Primary Sources Reader 1st Semester
The Code Of Hammurabi
. . . Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to
bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers;
so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed
people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind. . . .
15: If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a
freed man, outside the city gates [to escape], he shall be put to death.
16: If any one receive into his house a runaway male or female slave of the court, or of a
freedman, and does not bring it out at the public proclamation of the [police], the master of
the house shall be put to death.
53: If any one be too lazy to keep his dam in proper condition, and does not so keep it; if
then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break
occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the [grain] which he has caused
to be ruined.
54: If he be not able to replace the [grain], then he and his possessions shall be divided
among the farmers whose corn he has flooded.
108: If a [woman wine-seller] does not accept [grain] according to gross weight in
payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn,
she shall be convicted and thrown into the water. (1)
109: If conspirators meet in the house of a [woman wine-seller], and these conspirators
are not captured and delivered to the court, the [wine-seller] shall be put to death.
110: If a "sister of a god"[nun] open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this
woman be burned to death.
129: If a man's wife be surprised [having intercourse] with another man, both shall be tied
and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.
130: If a man violate the wife (betrothed or child-wife) of another man, who has never
known a man, and still lives in her father's house, and sleep with her and be surprised
[caught], this man shall be put to death, but the wife is blameless.
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131: If a man bring a charge against [his] wife, but she is not surprised with another man,
she must take an oath and then may return to her house.
132: If the "finger is pointed" at a man's wife about another man, but she is not caught
sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river for [the sake of her]
husband. (2)
138: If a man wishes to separate from his wife who has borne him no children, he shall
give her the amount of her purchase money and the dowry which she brought from her
father's house, and let her go.
141: If a man's wife, who lives in his house, wishes to leave it, plunges into debt [to go
into business], tries to ruin her house, neglects her husband, and is judicially convicted: if
her husband offer her release, she may go on her way, and he gives her nothing as a gift
of release. If her husband does not wish to release her, and if he take another wife, she
shall remain as servant in her husband's house.
142: If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial to me," the
reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on
her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall
take her dowry and go back to her father's house. (3)
143: If she is not innocent, but leaves her husband, and ruins her house, neglecting her
husband, this woman shall be cast into the water.
195: If a son strike his father, his hands shall be [cut] off. (4)
196: If a [noble-]man put out the eye of another [noble-]man, his eye shall be put
out. (5)
197: If he break another [noble-]man's bone, his bone shall be broken.
198: If he put out the eye of a [commoner], or break the bone of a [commoner], he shall
pay one [silver] mina.
199: If he put out the eye of a man's slave, or break the bone of a man's slave, he shall
pay one-half of its value.
200: If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
201: If he knock out the teeth of a [commoner], he shall pay one-third of a [silver] mina.
In future time, through all coming generations, let the king, who may be in the land,
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observe the words of righteousness which I have written on my monument; let him not
alter the law of the land which I have given, the edicts which I have enacted; my
monument let him not mar. If such a ruler have wisdom, and be able to keep his land in
order, he shall observe the words which I have written in this inscription; the rule, statute,
and law of the land which I have given; the decisions which I have made will this
inscription show him; let him rule his subjects accordingly, speak justice to them, give right
decisions, root out the miscreants and criminals from this land, and grant prosperity to his
subjects.
Hammurabi, the king of righteousness, on whom Shamash has conferred right (or law) am
I. My words are well considered; my deeds are not equaled; to bring low those that were
high; to humble the proud, to expel insolence.
Translated by L. W. King (1915), edited by Paul Brians.
Mesopotamian Marriage Contract
(Translator: J.J. Finkelstein)
Old Assyrian, 19th century B.C. Text: B. Hrozn, Inscriptions Cun‫י‬iformes du Kult‫י‬p‫( י‬Praha, 1952).
Transliteration and translation, Hrozn, in Symbolae Koschaker (Studia et Documenta II, 1939),
108ff. For bibliography of discussions cf. H. Hirsch,Orientalia, xxxv (1966), 259f[a]
Laqipum has married Hatala, daughter of Enishru. In the country (i.e., Central Anatolia)
Laqipum (5) may not marry another (woman)—(but) in the City (i.e., Ashur) he may marry
a hierodule.[1] If within two years she (i.e., Hatala) does not provide him with offspring,
(10) she herself will purchase a slavewoman, and later on, after she[2] will have
produced a child by him, (15) he may then dispose of her by sale wheresoever he
pleases. [3] Should Laqipum choose to divorce her (text: "him"), he must pay (her) five
minas of silver- (20) and should Hatala choose to divorce him, she must pay (him) five
minas of silver. Witnesses: Masa, Ashurishtikal, (25) Talia, Shupianika.
[1] Akk. qadi$tum, who, according to Middle Assyrian Laws § 40, may be married to
a free citizen, but her status would probably have been inferior to that of a "first"
wife under the circumstances envisaged in this contract.
[2] The translation assumes that the subject is the slavewoman, but it is equally
possible that Hatala is the subject, if the verb is rendered "provided" rather than
"produced," but the sense is not materially affected either way.
[3] The rendering is based on the fact that the pronoun and the verb are masculine,
but considering that the masculine is also used throughout in the following two
clauses, even when Hatala is clearly the object of the first and the second, it might
be presumed that she is the subject here also, which would configure better with
the fact that it is she who was to provide the slavewoman to begin with, and
presumably would also retain the right to sell her.
Ancient History Sourcebook:
Coffin Text: The Tale of Horus and the Pig, c. 1900 BCE
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Why the Egyptians did not eat pork.
O Batit of the evening, you swamp-dwellers, you of Mendes, ye of Buto, you of the shade of Re
which knows not praise, you who brew stoppered beer---do you know why Rekhyt [Lower Egypt]
was given to Horus? It was Re who gave it to him in recompense for the injury in his eye. It was
Re--he said to Horus: "Pray, let me see your eye since this has happened to it" [injured in the
fight with Seth]. Then Re saw it. Re said: "Pray, look at that injury in your eye, while your hand is
a covering over the good eye which is there." Then Horus looked at that injury. It assumed the
form of a black pig. Thereupon Horus shrieked because of the state of his eye, which was stormy
[inflamed]. Horus said: "Behold, my eye is as at that first blow which Seth made against my eye!"
Thereupon Horus swallowed his heart before him [lost consciousness]. Then Re said: "Put him
upon his bed until he has recovered." It was Seth---he has assumed form against him as a black
pig; thereupon he shot a blow into his eye. Then Re said: "The pig is an abomination to Horus."
"Would that he might recover," said the gods. That is how the pig became an abomination to the
gods, as well as men, for Horus' sake....
EXCERPTS FROM ANALECTS FOR WOMEN
By Song Ruozhao
Introduction
Confucius had very little to say about the roles and expectations of women in the family or in
society. Thus it was left for Confucian scholars to apply the principles enunciated by Confucius
and Mencius to the task of prescribing expectations and behavioral norms for women in a
Confucian family and a Confucian society. To these scholars also fell the task of justifying the
education of women and the task of laying forth the parameters and techniques for the education
of girls and women. Two of the most influential scholars in this area were women of the Tang
dynasty:
Song Ruohua and her sister, Song Ruozhao. Both were daughters of a high-ranking Tang official,
Song Fen. Ruohua wrote the text below, while her sister, Ruozhao, propagated it. Ruozhao did
not marry, but dedicated her life to the instruction of women, being invited to the court of the Tang
Dezong Emperor in the late eighth century to serve as instructor of the royal princesses. The
“Analects for Women” was one of the most popular texts for women’s education in pre-modern
China.
