"Liberty lies in the hearts of men & women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no (TR)

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men & women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."-Judge Learned Hand

"A conservative among liberals, and a liberal among conservatives," he was not consistently conservative enough for Republican President Warren G. Harding and he was not consistently liberal enough for Democrat President Franklin Roosevelt.

As a result, he was passed over several times to be a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

His name was Learned Hand, who served as a judge for over 50 years, first on New York's District Court, then on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Judge Learned Hand's legal decisions were so respected they were referenced in U.S. Supreme Court Cases.

Though a political progressive, he was an advocate of judicial restraint, stating he could not "frame any definition that will explain when the Court will assume the role of a third legislative chamber and when it will limit its authority. "

In 1934, Judge Hand ruled in United States v. Schechter Poultry that Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" Federal law did not apply to a poultry firm which operated only within the State of New York.

In 1937, Judge Learned Hand condemned Franklin Roosevelt's attempt to pack the Supreme Court with as many as 15 justices in order to get the Court's approval of his power usurping big government programs.

Writing to Justice Felix Frankfurter, March 24, 1945, Judge Learned Hand warned:

"I confess it seems to me that we are pretty plainly headed for some fairly comprehensive collectivist ordering of industry; people don't want it ...

... Can you have a collectivist democracy? The future has all sorts of creatures in its womb ...

As with Judge Hand, there have been many "learned" citizens who have warned Americans of potential threats to liberty posed by those who might subvert the Constitution's protections for liberty.

The following is a brief, but important, excerpted portion of a Centennial Thanksgiving Sermon delivered by Dr. Benjamin W. Arnett, a Black Ohio State Legislator and A.M.E. Bishop in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the Year 1876, after the end of the Civil War. The Sermon may be read at the Library of Congress, African-American Section:

"Then we can say that we give to every man, woman and child the benefit of our free institutions, giving all the benefits of our common school and the freedom to worship God under their own vine and fig tree. Then will we see written, on the banner of our free, redeemed and disenthralled country, the sublime words written, not in the blood of men, but in the sun-light of truth, that "Righteousness exalteth a nation." It will fall like the morning dew on the lowly; it will descend like the showers of May on the poor; and like the sun it will shine on the good and bad, dispensing from the hand of plenty the blessings of a government founded on the principle of justice and equality.
"Standing on the threshold of the second century of the nation's life, with the experience of the past lying at our feet, we are saluted by the shout of triumph from the millions who left their homes and business and attended the Great Exposition of the skill and genius of the world, collected at Philadelphia. We were permitted to receive the greetings from the oldest to the youngest nation of the earth. Egypt and the United States clasped hands over the waste of 5,000 years, and lay their treasures at the feet of our civilization. The material, intellectual and mechanical deterioration of the one, and the unprecedented progress of the other, stand in great contrast; in all that makes the nation great,—morally, religiously and socially, the young nation is ahead.
"Following the tracks of righteousness throughout the centuries and along the way of nations, we are prepared to recommend it to all and assert without a shadow of doubt, that "Righteousness exalted a nation"; but on the other hand following the foot-prints of sin amid the ruins of Empires and remains of cities, we will say that "sin is a reproach to any people." But we call on all American citizens to love their country, and look not on the sins of the past, but arming ourselves for the conflict of the future, girding ourselves in the habiliments of Righteousness, march forth with the courage of a Numidian lion and with the confidence of a Roman Gladiator, and meet the demands of the age, and satisfy the duties of the hour. Let us be encouraged in our work, for we have found the moccasin track of Righteousness all along the shore of the stream of life, constantly advancing, holding humanity with a firm hand. We have seen it “through” all the confusion of rising and falling States, of battle, siege and slaughter, of victory and defeat; through the varying fortunes and ultimate extinctions of Monarchies, Republics and Empires; through barbaric irruption and desolation, feudal isolation, spiritual supremacy, the heroic rush and conflict of the Cross and Crescent; amid the busy hum of industry, through the marts of trade and behind the gliding keels of commerce.”
"And in America, the battle-field of modern thought, we can trace the foot-prints of the one and the tracks of the other. So let us use all of our available forces, and especially our young men, and throw them into the conflict of the Right against the Wrong.
"Then let the grand Centennial Thanksgiving song be heard and sung in every house of God; and in every home may thanksgiving sounds be heard, for our race has been emancipated, enfranchised and are now educating, and have the gospel preached to them!"
The following is a special excerpt from an earlier section of Dr. Arnett's Centennial:
"Withdraw from Christendom the Bible, the Church with its sacraments and ministry, and Christian morality and hopes, and aspirations for time and eternity; repeal all the laws that are founded in the Christian Scriptures; remove the Christian humanities in the form of hospitals and asylums, and reformatories and institutions of mercy utterly unknown to unchristian countries; destroy the literature, the culture, the institutions of learning, the art, the refinement, the place of woman in her home and in society, which owe their origin and power to Christianity; blot out all faith in Divine Providence, love, and righteousness; turn back every believer in Christ to his former state; remove all thought or hope of the forgiveness of sins by a just but gracious God; erase the name of Christ from every register it sanctifies—in a word annihilate all the legitimate and logical effects of Christianity in Christendom—just accomplish in fact what multitudes of gifted and learned minds are wishing and trying to accomplish by their science, philosophy, and criticism, and what multitudes of the common people desire and seek, and not only would all progress toward and unto perfection cease, but not one of the shining lights of infidelity would shine much longer. Yes, the bitterest enemies of this holy and blessed religion, owe their ability to be enemies to its sacred revelations - to the inspiration and sublimity of that faith which reflects its glories on their hostile natures. They live in the strength of that which they would destroy. They are raised to their seats of opportunity and power by the grace of Him they would crucify afresh; and is it to be thought that they are stronger than that which gives them strength? Can it be supposed that a religion which civilizes and subdues, and elevates and blesses will succumb to the enmities it may arouse and quicken in its onward march? Are we to tremble for the ark of God when God is its upholder, and protector, and preserver?” - Dr. Benjaming W. Arnett, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Urbana, Ohio, Centennial Thanksgiving Sermon, November 1876

Link to Original Library of Congress Copy of Dr. Benjamin W. Arnett's "Centennial Thanksgiving Sermon" delivered in 1876, here.

Liberty is a state of mind. When the mind is closed to its benefits, it dies for that person.

“Yearning to be free” is a chimera for much of the human race even in this day and age. So many LIKE the settled quality of knowing they do not have to bear the burden of self-determination, that another has chosen the way, and they obediently comply.

Approximately 40% of all humanity falls into this category. Sorry, but “liberty” would be meaningless to them, even when offered the opportunity to break free.

But for many of the remaining 60% or so, the opportunity is all they want or need. Some, of course, will squander that opportunity, and end up even more in bondage than ever, as demonstrated by the person who wins a huge lottery prize, and is hopelessly in debt only a few years later. Some people cannot stand prosperity, and will do anything they can to rid themselves of the burden, having never learned how to manage it.

Probably less than 30% of the American colonists were in favor of breaking ties with the British Crown in the year 1775, even after the Stamp Act and various methods the British tried to oppress the colonists. It is noteworthy that the provinces in the Dominion of Canada chose not to join their neighbors to the south in the rebellion against the Crown, but preferred their state of domestication.

But once the genie of Liberty was abroad in the land, the whole reservoir of restlessness burst forth, and in a flush of enthusiasm, the United States of America was born. The Great American Experiment was begun, and it was eventually enormously successful, despite some early reverses and perilously close encounters with the forces of reactionary authoritarian government.

The rights endowed by the Creator to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness flourished and made one of the greatest nations history has ever seen.

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