It is very fitting that we celebrate the anniversary
of the signing of the Constitution of the United States by honoring Americans
who have come here as immigrants to become citizens.
The greatness of our Constitution comes not
so much from the words that it contains. It is great because of the people
who have lived and worked under it to add to its framework of words and
ideas the work and sacrifice and passionate devotion of many generations
of Americans. Men and women came here from every corner of the world, from
every nation and every race to live together as parts of one great, unified
nation.
Our Constitution is founded on the principle
that all men are equal as citizens, and entitled to the same rights, whether
they achieved citizenship by birth, or after coming here as immigrants,
seeking to find in America new freedom and new opportunities.
In the divided world of today, it is important
that we live evermore closely by these principles. The future peace of
the world depends upon our carrying abroad this concept of freedom and
of equality, which we know will prevail over all the doctrines of dictatorship
and totalitarianism, wherever the two are free to compete in the marketplace
of public opinion.
We must present to the world a concept of
freedom which has not been diluted by the evils of prejudice and discrimination.
As Woodrow Wilson once said in an address on citizenship:
No amount of dwelling upon the idea of liberty and of justice will accomplish the object we have in view, unless we ourselves illustrate the idea of justice and liberty.We cannot afford, for example, to continue to keep on our books an immigration law which rates people of one national Origin as better than people of another national origin. Such a law is not in keeping with the ideals of American democracy, not with the spirit of the American Constitution.