Document Excerpts with Questions (Longerselection follows this section)
From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd
ed., vol. 1 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 827-831. © 1999 Columbia University
Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
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Excerpts from Analects for Women
By Song Ruozhao
When walking, don’t turn your head; when talking, don’t open your mouth wide; when sitting, don’t
move your knees; when standing, don’t rustle your skirts; when happy, don’t exult with loud
laughter; when angry, don’t raise your voice. The inner and outer quarters are distinct; the sexes
should be segregated. Don’t peer over the outer wall or go beyond the outer courtyard. If you
have to go outside, cover your face; if you peep outside, conceal yourself as much as possible.
Do not be on familiar terms with men outside the family; have nothing to do with women of bad
character. Establish your proper self so as to become a [true] human being.
Your father‑ in‑ law and mother‑ in‑ law are the heads of your husband’s family. … You must
care for them as your own mother and father. Respectfully serve your father‑ in‑ law. Do not look
at him directly [when he speaks to you], do not follow him around, and do not engage him in
conversation. If he has an order for you, listen and obey.
…
Primary Source Document, with Questions (DBQ) on
EXCERPTS FROM ANALECTS FOR WOMEN, BY SONG RUOZHAO
Asia for Educators | Columbia University | http://afe.easia.columbia.edu Page 2 of 6
Listen carefully to and obey whatever your husband tells you.
Questions:
1. As you read these selections, what do they tell you about a woman’s
position in the family?
2. To what extent do you think that these prescriptions for women’s behavior
could be carried out in an upper-class household? In a poor farmer’s
household?
3. What might be the purpose of the rules concerning a daughter-in-law’s
behavior toward her father-in-law?
4. Why would an aristocratic woman teach other women these rules of
behavior?
If he [your husband] does something wrong, gently correct him. Don’t be like those women who
not only do not correct their husbands, but actually lead them into indecent ways. … Don’t imitate
those shrewish wives who love to clash head with their husbands all the time.
…
A woman who manages the household should be thrifty and diligent. If she is diligent, the
household thrives; if lazy, it declines. If she is thrifty, the household becomes enriched; if
extravagant, it becomes impoverished. … If your husband has money and rice, store and
conserve them. If he has wine or foodstuffs, save and keep them for use of guests when they
come; do not take any to indulge your own desires.
Questions:
5. What do these two passages suggest about the roles of women in the
family?
6. What do these two passages indicate about women’s roles which might lead
you to revise conclusions drawn solely on the passages concerning proper
comportment and obedience to husband and parents-in-law?
7. How do gender relations and women’s roles as described in all of the above
passages compare to those in your own, contemporary society? How do they compare to gender
relations and women’s roles in your society’s past?
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Twelve Tables – Ancient Rome
The earliest codification of Roman law is found in the Twelve Tables. It was a compilation of new
laws and existing customs which was to be enforced impartially by the magistrates. It was
inscribed ultimately on twelve bronze tablets.
Excerpts
Table I.
1. If anyone summons a man before the magistrate, he must go. If the man summoned
does not go, let the one summoning him call the bystanders to witness and then take him
by force.
2. If he shirks or runs away, let the summoner lay hands on him.
3. If illness or old age is the hindrance, let the summoner provide a team. He need not
provide a covered carriage with a pallet unless he chooses.
4. Let the protector of a landholder be a landholder; for one of the proletariat, let anyone
that cares, be protector.
6-9. When the litigants settle their case by compromise, let the magistrate announce it. If
they do not compromise, let them state each his own side of the case, in the comitium of
the forum before noon. Afterwards let them talk it out together, while both are present.
After noon, in case either party has failed to appear, let the magistrate pronounce
judgment in favor of the one who is present. If both are present the trial may last until
sunset but no later.
Table II.
2. He whose witness has failed to appear may summon him by loud calls before his house
every third day.
Table III.
1. One who has confessed a debt, or against whom judgment has been pronounced, shall
have thirty days to pay it in. After that forcible seizure of his person is allowed. The
creditor shall bring him before the magistrate. Unless he pays the amount of the judgment
or some one in the presence of the magistrate interferes in his behalf as protector the
creditor so shall take him home and fasten him in stocks or fetters. He shall fasten him
with not less than fifteen pounds of weight or, if he choose, with more. If the prisoner
choose, he may furnish his own food. If he does not, the creditor must give him a pound of
meal daily; if he choose he may give him more.
2. On the third market day let them divide his body among them. If they cut more or less
than each one's share it shall be no crime.
3. Against a foreigner the right in property shall be valid forever.
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Table IV.
1. A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed.
2. If a father sell his son three times, the son shall be free from his father.
3. As a man has provided in his will in regard to his money and the care of his property, so
let it be binding. If he has no heir and dies intestate, let the nearest agnate have the
inheritance. If there is no agnate, let the members of his gens have the inheritance.
4. If one is mad but has no guardian, the power over him and his money shall belong to his
agnates and the members of his gens.
5. A child born after ten months since the father's death will not be admitted into a legal
inheritance.
Table V.
1. Females should remain in guardianship even when they have attained their majority.
Table VI.
1. When one makes a bond and a conveyance of property, as he has made formal
declaration so let it be binding.
3. A beam that is built into a house or a vineyard trellis one may not take from its place.
5. Usucapio of movable things requires one year's possession for its completion;
but usucapio of an estate and buildings two years.
6. Any woman who does not wish to be subjected in this manner to the hand of her
husband should be absent three nights in succession every year, and so interrupt
the usucapio of each year.
Table VII.
1. Let them keep the road in order. If they have not paved it, a man may drive his team
where he likes.
9. Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the wind and lean over your
farm, you may take legal action for removal of that tree.
10. A man might gather up fruit that was falling down onto another man's farm.
Table VIII.
2. If one has maimed a limb and does not compromise with the injured person, let there be
retaliation. If one has broken a bone of a freeman with his hand or with a cudgel, let him
pay a penalty of three hundred coins If he has broken the bone of a slave, let him have one
hundred and fifty coins. If one is guilty of insult, the penalty shall be twenty-five coins.
3. If one is slain while committing theft by night, he is rightly slain.
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4. If a patron shall have devised any deceit against his client, let him be accursed.
5. If one shall permit himself to be summoned as a witness, or has been a weigher, if he
does not give his testimony, let him be noted as dishonest and incapable of acting again
as witness.
10. Any person who destroys by burning any building or heap of corn deposited alongside
a house shall be bound, scourged, and put to death by burning at the stake provided that
he has committed the said misdeed with malice aforethought; but if he shall have
committed it by accident, that is, by negligence, it is ordained that he repair the damage
or, if he be too poor to be competent for such punishment, he shall receive a lighter
punishment.
12. If the theft has been done by night, if the owner kills the thief, the thief shall be held to
be lawfully killed.
13. It is unlawful for a thief to be killed by day....unless he defends himself with a weapon;
even though he has come with a weapon, unless he shall use the weapon and fight back,
you shall not kill him. And even if he resists, first call out so that someone may hear and
come up.
23. A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from
the Tarpeian Rock.
26. No person shall hold meetings by night in the city.
Table IX.
