Mr. Smitty Notes

Woodrow Wilson had a problem with the Declaration of Independence. In fact, his understanding of the Declaration would ignore the preface. He was fine with the list of grievances against King George III. But, the timeless truths of the preface posed a problem. So, what is in the preface? How did it come about? Is Wilson right?

Before the American Revolution, the colonies had a tradition of skirting around and dodging the rule of the home country. They would use their legislatures to usurp the King’s governors. It was an issue in England, but a big ocean let it slide on the priority list of things to take care of. Then after the French and Indian War, King George III needed the Colonies to pay up for their protection. But, the Colonists were thinking the war was over and the French were gone. What are they paying for? Out of this debate, a conflict emerged as the King imposed his taxes and made his power known. No more games. The Colonists were not used to this and began thinking that they would probably be better off on their own. So, independence was in the air. The Colonists would seek it.

Timeless truths (in the preface) of the Declaration of the Independence justify it. The Laws of Nature and the Laws of Nature’s God make all people equal. Rights come from God that allow men to life, liberty, and property. They do not come from the state. So, they are not subject to the changing interpretations of rights a state may want to justify its actions. Government’s job is to secure these rights through the consent of the people it is governing. When the government becomes destructive, the people have the right to get rid of it, since they empower it. Though, abolishing a government should not be done willy nilly, it is necessary when the government keeps abusing its power again and again and again in a long train of abuses, which they list in the Declaration. Not only is it a right of the people, it is a duty. The Colonists have been suffering patiently. Now, no more. These are timeless principles.

The idea is that the people are empowered over the government. The government serves the people. Wilson would not necessarily disagree with serving the people. Instead, he would say the people do not know. Experts need to tell them. Administration of a government should come from scientific experts. They know better than the people how the people should be served. But, the Declaration of Independence is about natural rights of the people to decide on their own. The people do not need the experts to decide for them, though experts surely can inform them. It is a timeless truth that all people are created equal. Rights come from God, not the government, not experts. Yet, the problem for Wilson is: how can the government tell the people what to do if the people are in charge? If these rights are timeless, it complicates problem solving when the problem solvers are limited by having to honor the rights to life, liberty, and property of people. How can the state justify its actions without changing the interpretation of rights to the times and problems of the day? Modern day problems require it. Hence, Wilson would rather not repeat the preface and ignore it.

Also, Wilson had a problem with the Constitution, specifically the separation of powers. To Wilson, the power of the government should be focused on solving the problem of the day. Separation of powers creates needless issues that just get in the way of solutions. However, the Founders saw, after the Revolution, that even democracy had its problems. People have a dark side. The majority can vote to violate the rights of the minority. For instance, states were voting to devalue currency to help debtors pay their debts with money that was worth less than before. So, the people who gave money to the debtors received less money back. Their property was devalued. The democracy was voting in favors for themselves that harmed the property and rights of others. The Founders were alarmed. At the Constitutional Convention, they wanted to put limits on human nature’s tendency to harm others and infringe on the rights of others, however it is justified. Hence, they thought that powers needed to be separate because human nature is the way it is. The timeless truth of humanity’s fallen nature requires that government power be limited and separated to keep the beast of government on a chain.

Yet, Wilson saw the good in power. If it is scientific and removed from political self-interest, power could be used as in a laboratory for good. If administrators are just paid to do right, won’t they do right? A skeptic may say they just might, if they get the 5% increase each year whether the administrators (not the increase) are needed or not. If they keep getting paid and keep getting pay increases and pensions, they just might do right. Nevertheless, Wilson had a more optimistic view of human nature than the Founding Fathers.

What does this have to do with a Monkey Trial? The point here is that timeless truths were under attack in 1925 and before. Some were looking to take down and minimize absolute truth, which is why Wilson said to not repeat the preface of the Declaration of Independence (even though Lincoln thought the preface to the Declaration was the most important, see the Gettysburg Address). In fact, to those minimizing truth, there was not absolute truth. Everything was relative. But, that statement is an absolute. If everything is relative, that is a timeless truth. If there are no timeless truths, then stating there are none is a timeless truth. The whole idea is based on a contradiction. However, that did not matter. What matters is the power to act and to make decisions. Pragmatism. Action. Things in the way of that need to be removed.