And, if reality ceased to square with the
principles of the Declaration, it became, they felt, the bounden duty of
every true American to amend reality.
Out of a combination of the principles of individual rights, individual
self-determination, equality of opportunity, and political equality
enumerated and suggested in the Declaration, arose the first and most
persistent American labor philosophy. This philosophy differed in no
wise from the philosophy of the old American democracy except in
emphasis and particular application, yet these differences are highly
significant. Labor read into the Declaration of Independence a
condemnation of the wage system as a permanent economic r?gime; sooner
or later in place of the wage system had to come _self-employment_.
Americanism to them was a social and economic as well as a political
creed. Economic self-determination was as essential to the individual as
political equality. Just as no true American will take orders from a
king, so he will not consent forever to remain under the orders of a
"boss." It was the _uplifting_ force of this social ideal as much as the
propelling force of the changing economic environment that molded the
American labor program.
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