4. The penalty shall be capital for a judge or arbiter legally appointed who has been found
guilty of receiving a bribe for giving a decision.
5. Treason: he who shall have roused up a public enemy or handed over a citizen to a
public enemy must suffer capital punishment.
6. Putting to death of any man, whosoever he might be unconvicted is forbidden.
Table X.
1. None is to bury or burn a corpse in the city.
3. The women shall not tear their faces nor wail on account of the funeral.
5. If one obtains a crown himself, or if his chattel does so because of his honor and valor,
if it is placed on his head, or the head of his parents, it shall be no crime.
Table XI.
1. Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians.
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Table XII.
2. If a slave shall have committed theft or done damage with his master"s knowledge, the
action for damages is in the slave's name.
5. Whatever the people had last ordained should be held as binding by law.
Source: From: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee:
University Research Extension Co., 1901), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 9-11.
Ancient History Sourcebook:
Seneca (b.4 BC/1 CE-d. 65 CE):
Epistles 7: The Gladiatorial Games - Rome
[Davis Introduction]
The following letter indicates how by the age of Nero cultured and elevated men were beginning
to revolt at the arena butcheries which still delighted the mob.
I turned in to the games one mid-day hoping for a little wit and humor there. I was bitterly
disappointed. It was really mere butchery. The morning's show was merciful compared to it. Then
men were thrown to lions and to bears: but at midday to the audience. There was no escape for
them. The slayer was kept fighting until he could be slain. "Kill him! flog him! burn him alive" was
the cry: "Why is he such a coward? Why won't he rush on the steel? Why does he fall so meekly?
Why won't he die willingly?" Unhappy that I am, how have I deserved that I must look on such a
scene as this? Do not, my Lucilius, attend the games, I pray you. Either you will be corrupted by
the multitude, or, if you show disgust, be hated by them. So stay away.
Source:
From: William Stearns Davis, ed., Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the
Sources, 2 Vols. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912-13), Vol. II: Rome and the West, pp. ??
Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton. Prof. Arkenberg has
modernized the text.
Medieval Sourcebook:
The Conversion of Clovis: 496
Davis Introduction: In 496 A.D. Chlodovocar (Clovis, or Louis), the founder of the Frankish power
which was to develop into modern France and Germany, was converted to Catholic Christianity
from heathenism. This was an event of high historical importance. If, like other Germanic kings,
he had become an Arian heretic, he would have been hopelessly estranged from his subject
Roman population. As it was, the Franks and the provincials coalesced as in none other of the
new barbarian kingdoms. The story of Chlodovocar's conversion, of course, gave the pious
chroniclers an opening for many edifying anecdotes.
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Chronicle of St. Denis:
Chlodovocar, King of the Franks
From The Chronicle of St. Denis, I.18-19, 23:
At this time the King was yet in the errors of his idolatry and went to war with the Alemanni, since
he wished to render them tributary. Long was the battle, many were slain on one side or the
other, for the Franks fought to win glory and renown, the Alemanni to save life and freedom.
When the King at length saw the slaughter of his people and the boldness of his foes, he had
greater expectation of disaster than of victory. He looked up to heaven humbly, and spoke thus:
"Most mighty God, whom my queen Clothilde worships and adores with heart and soul, I pledge
you perpetual service unto your faith, if only you give me now the victory over my enemies."
Instantly when he had said this, his men were filled with burning valor, and a great fear smote his
enemies, so that they turned their backs and fled the battle; and victory remained with the King
and with the Franks. The king of the Alemanni were slain; and as for the Alemanni, seeing
themselves discomfited, and that their king had fallen, they yielded themselves to Chlodovocar
and his Franks and became his tributaries.
The King returned after this victory into Frankland. He went to Rheims, and told the Queen what
had befallen; and they together gave thanks unto Our Lord. The King made his confession of faith
from his heart, and with right good will. The Queen, who was wondrously overjoyed at the
conversion of her lord, went at once to St. Remi, at that time archbishop of the city. Straightway
he hastened to the palace to teach the King the way by which he could come unto God, for his
mind was still in doubt about it. He presented himself boldly before his face, although a little while
before he [the bishop] had not dared to come before him.
When St. Remi had preached to the King the Christian faith and taught him the way of the Cross,
and when the king had known what the faith was, Chlodovocar promised fervently that he would
henceforth never serve any save the all-powerful God. After that he said he would put to the test
and try the hearts and wills of his chieftains and lesser people: for he would convert them more
easily if they were converted by pleasant means and by mild words, than if they were driven to it
by force; and this method seemed best to St. Remi. The folk and the chieftains were assembled
by the command of the King. He arose in the midst of them, and spoke to this effect: "Lords of the
Franks, it seems to me highly profitable that you should know first of all what are those gods
which you worship. For we are certain of their falsity: and we come right freely into the knowledge
of Him who is the true God. Know of a surety that this same God which I preach to you has given
victory over your enemies in the recent battle against the Alemanni. Lift, therefore, your hearts in
just hope; and ask the Sovereign Defender, that He give to you all, that which you desire---that
He save our souls and give us victory over our enemies." When the King full of faith had thus
preached to and admonished his people, one and all banished from their hearts all unbelief, and
recognized their Creator.
When shortly afterward Chlodovocar set out for the church for baptism, St. Remi prepared a great
procession. The streets of Rheims were hung with banners and tapestry. The church was
decorated. The baptistry was covered with balsams and all sorts of perfumes. The people
believed they were already breathing the delights of paradise. The cortege set out from the
palace, the clergy led the way bearing the holy Gospels, the cross and banners, chanting hymns
and psalms. Then came the bishop leading the King by the hand, next the Queen with the
multitude. Whilst on the way the King asked of the bishop, "If this was the Kingdom of Heaven
which he had promised him." "Not so," replied the prelate; "it is the road that leads to it."
When in the church, in the act of bestowing baptism the holy pontiff lifted his eyes to heaven in
silent prayer and wept. Straightway a dove, white as snow, descended bearing in his beak a vial
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of holy oil. A delicious odor exhaled from it: which intoxicated those near by with an inexpressible
delight. The holy bishop took the vial, and suddenly the dove vanished. Transported with joy at
the sight of this notable miracle, the King renounced Satan, his pomps and his works; and
demanded with earnestness the baptism; at the moment when he bent his head over the fountain
of life, the eloquent pontiff cried, "Bow down thine head, fierce Sicambrian! Adore that which once
thou hast burned: burn that which thou hast adored!"
After having made his profession of the orthodox faith, the King is plunged thrice in the waters of
baptism. Then in the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity---Father, Son, and Holy Ghost---the
prelate consecrated him with the divine unction. Two sisters of the king and 3000 fighting men of
the Franks and a great number of women and children were likewise baptized. Thus we many
well believe that day was a day of joy in heaven for the holy angels; likewise of rejoicing on earth
for devout and faithful men!
The King showed vast zeal for his new faith. He built a splendid church at Paris, called St.
Genevieve, where later he and Clothilde were buried. Faith and religion and zeal for justice were
pursued by him all the days of his life. Certain Franks still held to paganism, and found a leader in
Prince Ragnachairus but he was presently delivered up in fetters to Chlodovocar who put him to
death. Thus all the Frankish people were converted and baptized by the merits of St. Remi....
