The rights of man to property! Being a proposition to make it equal among the adults of the present generation, and to provide for its equal transmission to every individual of each succeeding generation on arriving at the age of maturity

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Preface

There is no man of the least reflection, who has not observed, that the effect, in all ages and countries, of the possession of great and undue wealth, is, to allow those who possess it, to live on the labor of others. And yet there is no truth more readily, cheerfully, and universally acknowledged, than that the personal exertions of each individual of the human race, are exclusively gtnd unalienably his own.

It would seem, then, to be no bad specimen of argument, to say, inasmuch as great wealth is an instrument which is uniformly used to extort from others, their property in their personal qualities and efforts — ^that it ought to be taken away from its possessor, on the same principle, that a sword or a pistol maybe wrested from a robb«r, who shall undertake to accomplish the same effect, in a different manner.

One thing must be obvious to the plainest understanding ; that as long as property is unequal; or rather, as long as it is so enormously unequal?

as we see it at present, that those who possess it, will live on the labor of others, and themselves perforin none, or if any, a very disproportionate share, of that toil which attends them as a condition of their existence, and without the performance of which, they have no just right to preserve or retain that existence, even for a single hour.

It is not possible to maintain a doctrine to the contrary of this position, without, at the same time, maintaining an absurdity no longer tolerated in enlightened countries ; that a part, and that a very great part, of the human race, are doomed, of right, to the slavery of toil, while others are born> only to enjoy.

I, for one, disavow every such doctrine. Even if it be admitted that the present possessors of property, in any country, are the true and rightful owners of it, beyond any question, still I maintain that they have no just right to use it in such a manner, as to extract from others, the result of their labors, for the purposeof exempting themselves from the necessity of laboring as much as others must labor, for a like amount of enjoyment. The moment that any possessor of property, makes such use of it, I care not how, nor under the sanction of what law, or system of laws, as to live in idleness, partial or total, thus supporting himself, more or less, on the labors of others ; that moment he contravenes and invades the rights of others ; an4 has placed himself in the coqdition which wonl^ justify the party injured, in dispossessing the aggressor, of the instrument of his aggression. . But the work which I thus present to the consideration of my fellow citizens and others, does not rest here the defence of its principles. It does not rest contented with merely showing, in this way, that men have no right to their property, (as they call it) when they use it, for the purpose of converting their fellow beings into slaves to labor for their use. It goes farther. It attempts to shew, that the whole system of the laws of property, in all countries, is such : that no man has any just and true title to his possessions at all : that they are in fact, possessions growing out of injustice, perpetrated by all governments, from time immemorial and continued down to the present hour. It depends then upon the success of this attempt, whether I have added strength to the position I have assumed, that all men should live on their own labor, and not on the labor of others. If, in the course\of the following pages, I have shewn that the present possessors of enormous property, (I mean vaove particularly these,) have no just title to their possessions ; and if it is apparent, as I trust it is, than when property is enormously unequal, that the men of toil, of all countries, can never have the full enjoyment of their labor ; it will be conceded, no doubt, that I have shewn enough to justify my fellow citizens in pulling down the present edifice of society, and to induce them to build a new one in its stead, provided I have

1* also shewn how to organize this new government in such a manner as to compel all men, without exception, to labor as much as others must labor, for the same amount of enjoyment ; or, in default thereof, to be deprived of such enjoyment altogether. Of this, however, it is for the reader, and for every reader, to judge.

As to the manner in which this work is executed, it becomes me to say but little. I am sensible, however, that it contains abundance of imperfections. I am aware that there are hundreds and thousands, who, entertainmg the same sentiments that I do, could have supported them in a manner much more acceptable to the public than I have done. But I trust, if the frame of civil society which I have erected upon its pages, shall find friends and advocates, that there will not be wanting men who shall do justice to its principles. With this observation, I commit myself to the judgment of an impartial community ; and await, with pleasure, the destiny to which they will consign these labors, which have had only for their object the promotion of the welfare of the public, and the equal interest which 1 myself have therein, as one of their number.

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THE RIGHTS OF MAN TO PROPERTY,

Chapter I

I am undertaking a work, which, as Rousseau said of his " Confessions," has no example, and whose execution perhaps, will find no approval* But, be this as it may ; the consciousness I feel, that my motives are pure, and that the work which engages me, will tend to fix on an imperishable basis, the happiness of my fellow beings^ is all the encouragement and support I require to bring it to a consummation. When they shall have read it, they will judge for themselves, how far my means of assuring that happiness, will be likely to coincide with my intentions and expectations.

