On the record
It is loftier than the Constitution, which is a convenience only, while this is a guide.
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Sumner contrasts the Constitution with the Declaration, viewing the latter as a more profound guiding principle.
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More from Charles Sumner
Tendencies of nations, as revealed in history, teach that our aims are in harmony with prevailing laws, which God, in his benevolence, has ordained for mankind.
They belong to a system so essentially irrational, that all the admitted virtues of many of its agents cannot save it from judgment.
Far above any flickering light or battle-lantern of party is the everlasting sun of Truth, in whose beams are the duties of men.
I am in favor of a tariff for revenue, such a one as will yield a sufficient amount to the treasury to defray the expenses of the government, economically administered.
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