At this time there came to Chlodovocar messengers from Anastasius, the Emperor of
Constantinople, who brought him presents from their master, and letters whereof the effect was,
that it pleased the Emperor and the Senators that he [Chlodovocar] be made a "Friend of the
Emperor," and a "Patrician" and "Councilor" of the Romans. When the King had read these
letters, he arrayed himself in the robe of a senator, which the Emperor had sent to him. He
mounted upon his charger; and thus he went to the public square before the church of St. Martin;
and then he gave great gifts to the people. From this day he was always called "Councilor" and
"Augustus."
Medieval Sourcebook:
Chronica Regiae Coloniensis, s.a.1213
The "Children's Crusade", 1212
[Adapted from Brundage] Never in the thirteenth century was there to be a general coalition of
Western kings for a Crusade, as there had been in 1187. This was in part due, no doubt, to the
internal politics of thirteenth century Europe, in part to the gradual decline of the Crusading
movement itself. That the spirit of the Crusade was not dead is amply proved by the eight large
expeditions from various quarters of Europe during the thirteenth century. The survival of the
Crusading spirit during the century is further shown by the extraordinary movement in 1212 which
is known as the Children's Crusade. This expedition which, of course, was not a Crusade at all in
the strict sense of the term attracted thousands of children and young adults from northern
France and western Germany to its banners.
The "Crusade" was preached in France by a peasant boy named Stephen from a village near
Vendome. In Germany, a boy named Nicholas from Cologne started the movement . The sorry
business was summarized by a chronicler in these terms:
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In this year occurred an outstanding thing and one much to be marveled at, for it is unheard of
throughout the ages. About the time of Easter and Pentecost,4 without anyone having preached
or called for it and prompted by I know not what spirit, many thousands of boys, ranging in age
from six years to full maturity, left the plows or carts which they were driving, the flocks which they
were pasturing, and anything else which they were doing. This they did despite the wishes of their
parents, relatives, and friends who sought to make them draw back. Suddenly one ran after
another to take the cross. Thus, by groups of twenty, or fifty, or a hundred, they put up banners
and began to journey to Jerusalem. They were asked by many people on whose advice or at
whose urging they had set out upon this path. They were asked especially since only a few years
ago many kings, a great many dukes, and innumerable people in powerful companies had gone
there and had returned with the business unfinished. The present groups, morever, were still of
tender years and were neither strong enough nor powerful enough to do anything. Everyone,
therefore, accounted them foolish and imprudent for trying to do this. They briefly replied that they
were equal to the Divine will in this matter and that, whatever God might wish to do with them,
they would accept it willingly and with humble spirit. They thus made some little progress on their
journey. Some were turned back at Metz, others at Piacenza, and others even at Rome. Still
others got to Marseilles, but whether they crossed to the Holy Land or what their end was is
uncertain. One thing is sure: that of the many thousands who rose up, only very few returned.
Source:
Chronica Regiae Coloniensis Continuatio prima, s.a.1213, MGH SS XXIV 17-18, translated by
James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University
Press, 1962), 213
Copyright note: Professor Brundage informed the Medieval Sourcebook that copyright was not
renewed on this work. Moreover he gave permission for use of his translations.
Primary Sources Reader 2nd Semester
Charles de Montesquieu:
The Spirit of the Laws 1748, Excerpts
Montesquieu, [Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (16891755)], was an influential
French enlightenment political thinker. His Spirit of the Laws is his best known work. It is
in this work that he explains his theory of separation of powers and checks and balances,
ideas which powerfully influenced the American constitution.
In every government there are three sorts of power; the legislative; the executive, in
respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive, in regard to things
that depend on the civil law.
By virtue of the first, the prince or magistrate enacts temporary or perpetual laws, and
amends or abrogates those that have been already enacted. By the second, he makes
peace or war, sends or receives embassies; establishes the public security, and provides
against invasions. By the third, he punishes criminals, or determines the disputes that
arise between individuals. The latter we shall call the judiciary power, and the other simply
the executive power of the state.
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The political liberty of the subject is a tranquility of mind, arising from the opinion each
person has of his safety. In order to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so
constituted as one man need not be afraid of` another.
When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same
body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may anse, lest the
same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical
manner.
Again, there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and
executive powers. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject
would be exposed to arbitrary control, for the judge would then be the legislator. Were it
joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with all the violence of an
oppressor.
There would be an end of every thing were the same man, or the same body, whether of
the nobles or of the people to exercise those three powers that of enacting laws, that of
executing the public resolutions, and that of judging the crimes or differences of
individuals.
Most kingdoms in Europe enjoy a moderate government, because the prince, who is
invested with the two first powers, leaves the third to his subjects. In Turkey, where these
three powers are united in the sultan's person the subjects groan under the weight of a
most frightful oppression.
In the republics of Italy, where these three powers are united, there is less liberty than in
our monarchies. Hence their government is obliged to have recourse to as violent
methods for its support, as even that of the Turks witness the state inquisitors, and the
lion's mouth into which every informer may at all hours throw his written accusations.
What a situation must the poor subject be in, under those republics! The same body of
magistrates are possessed, as executors of the laws, of the whole power they have given
themselves in quality of legislators. They may plunder the state by their general
determinations; and as they have likewise the judiciary power in their hands, every private
citizen may be ruined by their particular decisions.
The whole power is here united in one body; and though there is no external pomp that
indicates a despotic sway, yet the people feel the effects of it every moment.
Hence it is that many of the princes of Europe, whose aim has been leveled at arbitrary
power, have constantly set out with uniting in their own persons, all the branches of
magistracy, and all the great offices of state.
From Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, translated by Thomas Nugent, (London: J.
Nourse, 1777)
Edited by Jennifer Brainard c. 2000-2003
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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the
ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of
the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural,
unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all
the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order
that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared
at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more
respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple
and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the
happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and
under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:
Articles:
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only
upon the general good.
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible
rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual
may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the
exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other
members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by
law.
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which
is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or
through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or
punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to
all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that
of their virtues and talents.
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7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the
forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed,
any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law
shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.
8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and
no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and
promulgated before the commission of the offense.
9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall
be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person
shall be severely repressed by law.
10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views,
provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of
man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be
responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These
forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those
to whom they shall be intrusted.
13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the
cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to
their means.
14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as
to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and
to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers
defined, has no constitution at all.
17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except
where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and
then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.
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Napoleon's Proclamation to His Troops in Italy (March-April 1796)
In 1796, Napoleon, then a young officer of 27 years of age, was given command of the French
army in Italy. In the Italian campaign, he demonstrated his genius for propaganda and
psychological warfare, as the following selections from his proclamation to his troops makes
clear.
[March 27, 1796]
Soldiers, you are naked, ill fed! The Government owes you much; it can give you nothing. Your
patience, the courage you display in the midst of these rocks, are admirable; but they procure you
no glory, no fame is reflected upon you. I seek to lead you into the most fertile plains in the world.
Rich provinces, great cities will be in your power. There you will find honor, glory, and riches.
Soldiers of Italy, would you be lacking in courage or constancy?
[April 26, 1796]
In a fortnight you have won six victories, taken twenty-one standards, fifty-five pieces
plains in the world. Rich provinces, great of artillery, several strong positions, and conquered the
richest part of Piedmont [a region in northern Italy]; you have captured 15,000 prisoners and killed
or wounded more than 10,000 men. . . .
