THE FOUR "I's "

Individuality.-Under these guaranties there has been developed in the American character a striking individuality, which stamps him an American wherever he may be found. It is that quality which inspired him to the conquest of the great American wilderness and the development of her resources. The urge of individuality has driven him in every undertaking not only for pecuniary reward but for the equal reward of stamping his achievement with his own personality.

This distinctive bearing of the American commands attention and wins the confidence of all. Conscious of his own strength, he asks no other favor than equal opportunity. When he marries he seeks no dower with his bride. He accepts his place in life with dignity born in the consciousness of his own power to better it. Be it ever so humble, his home is marked with his personality. His children bear the impress of his character, giving assurance that life can contain no difficulties too great for them to master. His is the consciousness of the free born, whether born in the crowded tenement of a congested city, the lonely prairie home of a western farmer, or within the sumptuous palace of a millionaire. Imbued with the spirit of the Nation, he stands upon his own feet and gladly enlists as a soldier in the battle of life.

Independence. The American is the personification of independence. He asks no favors of government or men. He demands his rights and is always ready to uphold them. He has cultivated the habit of self-reliance and is ready to undertake any legitimate enterprise which, in his judgment, has a reasonable chance of success. Resourceful and unafraid, he has ventured into every field of endeavor, cheerfully paying the cost of his failure and as cheerfully sharing with others the rewards of his success. In the spirit of independence America has won her way to leadership in times of peace, and in times of war to a place of honor and respect among the nations.

Initiative. Out of independence has grown a force of individual initiative which has made our great achievements possible. Initiative might well be termed the generator from which has come the power for all our accomplishments. Tradition looks always to that which is old in habits, customs, culture, government, institutions, families, and structures. Initiative is forever putting off the old and putting on the new. It is the mother of creative genius, expressed in science, invention, modern homes, great factories, transportation and communication, radio, hard roads, schools, universities, churches, and motion pictures; automatic machinery, horsepower, reclamation projects, airplanes, organization, management, finance, washing machines, typewriters, telephones, adding machines, vacuum

cleaners, electric irons, and fireless cookers; steam-heated flats and skyscrapers; medical science, sanitation, longer life, greater comforts, higher education. Without initiative, civilization would first stagnate, then fall rapidly into dissolution.

Intelligence.-Education (developed intelligence) comes from a multitude of sources. Developed by exercise, our minds have grasped each successive problem and found so far the means of meeting each added complexity of modern civilization. With multiplied wants and ever-expanding fields of endeavor, the demand for intelligence increases. Machines are taking the place of hands, increasing production, shortening hours of labor, eliminating the exhaustion of toil, giving more time to self-betterment, recuperation, and recreation. Markets become world wide, competition grows keener, international affairs demand care and diplomacy; nations are awakening; the magic of science in transportation and communication has made us largely a family of nations with divergent aspirations, varied needs, and growing demands for self-expression. Socially, economically, politically the world is rapidly changing, and in its evolution it requires as never before for its leadership men of individuality, independence, initiative, and intelligence.

The price of success.-The price of success, whether of individual or nation, is found in work, education, and ideals. The world grows more busy with each passing year. Its machinery is never idle. Its burdens are too great to be cumbered with dead weight. Backward individuals and backward nations will surely be crushed beneath the Juggernaut we call civilization, unless they take a more active and intelligent part in its affairs.

There is more and greater work to be done with each succeeding generation. The achievements of individuals in the past are a challenge to the youth of to-day. There are still further fields of exploration, adventure, and accomplishment, and a multitude of past achievements to be perfected. Every man possessed of the will to work finds his opportunity awaiting him.

Education he must have. The time is past when hope of success can be offered to the ignorant. With each succeeding year the necessity for special accomplishments and particular fitness is more pronounced. Science has so far advanced as to become broken into many divisions, each requiring special training. Applied to every branch of government, industry, and even society, the demand is for education, that intelligence may be developed and applied to its full capacity; for in no other way may progress be assured, and progress is the purpose of life.

Work and education are not sufficient to equip either the individual or nation for the accomplishment of the purposes of life. There must also be the inspiration and governing force of ideals.

Without ideals there can be no lasting achievements. Without ideals there can be neither understanding, tolerance, justice, nor brotherhood between individuals or nations. Without ideals there can be no worth-while aspirations, no true nobility of character, no spirit of unselfish service, without which progress is not made.

Give careful thought to your own talents. Weigh and measure your abilities. Determine the vocation in life for which you are best fitted and devote your every energy and resource to acquiring the education to qualify for that task. Emerson said, "Hitch your wagon to a star." Demand of yourself and for yourself the best that life affords, then multiply those blessings a thousandfold by devoting your energies in an ever-growing measure to public service, for the real joy of life is in service to your fellow men.

This is the land of "equality of opportunity." You alone can determine the measure of your participation in freedom's field. What you do and how you do it will be dependent upon your will to work, the thoroughness of your education, and the quality of your ideals.

