The Federalist By: John Daniel Davidson
I was rummaging through some boxes of books the other day and stumbled across an antique pamphlet I’d forgotten I own, the theme of which bears directly on our cultural and political moment, and indeed our survival as a nation. It’s about what makes an American.
Entitled I Am An American: What Every Citizen Should Know, it’s the kind of patriotic pamphlet that was common in this country prior to and during World War II. Printed in 1940, the 128-page pocket-sized booklet is not just a little treasure trove of American history, poetry, and music, it’s a manual on how to be a good American.
The top of the opening page reads, “I am an American — I am a believer in The American Creed.” What follows, written in 1917 by William Tyler Page, is about as straightforward a declaration of American identity that one could hope to find:
I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
The next pages list the rights and privileges we have as Americans — “I may think as I please. I may speak or write as I please, so long as I do not interfere with the rights of others,” and so on — and also the corresponding duties we share with our fellow citizens…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (thefederalist.com)
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