You have won battles without cannon, crossed rivers without bridges, made forced marches
without shoes, camped without brandy and often without bread. Soldiers of liberty, only
republican phalanxes [infantry troops] could have endured what you have endured. Soldiers, you
have our thanks! The grateful Patrie [nation] will owe its prosperity to you. . . .
The two armies which but recently attacked you with audacity are fleeing before you in terror; the
wicked men who laughed at your misery and rejoiced at the thought of the triumphs of your
enemies are confounded and trembling.
But, soldiers, as yet you have done nothing compared with what remains to be done. . . .
. . . Undoubtedly the greatest obstacles have been overcome; but you still have battles to fight,
cities to capture, rivers to cross. Is there one among you whose courage is abating? No. . . . All
of you are consumed with a desire to extend the glory of the French people; all of you long to
humiliate those arrogant kings who dare to contemplate placing us in fetters; all of you desire to
dictate a glorious peace, one which will indemnify the Patrie for the immense sacrifices it has
made; all of you wish to be able to say with pride as you return to your villages, "I was with the
victorious army of Italy!"
Friends, I promise you this conquest; but there is one condition you must swear to fulfill—to
respect the people whom you liberate, to repress the horrible pillaging committed by scoundrels
incited by our enemies. Otherwise you would not be the liberators of the people; you would be
their scourge. . . . Plunderers will be shot without mercy; already, several have been. . . .
Peoples of Italy, the French army comes to break your chains; the French people is the friend of
all peoples; approach it with confidence; your property, your religion, and your customs will be
respected.
We are waging war as generous enemies, and we wish only to crush the tyrants who enslave
you.
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Children in the Industrial Revolution
For one or two minutes think about your lifestyle now. How you spend your time, what you eat
etc. Think about the number of times you have moaned about coming to school !! You are
probably unaware but there are many laws that are directly linked to children your age. Not so
much about what you can do but what you are not allowed to do. For example, did you know that
children are not allowed down coal mines ? Did you know that you are only allowed to work for a
certain number of hours per week at a certain age ?
Why were these laws brought in ? Read the following passages about children in the
C19………and you will begin to see why.
All the following passages are primary source evidence. This means that they came from people
living at the time. This does not necessarily mean that they are accurate but they do give us a
good idea of what life was like for children in the industrial cities of C19 Britain.
"Two children I know got employment in a factory when they were five years old………….the
spinning men or women employ children if they can get a child to do their business……..the child is
paid one shilling or one shilling and six pence, and they will take that (five year old) child before they
take an older one who will cost more." George Gould, a Manchester merchant, written in 1816.
"The smallest child in the factories were scavengers……they go under the machine, while it is
going……….it is very dangerous when they first come, but they become used to it."Charles
Aberdeen worked in a Manchester cotton factory, written in 1832.
"The task first allotted to Robert Blincoe was to pick up the loose cotton, that fell upon the floor.
Apparently nothing could be easier……..although he was much terrified by the whirling motion and
noise of the machinery and the dust with which he was half suffocated………he soon felt sick and
was constantly stooping; his back ached. Blincoe took the liberty to sit down. But this he soon found
was strictly forbidden in cotton mills. His overlooker, Mr. Smith, told him he must keep on his legs.
This he did for six and a half hours without a break." John Brown, a reporter for "The Lion".
Written in 1828.
"We went to the mill at five in the morning. We worked until dinner time and then to nine or ten at
night; on Saturday it could be till eleven and often till twelve at night. We were sent to clean the
machinery on the Sunday." Man interviewed in 1849 who had worked in a mill as a child.
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"In the evening I walked to Cromford and saw the children coming from their work. These children had
been at work from 6 o’clock in the morning and it was now 7 o’clock in the evening."Joseph
Farington, 22nd August 1801 (diary entry)
"I began work at the mill in Bradford when I was nine years old……we began at six in the morning and
worked until nine at night. When business was brisk, we began at five and worked until ten in the
evening." Hannah Brown, interviewed in 1832.
"Very often the children are woken at four in the morning. The children are carried on the backs of the
older children asleep to the mill, and they see no more of their parents till they go home at night and are
sent to bed." Richard Oastler, interviewed in 1832.
"Woodward and other overlookers used to beat me with pieces of thick leather straps made supple by oil,
and having an iron buckle at the end, drew blood almost every time it was applied." John Brown quoted
in the "Lion" newspaper in 1828.
"Sarah Golding was poorly and so she stopped her machine. James Birch, the overlooker, knocked her to
the floor. She got up as well as she could. He knocked her down again. Then she was carried to her
house.......she was found dead in her bed. There was another girl called Mary......she knocked her food
can to the floor. The master, Mr. Newton, kicked her and caused her to wear away till she died. There was
another, Caroline Thompson, who was beaten till she went out of her mind. The overlookers used to cut off
the hair of any girl caught talking to a lad. This head shaving was a dreadful punishment. We were more
afraid of it than any other punishment for girls are proud of their hair." An interview in 1849 with an
unknown woman who worked in a cotton factory as a child.
"When I was seven years old I went to work at Mr Marshall’s factory at Shrewsbury. If a child became
sleepy, the overlooker touches the child on the shoulder and says "come here". In the corner of the room
there is an iron cistern filled with water. He takes the boy by the legs and dips him in the cistern, and then
sends him back to work." Jonathan Downe interviewed in June 1832.
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"I have seen my master, Luke Taylor, with a horse whip standing outside the mill when the children have
come too late.........he lashed them all the way to the mill." John Fairbrother, an overlooker, interviewed
in 1819.
"I work at the silk mill. I am an overlooker and I have to superintend the children at the mill. Their strength
goes towards the evening and they get tired. I have been compelled to urge them to work when I knew they
could not bear it. I have been disgusted with myself. I felt myself degraded and reduced to the level of a
slave-driver. William Rastrick, interviewed in 1832.
The White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling 1899
Sometimes called the "anthem of imperialism" this poem expresses the feelings of responsibility
and paternalism which combined with greed and chauvinistic competition to form the
underpinnings of British imperialism. Edward Morel wrote a response, called the Black Man's
Burden.
Take up the White Man's burden-Send forth the best ye breed-Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild-Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half-devil and half-child.
Take up the White Man's Burden-In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain.
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To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden-The savage wars of peace-Fill full the mouth of famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to naught.
Take up the White Man's burden-No tawdry lie of kings.
But toil of serf and sweeper-The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead.
Take up the White Man's burden-And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard-The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:-" Why brought ye us from bondage,
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Our loved Egyptian night! "
Take up the White Man's burden-Ye dare not stoop to less-Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden-Have done with childish days-The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
Edward Morel, a British journalist in the Belgian Congo, drew attention to
the abuses of imperialism in 1903, in this response to Rudyard Kipling’s
poem, the White Man's Burden.
It is [the Africans] who carry the 'Black man's burden'. They have not withered away before the
white man's occupation. Indeed ... Africa has ultimately absorbed within itself every Caucasian
and, for that matter, every Semitic invader, too. In hewing out for himself a fixed abode in Africa,
the white man has massacred the African in heaps. The African has survived, and it is well for the
white settlers that he has....
What the partial occupation of his soil by the white man has failed to do; what the mapping out of
European political 'spheres of influence' has failed to do; what the Maxim and the rifle, the slave
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gang, labour in the bowels of the earth and the lash, have failed to do; what imported measles,
smallpox and syphilis have failed to do; whatever the overseas slave trade failed to do, the power
of modern capitalistic exploitation, assisted by modern engines of destruction, may yet succeed in
accomplishing.
