An American Institution

In the governments of the Old World, conditions which built up a fixed caste system and created an impassable barrier between certain groups of society gave exceptional advantages to the favored and denied to the masses all but a bare existence. The early settlers of America, who came to escape the oppression of this order of society, at first incorporated into the local governments of the Colonies the policy of religious intolerance and class rule. It required 150 years of local experiment in colonial government before the inalienable rights of mankind were sufficiently understood and evaluated to develop the necessary public opinion and power to change the prevailing form of "State" government to that of a "Republican" form, under which "equality of opportunity" became an American institution. "Individualism," an experiment in government, was unknown prior to the independence of America, and has proved its worth by its marked achievements. It tolerated no restriction, recognized no exceptions, and demanded that the son of the farmer or frontiersman have the some opportunity as the son of the merchant prince or land-owning aristocrat.