The same « author, on another occasion, has said, that inasmuch as he was not a Legislator, therefore^ he offered his sentiments to those who were. Had he been such, he observed, he would not have troubled the world with his opinions ; but would have proceeded, forthwith, to put them into execution. How very proper, then, may it not be in an age and in a country, where every man is a Legislator, for any and every citizen to exercise his functions ^s such, whenever he shall believe he may be able to do so, with advantage to his fellow citizens.

But if, in this country, we are all Legislators, we are not exclusively so. No one of us has power in this capacity, of making a law over his fellow citizens, in opposition to his consent. A majority of our aggregate number is, alone, capable of fully consummating a Legislative act. As it regards each individual of our community of Legislators, he stands in relation to the whole, as a member of one of our State Assemblies does, to all the members of which it is composed. He has the same right, of making his motion, of submitting his propositions, and of offering all the arguments and reasons he thinks proper, in their support. Such is the relation, in which I perceive myself to be placed, with my fellow citizens of the State of New- York ; and it is in the full exercise of the rights, in the possession of which, this relation leaves me, that I shall offer to their consideration, through the medium of this work, a proposition, to entirely re- model the political structure of our State, and make it essentially different from any thing of the kind heretofore known.

As it is, however, a proposition, which, before it can be carried into execution, must be thoroughly and deeply investigated, if not by every individual, at least by a majority so great, as to leave &. minority of very little importance in point of numbers ; so it is of the greatest moment, to the reception or rejection of this proposition, whichever it may meet with, at the hands of this community, that the art of printing, has arrived at such perfection, that the price, at which a copy of this work will be afforded, will not be, beyond the means of any man who feels an interest in the subject which it discusses. That every man in the State, from the highest to the lowest, has such an interest, and that of the greatest magnitude^ will be evident enough, in the further progress of the work.

It would, however, be of little use, — that books

were afforded at a moderate price, if readers were

few in number. Happily, with us, such is not the

fact. While, in France, which has the best in-

structed population on the continent of Europe,

there are, as we are told, seventeen millions out

thirty, who are unable to read ; in the State of

New- York, as well as most of our sister-States,

scarcely one-twentieth, I believe, are incapable

of reading, with a full understanding of what they

read. Whoever, therefore, comes before an

American community, with a printed proposition,

presented in clear and plain language, built on

and supported by, principles, which to such com'

munity shall appear to be adapted to give then^

their rights, when full investigatioa sjiall h^ye been had of it, cannot fail to be well received ; — and his proposition carried into full effect ; though to do so, it should cause a greater change, in our civil code, than has ever yet happened, in any country even in this age of revolutions.

As yet no condition of things has ever existed, in which abuses have not sprung up and flourished. There have been those, who have profitted by them ; and they have always opposed the extirpation of the evil upon which they fattened. One of their modes, of resisting any change which would go to deprive them of their dishonest nutriment, has ever been to represent that the evil was inevitable ; that it was impossible to eradicate it ; and that therefore it was best to submit to it, without complaint or repining. And too often has it been attended with success. The friends of pure and virtuous principles, in all ages, have, too often, been alarmed into an opinion, that they could not concentrate the co-operation of men of their own description sufficient to resist the torrent of corruption, and have yielded to despair : while those who flourished in the destruction of those principles, which alone can promote the public welfare, have triumphed over them.

But this state of things is doomed, soon to terminate its existence. The printing- press ^ together, with the population of a whole State or Empire, being instructed, and rendered capable of reading ; — together, also, with the possession,

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hy every individual of such population, of ^^e righi of suffrage ; put it out of the power of a few, to defeat, frustrate, or delay, for any considerable time, the wishes of the many. Henceforward, let a writer advance views, that will benefit the great mass of the community; and there will be found no power adaquate to stay their adoption* Neither minority, nor majority, will be able to persuade themselves, or others, that the interests of the greater party, should not be consulted by those who have the power (and who knoi^ too, that they have it,) to do so. The utmost, that interested opposers of reformation or revolution, can hope to accomplish, is, to retard inquiry ; so that those who have an interest in the suppression of the abuses, or the false principles, of government, shall not so soon arrive at a full and general understanding of any change which may be proposed, and the reasons that go to support it, as they otherwise would. But in the present state of knowledge among the citizens of the American Confederacy, and particularly that portion of it, where we find the free white maUj forming as it were, the entire population, such delay will necessarily be extremely transient.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident ; thai " all men ar«£ created equal ; that they are en- ** dowedby theii Creator with certain unalienable *' rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and '* the pursuit of happiness," Who would not