For from the evils of the latter, scientifically applied and enforced, there is no escape for the
African. Its destructive effects are not spasmodic: they are permanent. In its permanence resides
its fatal consequences. It kills not the body merely, but the soul. It breaks the spirit. It attacks the
African at every turn, from every point of vantage. It wrecks his polity, uproots him from the land,
invades his family life, destroys his natural pursuits and occupations, claims his whole time,
enslaves him in his own home....
. . . In Africa, especially in tropical Africa, which a capitalistic imperialism threatens and has, in
part, already devastated, man is incapable of reacting against unnatural conditions. In those
regions man is engaged in a perpetual struggle against disease and an exhausting climate, which
tells heavily upon childbearing; and there is no scientific machinery for salving the weaker
members of the community. The African of the tropics is capable of tremendous physical labours.
But he cannot accommodate himself to the European system of monotonous, uninterrupted
labour, with its long and regular hours, involving, moreover, as it frequently does, severance from
natural surroundings and nostalgia, the condition of melancholy resulting from separation from
home, a malady to which the African is specially prone. Climatic conditions forbid it. When the
system is forced upon him, the tropical African droops and dies.
Nor is violent physical opposition to abuse and injustice henceforth possible for the African in any
part of Africa. His chances of effective resistance have been steadily dwindling with the
increasing perfectibility in the killing power of modern armament....
Thus the African is really helpless against the material gods of the white man, as embodied in the
trinity of imperialism, capitalistic exploitation, and militarism....
To reduce all the varied and picturesque and stimulating episodes in savage life to a dull routine
of endless toil for uncomprehended ends, to dislocate social ties and disrupt social institutions; to
stifle nascent desires and crush mental development; to graft upon primitive passions the
annihilating evils of scientific slavery, and the bestial imaginings of civilized man, unrestrained by
convention or law; in fine, to kill the soul in a people-this is a crime which transcends physical
murder.
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Telegrams Between Wilhelm, Kaiser of Germany and Nicholas II, Tsar of
Russia on the eve of World War I
Tsar to Kaiser
29 July 1914, 1 a.m.
Peter's Court Palais, 29 July 1914
Sa Majesté l'Empereur
Neues Palais
Am glad you are back. In this serious moment, I appeal to you to help me. An ignoble war has
been declared to a weak country. The indignation in Russia shared fully by me is enormous. I
foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to
take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a European
war I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going
too far.
Kaiser to Tsar
29 July 1914, 1.45 a.m. (this and the previous telegraph crossed)
28 July 1914
It is with the gravest concern that I hear of the impression which the action of Austria against
Serbia is creating in your country.
The unscrupulous agitation that has been going on in Serbia for years has resulted in the
outrageous crime, to which Archduke Francis Ferdinand fell a victim. The spirit that led Serbians
to murder their own king and his wife still dominates the country.
You will doubtless agree with me that we both, you and me, have a common interest as well as
all Sovereigns to insist that all the persons morally responsible for the dastardly murder should
receive their deserved punishment. In this case politics plays no part at all.
On the other hand, I fully understand how difficult it is for you and your Government to face the
drift of your public opinion. Therefore, with regard to the hearty and tender friendship which binds
us both from long ago with firm ties, I am exerting my utmost influence to induce the Austrians to
deal straightly to arrive to a satisfactory understanding with you. I confidently hope that you will
help me in my efforts to smooth over difficulties that may still arise.
Your very sincere and devoted friend and cousin
Willy
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Kaiser to Tsar
29 July 1914, 6.30 p.m.
Berlin, 29 July 1914
I received your telegram and share your wish that peace should be maintained.
But as I told you in my first telegram, I cannot consider Austria's action against Servia an
"ignoble" war. Austria knows by experience that Servian promises ono paper are wholly
unreliable. I understand its action must be judged as trending to get full guarantee that the
Servian promises shall become real facts. This my reasoning is borne out by the statement of the
Austrian cabinet that Austria does not want to make any territorial conquests at the expense of
Servia.
I therefore suggest that it would be quite possible for Russia to remain a spectator of the austroservian conflict without involving Europe in the most horrible war she ever witnessed. I think a
direct understanding between your Government and Vienna possible and desirable, and as I
already telegraphed to you, my Government is continuing its exercises to promote it.
Of course military measures on the part of Russia would be looked upon by Austria as a calamity
we both wish to avoid and jeopardize my position as mediator which I readily accepted on your
appeal to my friendship and my help.
Willy
Tsar to Kaiser
29 July 1914, 8.20 p.m.
Peter's Court Palace, 29 July 1914
Thanks for your telegram conciliatory and friendly. Whereas official message presented today by
your ambassador to my minister was conveyed in a very different tone. Beg you to explain this
divergency! It would be right to give over the Austro-servian problem to the Hague conference.
Trust in your wisdom and friendship.
Your loving Nicky
Tsar to Kaiser
30 July 1914, 1.20 a.m.
Peter's Court Palais, 30 July 1914
Thank you heartily for your quick answer. Am sending Tatischev this evening with instructions.
The military measures which have now come into force were decided five days ago for reasons of
defence on account of Austria's preparations.
I hope from all my heart that these measures won't in any way interfere with your part as mediator
which I greatly value. We need your strong pressure on Austria to come to an understanding with
us.
Nicky
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Kaiser to Tsar
30 July 1914, 1.20 a.m.
Berlin, 30. July 1914
Best thanks for telegram. It is quite out of the question that my ambassadors language could
have been in contradiction with the tenor of my telegram. Count Pourtalès was instructed to draw
the attention of your government to the danger & grave consequences involved by a mobilisation;
I said the same in my telegram to you. Austria has only mobilised against Servia & only a part of
her army. If, as it is now the case, according to the communication by you & your Government,
Russia mobilises against Austria, my rôle as mediator you kindly intrusted me with, & which I
accepted at you[r] express prayer, will be endangered if not ruined. The whole weight of the
decision lies solely on you[r] shoulders now, who have to bear the responsibility for Peace or
War.
Willy
Kaiser to Tsar
31 July 1914
Berlin, 31. July 1914
On your appeal to my friendship and your call for assistance began to mediate between your and
the austro-hungarian Government. While this action was proceeding your troops were mobilised
against Austro-Hungary, my ally. thereby, as I have already pointed out to you, my mediation has
been made almost illusory.
I have nevertheless continued my action.
I now receive authentic news of serious preparations for war on my Eastern frontier.
Responsibility for the safety of my empire forces preventive measures of defence upon me. In my
endeavours to maintain the peace of the world I have gone to the utmost limit possible. The
responsibility for the disaster which is now threatening the whole civilized world will not be laid at
my door. In this moment it still lies in your power to avert it. Nobody is threatening the honour or
power of Russia who can well afford to await the result of my mediation. My friendship for you
and your empire, transmitted to me by my grandfather on his deathbed has always been sacred
to me and I have honestly often backed up Russia when she was in serious trouble especially in
her last war.
The peace of Europe may still be maintained by you, if Russia will agree to stop the milit.
measures which must threaten Germany and Austro-Hungary.
Willy
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Tsar to Kaiser
31 July 1914 (this and the previous telegram crossed)
Petersburg, Palace, 31 July 1914
Sa Majesté l'Empereur, Neues Palais
I thank you heartily for your mediation which begins to give one hope that all may yet end
peacefully.
