after\neliminating and changing some of Jefferson's draft, much to\nhis annoyance. Jefferson's immortal words will remain, and\nthey will be preserved in human hearts even if this original\nparchment should fall victim to time and fate.\nListen: \"We hold these truths to be self-evident,\nthat all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by\ntheir Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among\nthese are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness -- That\nto secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men\nderiving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.\"\nThe act of Independence, the actual separation of\ncolonies and Crown, took place 200 years ago today, when the\ndelegations of 12 colonies adopted Richard Henry Lee's\nresolution of independence. The founders expected that July 2\nwould be celebrated as the national holiday of the newborn\nRepublic, but they took two more days to debate and to approve\nthis declaration, an announcement to the world of what they\nhad done and the reasons why.\nMORE\nPage 5\nThe Declaration and other great documents of our\nheritage remind me of the flying machines across the Mall in\nthe new museum we opened yesterday. From the Spirit of St.\nLouis to the lunar orbital capsules we see vehicles that enabled\nAmericans to cross vast distances in space. In our archives\nand libraries we find documents to transport us across\ncenturies in time, back to Mount Sinai and the Sea of Galilee,\nto Runnymede, to the pitching cabin of the Mayflower, and to\nsweltering Philadelphia in midsummer, 1776.\nIf we maneuver our time vehicle along to 1787, we\nsee the chamber of Independence Hall, where the Constitution\nis being drafted under the stern eye of George Washington.\nSome other faces are familiar. Benjamin Franklin is there,\nof course, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Thomas Jefferson\nhas gone to Paris. The quiet genius of this Convention is\nJames Madison.\nBut Jefferson's principles are very much present.\nThe Constitution, when it is done, will translate the great\nideals of the Declaration into a legal mechanism for effective\ngovernment, where the unalienable rights of individual\nAmericans are secure.\nIn grade school, we were taught to memorize the\nfirst and last parts of the Declaration. Nowadays even many\nscholars skip over the long recitation of alleged abuses by\nKing George III and his misguided ministers. But occasionally\nwe ought to read them because the injuries and invasions of\nindividual rights listed there are the very excesses of\ngovernment power which the Constitution, the Bill of Rights,\nand subsequent amendments were designed to prevent.\nThe familiar parts of the Declaration describe the\npositives of freedom; the dull part, the negatives. Not all\nthe rights of free people, nor all the necessary powers of\ngovernment, can be enumerated in one writing or for all time,\nas Madison and his colleagues made plain in the 9th and 10th\nAmendments.\nBut the source of all unalienable rights, the proper\npurposes for which governments are instituted among men, and\nthe reasons why free people should consent to an equitable\nordering of their God-given freedom, have never been better\nstated than by Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence.\nLife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are cited\nas being among the most precious endowments of the Creator --\nbut not the only ones. Earlier, Jefferson wrote that \"The\nGod who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.\"\nThis better explains the bold assertion that \"All\nmen are created equal\" which Americans have debated for two\ncenturies. We obviously are not equal in size, or wisdom,\nor strength, or fortune. But we are all born -- having had\nnothing at all to say about it. And from the moment we have\na life of our own we have a liberty of our own, and we receive\nboth in equal shares. We are all born free in the eyes of God.\nMORE\nPage 6\nThat eternal truth is the great promise of the\nDeclaration; but it certainly was not self-evident to most\nof mankind in 1776. I regret to say it is not universally\naccepted in 1976. Yet the American adventure not only pro-\nclaimed it, for 200 years we have consistently sought to prove\nit true. The Declaration is. the promise of freedom; the\nConstitution continuously seeks the fulfillment of freedom.\nThe Constitution was created and continues -- as its preamble\nstates -- \"to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves\nand to our posterity.\"\nThe great promise of the Declaration requires far\nmore than the patriot sacrifices of the American Revolution,\nmore than the legal stabilizer of the Constitution, more than\nLincoln's successful answer to the question of whether a\nnation so conceived and so dedicated could long endure.\nWhat does the Declaration declare: That all human\nbeings have certain rights as a gift from God; that these\nrights cannot lawfully be taken away from any man or woman by\nany human agency, monarchy or democracy; that all governments\nderive all their just powers from the people, who consent to\nbe governed in order to secure their rights and to effect\ntheir safety and happiness.\nThus, both rights and powers belong to the people,\nthe rights equally apportioned to every individual, the powers\nto the people as a whole.\nThis November, the American people will, under\nthe Constitution, again give their consent to be governed.\nThis free and secret act should be a reaffirmation, by every\neligible American, of the mutual pledges made 200 years ago\nby John Hancock and the others whose untrembling signatures\nwe can still make out.\nJefferson said that the future belongs to the living;\nwe stand awed in the presence of these great charters not\nby their beauty, not by their antiquity, but because they\nbelong to us. We return thanks that they have guided us safely\nthrough two centuries of national independence, but the\nexcitement of this occasion is that they still work.\nAll around our nation's capital are priceless\ncollections of America's great contributions to the world,\nbut many of them are machines no longer used, investions no\nlonger needed, clothes no longer worn, books no longer read,\nsongs no longer sung.\nNot so with the Constitution, which works for\nus daily, changing slowly to meet new needs. Not so the\nBill of Rights, which protects us day and night in the\nexercise of our fundamental freedoms -- to pray, to publish,\nto speak as we please.\nMORE\nPage 7\nAbove all stands the magnificent Declaration,\nstill the fixed star of freedom for the United States of\nAmerica.\nLet each of us, in this year of our Bicentennial,\njoin with those brave and farsighted Americans of 1776. Let\nus here and now mutually pledge to the ennobling and enduring\nprinciples of the Declaration our lives, our fortunes\nand our sacred honor.\nLet us do so, as they did, with firm reliance\non the protection of Divine Providence, that the future\nof this land we love may be ever brighter for our children\nand for generations of Americans yet to be born.\nEND (AT 9:44 P.M. EDT)"
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