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tiiink that principles, such as these, would not only be acknowledged, but be acted upon, by all mankind f That they would not require to be presented to the consideration of our species, but would meet with a spontaneous recognition, in every human breast ? And yet how small a portion of mankind are prepared to acknowledge them f Where, unless it be in the two Americas, shall we find it even admitted, " that all men are created equal?" If amidst all that has happened, and all that has been written in favor of liberty, within the last seventy or eighty years, liberty is no where to be found, except on this continent, it would seem to argue but little in favor of the efficiency of the Press, or the omnipotence of our reasoning faculties, towards bringing about revolutions in the physical, moral, and civil condition of man. Thomas Paine, who supported the rights of the people of all nations, with an energy, and an ability, perhaps never excelled, and who judged, as to the future, with as much correctness as most men, predicted* (in 1792,) that before theyear 1800 should arrive, there would not exist a' single crowned head, in Europe ; and yet how lamentably wide of the prediction, is the fact ! So much so^ that we all know there is not a single republican government in Europe, where, as he thought, in 7 or 8 years afterwards, there would have been no other !

■Rights of Man, Second Fart, p. 4.

It may not be altogether useless, to discuss a little, the causes that have had an influence in falsifying a prediction, which, as events have proved, could have had no just foundation. That those principles which were supposed to be capable of sujiplanting the monarchical governments of Europe, are such as are congenial to the nature of man, consistent with his rights, and promotive of his happiness, I presume few men in this country, will be disposed to deny. They are principles, such as are incorporated into that Declaration of Independence, which separated us from our allegiance to a Foreign Sovereign ; and transferred to the people of these States, the right of governing themselves. The causes however which produced such separation, were no doubt of the most oppressive kind, and capable of stimulating no common degree of energy, in their resistance. Yet, it may well be doubted, whether most of the acts of tyranny, which the Declaration of Independence, charges to the account of George the Third, might not have been perpetrated with impunity, by ^native monarch, over the American States, if the fact had been that such a monarch had reigned over them. And even admitting that resistance had followed, it is far from being certain, that such resistance would have been sueceeded by the establishment of government on principles fundamentally different from those in previous existence. The monarch himself might have been dethroned, but the throne itself, would in all probability, have remained, and been occupied by another. Besides we should recollect that the p^eople of the United States, the first to set the example of self .c^overnrnent, had no monarchical nei«^hbors, to interfere by arms, or otherwise, with their internal arraUj^ements. Had such been the fact, as svas the case with France, the first which attempted republican government in Europe, th»'re is tittle doubt, that liberty would have been driven, perhaps for two centuries, from the American Continent, as it has been from the European.

But the chief cause of the failure of the prediction, a prediction in accordance with the expectations of ujaoy of Hie most distinguished men of the time, as well those who dreaded, as those who wished its consummation, is to be found in the general, nay, almost universal want of readers. So much are mankind the creatures of habit, that wherever they happen to have their existence, they seem to be disposed to rest content in continuing to suflei from those evils, with which they have been familiar, from their earliest infancy, rather than to take the necessary measures to eradicate them. Nay it is not uncommon,, that evil is not considered as such ; and it frequently happens, that they do not discover its true character, till some aggravated act of tyranny, perpetrated by some capricious, or remorseless despot, makes it known to them through the medium xif greater sufferings, than those to which they had heretofore been accustomed. Perhaps, in all human history, there is not more than a single instance or two, if there be even these, where revolutions have been produced, by any other cause than by rendering the condition of the people of those nations, in which they have happened, more oppressive and burdensome, than they were before. And eve^i this aggravation of the miseries of nations, is capable of being accomplished, without the intervention of revolutions, where tyrants have sufficient discretion to make its introduction gradual, and as it werejalmost imperceptible.