It is technically impossible to stop our military preparations which were obligatory owing to
Austria's mobilisation. We are far from wishing war. As long as the negotiations with Austria on
Servia's account are taking place my troops shall not make any provocative action. I give you my
solemn word for this. I put all my trust in Gods mercy and hope in your successful mediation in
Vienna for the welfare of our countries and for the peace of Europe.
Your affectionate
Nicky
Tsar to Kaiser
1 August 1914
Peter's Court, Palace, 1 August 1914
Sa Majesté l'Empereur
Berlin
I received your telegram. Understand you are obliged to mobilise but wish to have the same
guarantee from you as I gave you, that these measures do not mean war and that we shall
continue negotiating for the benefit of our countries and universal peace deal to all our hearts.
Our long proved friendship must succeed, with God's help, in avoiding bloodshed. Anxiously, full
of confidence await your answer.
Nicky
Kaiser to Tsar
1 August, 1914
Berlin, 1 August 1914
Thanks for your telegram. I yesterday pointed out to your government the way by which alone war
may be avoided.
Although I requested an answer for noon today, no telegram from my ambassador conveying an
answer from your Government has reached me as yet. I therefore have been obliged to mobilise
my army.
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Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to
avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of
your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediatly [sic] order your troops on no
account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers.
Willy
Life in the Warsaw Ghetto
Life in the Warsaw Ghetto, Emanuel Ringelblum quoted in Yad Vashem Documents on the
Holocaust, pp 228-229:
Smuggling began at the very moment that the Jewish area of residence was established; its
inhabitants were forced to live on 180 grams of bread a day, 220 grams of sugar a month, 1 kg. of
jam and 1 kg. of honey, etc. It was calculated that the officially supplied rations did not cover even
10 percent of the normal requirements. If one had wanted really to restrict oneself to the official
rations then the entire population of the ghetto would have had to die of hunger in a very short
time....
The German authorities did everything to seal off the ghetto hermetically and not to allow in a
single gram of food. A wall was put up around the ghetto on all sides that did not leave a single
millimeter of open space....
They fixed barbed wire and broken glass to the top of the wall. When that failed to help, the
Judenrat was ordered to make the wall higher, at the expense of the Jews, of course....
Several kinds of guards were appointed for the walls and the passages through them; the
categories of guards were constantly being changed and their numbers increased. The walls
were guarded by the gendarmerie together with the Polish police; at the ghetto wall there were
gendarmerie post, Polish police and Jewish police...The victims of the smuggling were mainly
Jews, but they were not lacking either among the Aryans (Poles). Auerswald, too, employed
sharply repressive measures to stop the smuggling. Several times smugglers were shot at the
central lock-up on Gesiowka Street. Once there was a veritable slaughter (100 persons were shot
near Warsaw). Among the Jewish victims of the smuggling there were tens of Jewish children
between 5 and 6 years old, whom the German killers shot in great numbers near the passages
and at the walls....
And despite that, without paying attention to the victims, the smuggling never stopped for a
moment. When the street was still slippery with the blood that had been spilled, other smugglers
already set out, as soon as the "candles" had signaled that the way was clear, to carry on with the
work....
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Testimonies of Treblinka SS-Men
All of the documents on this Web page were retrieved from the archives of Shamash: The Jewish
Internet Consortium. The comments inside the square [ . . . ] brackets were written by Daniel
Keren for the Shamash archives.
Testimony of Treblinka's second commandant, Stangl.
Quoted in "BELZEC, SOBIBOR, TREBLINKA - the Operation Reinhard Death Camps", Indiana
University Press - Yitzhak Arad, 1987, p. 184:
Michel [the sergeant-major of the camp] told me later that Wirth suddenly appeared, looked
around on the gas chambers on which they were still working, and said: 'right, we'll try it out right
now with those twenty-five working Jews. Get them up here'. They marched our twenty-five Jews
up there and just pushed them in and gassed them. Michel said Wirth behaved like a lunatic,
hitting at his own staff with his whip to drive them on...
Willi Mentz testifies about his days in Treblinka.
Quoted in 'The Good Old Days' - E. Klee, W. Dressen, V. Riess, The Free Press, NY, 1988., p.
245-247:
When I came to Treblinka the camp commandant was a doctor named Dr. Eberl. He was very
ambitious. It was said that he ordered more transports than could be "processed" in the camp.
That meant that trains had to wait outside the camp because the occupants of the previous
transport had not yet all been killed. At the time it was very hot and as a result of the long wait
inside the transport trains in the intense heat many people died. At the time whole mountains of
bodies lay on the platform. The Hauptsturmfuehrer Christian Wirth came to Treblinka and kicked
up a terrific row. And then one day Dr. Eberl was no longer there...
For about two months I worked in the upper section of the camp and then after Eberl had gone
everything in the camp was reorganized. The two parts of the camp were separated by barbed
wire fences. Pine branches were used so that you could not see through the fences. The same
thing was done along the route from the "transfer" area to the gas chambers...
Finally, new and larger gas chambers were built. I think that there were now five or six larger gas
chambers. I cannot say exactly how many people these large gas chambers held. If the small gas
chambers could hold 80-100 people, the large ones could probably hold twice that number...
Following the arrival of a transport, six to eight cars would be shunted into the camp, coming to a
halt at the platform there. The commandant, his deputy Franz, Kuettner and Stadie or Maetzig
would be here waiting as the transport came in. Further SS members were also present to
supervise the unloading: for example, Genz and Belitz had to make absolutely sure that there
was no one left in the car after the occupants had been ordered to get out.
When the Jews had got off, Stadie or Maetzig would have a short word with them. They were told
something to the effect that they were a resettlement transport, that they would be given a bath
and that they would receive new clothes. They were also instructed to maintain quiet and
disciplined. They would continue their journey the following day.
Then the transports were taken off to the so-called "transfer" area. The women had to undress in
huts and the men out in the open. The women were than led through a passageway, known as
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the "tube", to the gas chambers. On the way they had to pass a hut where they had to hand in
their jewelery and valuables.
Kurt Franz testifies on his days in Treblinka.
Quoted in 'The Good Old Days' - E. Klee, W. Dressen, V. Riess, The Free Press, NY, 1988., p.
247-249:
I cannot say how many Jews in total were gassed in Treblinka. On average each day a large train
arrived. Sometimes there were even two. This however was not so common.
In Treblinka I was commander of the Ukrainian guard unit as I had been in Belzec. In Treblinka as
in Belzec the unit consisted of sixty to eighty men. The Ukrainians' main task was to man the
guard posts around the camp perimeter. After the uprising in August 1943 I ran the camp more or
less single-handedly for a month; however, during that period no gassings were undertaken.
It was during that period that the original camp was demolished. Everything was leveled off off
and lupins were planted...
Testimony of SS Oberscharfuehrer Heinrich Matthes about Treblinka.
Quoted in "BELZEC, SOBIBOR, TREBLINKA - the Operation Reinhard Death Camps", Indiana
University Press - Yitzhak Arad, 1987, p. 121:
During the entire time I was in Treblinka, I served in the upper camp. The upper camp was that
part of Treblinka with the gas chambers, where the Jews were killed and their corpses laid in
large pits and later burned.