INDIVIDUAL INITATIVE

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is the basic principle of constitutional liberty in America? That sovereignty resides in the people.

2. What is the greatest force in our civilization?

The vigorous ability of the people of America in productive service, stimulated by freedom of initiative and maintained voluntary effort.

3. Has any government the "right" to restrict the exercise of the power of individual initiative?

Any government which interferes with the operations of conscience and intellect, abridging the right of self-initiative, violates a fundamental principle of personal liberty.

4. How can the material needs of the people be assured?

The satisfaction of the material needs of the people is impossible without initiative and the sustained efforts of individual activity. 5. What is the greatest factor in human achievement?

Freedom of initiative is the greatest incentive to discovery, exploration, invention, and improvement.

6. What is the synonym for America?

Opportunity. In no other country is the freedom of initiative enjoyed as freely as in America.

7. Next to liberty, what great heritage was received from the colonists?

The pioneers developed the spirit of initiative. They conquered the wilderness and established communities, working single handed

and alone. In the structure of all American institutions is revealed the spirit of self-initiative.

8. Does America recognize the dignity of labor?

Yes.

Americans labor in the spirit of cooperative friendship which accords dignity to every honorable occupation.

9. Does the economic success of America depend solely upon her natural resources?

Well-informed leaders in American industry state that economic success is not dependent merely upon the great resources of the country, rather it is the result of the free initiative of the people.

10. In what manner does the Constitution guarantee success to the individual?

The Constitution guarantees opportunity to all. Under its protection the industrious may climb the ladder of success as far as their individual ability will permit. It does not guarantee prosperity to the lazy and incompetent.

INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN WRITING BY THE STUDENT

1. Name several characteristics contributing to the success of America. Why?

2. Should the Government provide the means of livelihood? Give

reasons.

3. Are difficulties worth surmounting? Why?

4. What responsibility does freedom of initiative place upon American citizens?

31. LESSON 7.—Liberty and Independence

(a) Introduction; historical background-Declaration of Independence. (b) Liberty defined: Mind-Intelligence-Soul-Meaning of "equality." (1) Personal liberty: Freedom of action, religious liberty, freedom of speech and press.

(2) Economic liberty: Property rights safeguarded; the dignity of work. (3) Political liberty: Equal participation in government.

(4) Civil liberty: Equality before the law.

(5) Social liberty: No caste or class.

Introduction, historical background.-When we speak of liberty and independence our minds revert to the days of the Revolutionary War and the struggle of the Colonies. We speak of the place in which the first protest was made against English tyranny as the "Cradle of Liberty." As a matter of fact, the cradle of liberty has been lost these many centuries, buried under the ruins and débris. brought about by the efforts of mankind to assert a God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The historical background of liberty and independence is the long and exciting story of the human race in every stage of its development and in every nook and corner of the earth. It is told in the ages-old pryamids of Egypt, builded upon the backs of human slaves; in the philosophies of Plato and Socrates; and uncovered in the catacombs of Rome. It was whispered in the German forests in the days of Charlemagne, planted deep in the hearts of Saxon and Norman, and there given its first real semblance of form.

Two thousand years have passed since the dawn of the Christian era. That period has witnessed the struggle for liberty, at times directed by religion, at times directed against it. Slowly there was evolved an appreciation of government incorporation of the rights of individuals into fixed laws or practices. Yet there remained the iron heel of government to crush those whose demand for independence and liberty exceeded that granted by the will of the ruling king or parliament.

England, in the days of the Saxon and Norman conquest, in the time of Cromwell and Elizabeth, laid a still broader foundation. upon which to build the structure of self-government. It remained, however, a work still to be accomplished at the time of the first settlements in America, where in the next 150 years slow progress was to be made in developing the necessary knowledge upon which liberty and independence could be safely predicated.

The Declaration of Independence did not establish independence. It was a protest against the abridgment of such rights as the colonists claimed to be theirs as subjects of the British Crown. Their anger was directed against Parliament rather than the King because of the fact that new and further restrictions were placed by law upon the colonists which were not imposed upon citizens of Great Britain residing in the mother country. These restrictions operated at the expense of the colonists and for the benefit of those who enjoyed the privileges of the long-established home government and institutions. Spurred on by the spirit of independence engendered through the bitter experiences and necessary self-reliance required in their century-and-a-half battle to conquer the American wilderness, and fired by the indignities and injustice to which they had long been compelled to submit, they threw off the yoke of oppression, and in the light of the lessons learned set up a government that would forever guard them against tyranny, however it might seek to impose its will.

Liberty defined: Mind-intelligence-soul.-The law of nature is the survival of the fittest. In every form of life the weak are the prey of the strong. Left to brute instinct, civilization would never have come into being, much less survive the natural instinct and compelling force of the strong to prey upon the weak. The saving quality which distinguishes and raises man above all other forms