It results from these observations, what is apparent to every reflecting man ; that the mass of mankind are afflicted with evils of which they have no just conception ; that they have rights, of which they have no clear and definite understanding I and that, in the slavery, poverty, and ignorance, with which they are surrounded, there is no possibility of exhibiting to them, the evils under which they labor, nor of acquainting them with their rights, the possession of which wo aid remove their sufferings ; till they can be, or have been, taught to read, and understand what they have read. These remarks apply to every country, but our own, and even to this, in every things though in a qualified degree, except it be that of public education.

It is possible, I have dwelt longer than is agreeable to the reader, on the subject of the very general instruction of the American peiople in the art of reading, and of understanding what they read. In the further progress of this work, I trust however, that he will become convinced, that I do not over-rate the importance of the fact, that a portion so very great of our population, have acquired this species of education. The innovations I am about to propose to my fellow-citizens, in our State-Government, and to the people of other States and Nations, if 'hey shall think proper to inquire how far they may be calculated to promote their welfare, are of such a nature, that they require to be not only very closely, and deeply^ but if it were possible, universally investigated, btforethey can be adopted, so as to be as useful to the community generally, as their own intrinsic importance is calculated to make them. The reader will perceive that it would be of little consequence, how estimable and valuable, after fully understanding them, he should consider them to be, if, at the same time, he should suppose, perhaps contrary to the fact, that there were not a sufficient number of his fellow-citizens, capable of reading, and of course of understanding them, and the reasons that go to support them, to chforce their adoption.

In such a case, the most that could be said, would be, that the proposed innovation was a valuable speculation, adapted to be useful at a future day, when education should have extended its benign influence over a greater portion of our population, But if, on the contrary, the reader should be satisfied that there are, noiv, a sufficient proportion of our citizens qualified with instruction, to be made acquainted with the design and probable operation of the changes in question, he would then feel a strong inclination to give it a support of surpassing energy, corresponding with his estimate of its importance to his own welfare, and that of his fellow-citizens. Besides, it is to be considered, that all propositions meet with opposition from somebody. Now, if that which I have to offer, should be considered as injuring the rich — while it was of the utmost benefit to the poor, and middling classes of the community, who form ninety-nine parts in every hundred of the whole population of every country ; the knowledge of the fact, that the great mass of the people are capable of understanding it, because they have the ability to read, and the means of purchase, would convince the rich, that it would be perfectly idle to oppose what so very large a majority should determine to adopt and enforce.

The population of this State, from calculations jnade from official data, at the beginning of the present year (1829,) cannot vary much from 1,825,000. Of these it is ascertainable from the same data, about, 750,000, are under the age of

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(ifte^n* The period in which instruction is mo&t; generally given, is between the ages of jive and fifteen, and therefore, if we deduct, from this num- !)er, one third for children under the age of five years, which will be sufficiently accurate for my purpose ; there will remain half a million of children requiring instruction, in reading, writing, &c. &c. Now, it appears from the Report, of the Superintendent of common schools, made to the Legislature of this State, the present year, that there were taught in those schools, in 1828> 449,113 children, between the ages mentioned : and over and above these, 19,092, whose ages are not mentioned. There are 445 school districts, from which no returns were received. If we allow that there may be half as many children instructed in each of these districts, as were taught in each of the other districts, it would add upwards of 12,000 more to the number. To these are to be added, the number of children taught ia private schools, of which, of course, no returns are required, or allowed to be made to the Superintendent. Those, also, taught in private families, and, there arc many such, are not included; so that when a full and fair estimate is made, I think it will be found, that not more than one twentieth, or a twenty-fifth part of the rising generation, in this State, are suffered to grow up, untaught.

Most of the Norihern and Western States oi ibis Confederacy, I believe, will be found to ex:^ liibit similar results as regards public instruction ; and with respect to the Eastern States, it is well known, that they have long surpassed all the other States of the Union, in their institutions of education.

It cannot, therefore^ be otherwise than propi-- tious, in every relation in which the matter can be viewed, that a proposition is about to be submitted, to the consideration of a people, calculated, as the author of it believes, eminently to promote their welfare, by shewing how to eradicate the evils which afflict them, even under the best system of government, which the art of man has yet been able to devise ; and that people so circumstanced^ that such proposition can and will come home to their closest investigation. It adds to the felicity of this condition of things, that after such investigation has been had, and a general conviction results, if it should result, that it is worthy of their approbation and adoption, that they hold in their hands, through the silent, peaceful, and irresistible operation of the ballot-boxes, the power to establish it, as the basis of their social compact.

Heretofore, such has not been the fortunate condition of the human race. If, in different ages, and in different countries, there have been found as is undoubtedly true, men of clear heads, and honest hearts, struggling to increase the happiness. Q.f the ^reat mass of nations, they have been resist* ed, by extraordinary and almost invincible difficulties. If the States, in which they lived, were small, and surrounded by powerful and dangerous enemies, as was the case with Rome, in the early stages of her history ; then wars, sometimes unavoidable, but often brought about by treacherous and aristocratic rulers at home for the very purpose, interfered to prevent the people from maturinggreat public measures for their benefit.

Such was particularly the case, with regard to what was called the Agrarian Law. This law forbid any man to own more than five hundred acres of land ; any excess over that quantity, was taken away and reserved to the public, or given to the poor. This law also gave to the soldiers, and to the common people, who had none, lands conquered from their enemies. Anterior to the introduction of this law, the Patricians, or in other words, the Aristocracy, turned all these lands to their own benefit. They w^ere, therefore, extremely unwilling to give them up ; and such was the structure of their political fabric, at the time, that they alone had the power of originating all laws, the Agrarian, as well as every other. They were therefore disposed, as often as they dared, to render it nugatory, or of little efifect. For four hundred years, it was the source of much civil commotion and bloodshed in Rome, and often came near being the cause of subjecting them to conquest by their enemies. At last, the Aris*- tocracy obtained the entire ascendency over the people, and from that day began the decline^ of the Roman Empire.

But formidable as this vicinity to Rome, of powerful and warlike neighbours, was, to the welfare of the great majority of the Roman people, it was not the only obstacle they had to contend with. Constituted as their government was, as already stated, they had not the power of original legislation. This was invested in the Aristocracy j all that the people had power to do, was through the tribunes, appointed by themselves, to forbid the enactment of any law, which they deemed injurious to their welfare. They could not originate any new measures, however beneficial they might deem them to be to their condition. And the only method by which they could accomplish any thing of the kind, was by treaty with the governing power. Thus, when the State was attacked, or in danger of it, by enemies from abroad, they could refuse to enlist, or to defend it ; or, as the price of so doing, demand, as they often did, the enactment, or the strict fulfilment of the Agrarian Law.

The Roman people seem not to have learnt ; indeed it is a lesson learnt only within the last half century by any nation ; that the legislative power of all nations, particularly, in the sense in which such power is ordinarily understood, resides in the Ufiajority of those over whom it is exercised, ft is

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Tio subject of wonder, then, even in the absence of foreign and hostile nations, that the Roman people could not succeed in permanently establishing the Agrarian Law. To have done this, required that they should have ascended to first principles : that they should have explored, philosophically, the primitive condition of man, and there have made themselves acquainted with the origin and fountain of all right, and of course, of all power. We, who live at the present day, know that such a search after first principles, has not been prosecuted, and attended with success, until three or four hundred years have expired since the invention of the Printing-Press. This important invention, of which the Romans knew nothing, was that, of which they, as well as all other nations, stood in need, as the means of ere a* ting, if 1 may be allowed the expression, an uniform public opinion. Although, as history informs us, they seemed very generally to wish for the Agrarian Law, yet, as they had no means of creating a common sentiment among its friends, as it regards the only effectual method of bringing it into permanent legislative existence ; this circumstance may be reckoned as another of the obstacles that interposed themselves between the Roman people, and the possession of the object of their ipost anxious wishes. It is perhaps, not susceptible of rigid demonstration, that the people >>f no nation, could ever have arrived at the dis covery and general adoption of the principles oi self-government, without the assistance of the Printing-Press : but this, no doubt, will be conceded, that the period of such discovery and adoption, must have been greatly more protracted thah it otherwise has been.

There ma}' be those, among my readers, who may think it extraordinary, that there could have been found among the Roman people, such a number of partizans or advocates, in favor of the Agrarian Law, as, on its operation being denied or obstructed, to lead to the most violent political convulsions. But these should recollect the peculiar nature of their condition. Having no commerce worth mentioning, nor arts or manufactures of any kind, save those carried on, in a domestic or family way, and that in the rudest manner known to all nations, as they emerge from barbarity into a state of civil government, if so it may be called, they had no means to sustain themselves, but by the labors of agriculture. To deny them land, then, was to deny them life; or to compel them, to purchase its support, of the rich, at a price, or on conditions which rendered it scarcely worth preserving*