About fourteen Germans carried out services in the upper camp. There were two Ukrainians
permanently in the upper camp. One of them was called Nikolai, the other was a short man, I
don't remember his name... These two Ukrainians who lived in the upper camp served in the gas
chambers. They also took care of the engine room when Fritz Schmidt was absent. Usually this
Schmidt was in charge of the engine room. In my opinion, as a civilian he was either a mechanic
or a driver...
All together, six gas chambers were active. According to my estimate, about 300 people could
enter each gas chamber. The people went into the gas chamber without resistance. Those who
were at the end, the Ukrainian guards had to push inside. I personally saw how the Ukrainians
pushed the people with their rifle butts...
The gas chambers were closed for about thirty minutes. Then Schmidt stopped the gassing, and
the two Ukrainians who were in the engine room opened the gas chambers from the other side.
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Modern History Sourcebook:
Winston S. Churchill:
"Iron Curtain Speech", March 5, 1946
Winston Churchill gave this speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri, after receiving an
honorary degree. With typical oratorical skills, Church introduced the phrase "Iron Curtain" to
describe the division between Western powers and the area controlled by the Soviet Union. As
such the speech marks the onset of the Cold War. The speech was very long, and here excerpts
are presented.
The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. It is a solemn moment for
the American democracy. For with this primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring
accountability to the future. As you look around you, you must feel not only the sense of duty
done, but also you must feel anxiety lest you fall below the level of achievement. Opportunity is
here now, clear and shining, for both our countries. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will
bring upon us all the long reproaches of the aftertime. It is necessary that constancy of mind,
persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decision shall rule and guide the conduct of
the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. We must, and I believe we shall, prove
ourselves equal to this severe requirement. I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant
Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin. There is deep sympathy and
goodwill in Britain -- and I doubt not here also -- toward the peoples of all the Russias and a
resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. It is
my duty, however, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe. From
Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.
Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw,
Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form
or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure
of control from Moscow. The safety of the world, ladies and gentlemen, requires a unity in
Europe, from which no nation should be permanently outcast. It is from the quarrels of the strong
parent races in Europe that the world wars we have witnessed, or which occurred in former times,
have sprung. Twice the United States has had to send several millions of its young men across
the Atlantic to fight the wars. But now we all can find any nation, wherever it may dwell, between
dusk and dawn. Surely we should work with conscious purpose for a grand pacification of Europe
within the structure of the United Nations and in accordance with our Charter. In a great number
of countries, far from the Russian frontiers and throughout the world, Communist fifth columns are
established and work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directions they receive
from the Communist center. Except in the British Commonwealth and in the United States where
Communism is in its infancy, the Communist parties or fifth columns constitute a growing
challenge and peril to Christian civilization. The outlook is also anxious in the Far East and
especially in Manchuria. The agreement which was made at Yalta, to which I was a party, was
extremely favorable to Soviet Russia, but it was made at a time when no one could say that the
German war might not extend all through the summer and autumn of 1945 and when the
Japanese war was expected by the best judges to last for a further eighteen months from the end
of the German war. I repulse the idea that a new war is inevitable -- still more that it is imminent. It
is because I am sure that our fortunes are still in our own hands and that we hold the power to
save the future, that I feel the duty to speak out now that I have the occasion and the opportunity
to do so. I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and
the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines. But what we have to consider here today
while time remains, is the permanent prevention of war and the establishment of conditions of
freedom and democracy as rapidly as possible in all countries. Our difficulties and dangers will
not be removed by closing our eyes to them. They will not be removed by mere waiting to see
what happens; nor will they be removed by a policy of appeasement. What is needed is a
settlement, and the longer this is delayed, the more difficult it will be and the greater our dangers
will become. From what I have seen of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I am
convinced that there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which
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they have less respect than for weakness, especially military weakness. For that reason the old
doctrine of a balance of power is unsound. We cannot afford, if we can help it, to work on narrow
margins, offering temptations to a trial of strength. Last time I saw it all coming and I cried aloud
to my own fellow countrymen and to the world, but no one paid any attention. Up till the year 1933
or even 1935, Germany might have been saved from the awful fate which has overtaken her and
we might all have been spared the miseries Hitler let loose upon mankind. There never was a war
in history easier to prevent by timely action than the one which has just desolated such great
areas of the globe. It could have been prevented, in my belief, without the firing of a single shot,
and Germany might be powerful, prosperous and honored today; but no one would listen and one
by one we were all sucked into the awful whirlpool. We must not let it happen again. This can only
be achieved by reaching now, in 1946, a good understanding on all points with Russia under the
general authority of the United Nations Organization and by the maintenance of that good
understanding through many peaceful years, by the whole strength of the English-speaking world
and all its connections. If the population of the English-speaking Commonwealth be added to that
of the United States, with all that such cooperation implies in the air, on the sea, all over the
globe, and in science and in industry, and in moral force, there will be no quivering, precarious
balance of power to offer its temptation to ambition or adventure. On the contrary there will be an
overwhelming assurance of security. If we adhere faithfully to the Charter of the United Nations
and walk forward in sedate and sober strength, seeking no one's land or treasure, seeking to lay
no arbitrary control upon the thoughts of men, if all British moral and material forces and
convictions are joined with your own in fraternal association, the high roads of the future will be
clear, not only for us but for all, not only for our time but for a century to come. Winston Churchill March 5, 1946
AP 'napalm girl' photo from
Vietnam War turns 40
In the picture, the girl will always be
9 years old and wailing "Too hot!
Too hot!" as she runs down the road
away from her burning Vietnamese
village.
She will always be naked after blobs
of sticky napalm melted through her
clothes and layers of skin like jellied
lava.
She will always be a victim without a
name.
It only took a second for Associated
Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years
ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe,
helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.
But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It's the tale of a dying child brought together by
chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would be both
her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life's plan for her.
"I really wanted to escape from that little girl," says Kim Phuc, now 49. "But it seems to me that
the picture didn't let me go."
____
It was June 8, 1972, when Phuc heard the soldier's scream: "We have to run out of this place!
They will bomb here, and we will be dead!"
Seconds later, she saw the tails of yellow and purple smoke bombs curling around the Cao Dai
temple where her family had sheltered for three days, as north and south Vietnamese forces
fought for control of their village.
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The little girl heard a roar overhead and twisted her neck to look up. As the South Vietnamese
Skyraider plane grew fatter and louder, it swooped down toward her, dropping canisters like
tumbling eggs flipping end over end.
"Ba-boom! Ba-boom!"
The ground rocked. Then the heat of a hundred furnaces exploded as orange flames spit in all
directions.
Fire danced up Phuc's left arm. The threads of her cotton clothes evaporated on contact. Trees
became angry torches. Searing pain bit through skin and muscle.
"I will be ugly, and I'm not normal anymore," she thought, as her right hand brushed furiously
across her blistering arm. "People will see me in a different way."
In shock, she sprinted down Highway 1 behind her older brother. She didn't see the foreign
journalists gathered as she ran toward them, screaming.
Then, she lost consciousness.
___
Ut, the 21-year-old Vietnamese photographer who took the picture, drove Phuc to a small
hospital. There, he was told the child was too far gone to help. But he flashed his American press
badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten.
"I cried when I saw her running," said Ut, whose older brother was killed on assignment with the
AP in the southern Mekong Delta. "If I don't help her — if something happened and she died — I
think I'd kill myself after that."
Back at the office in what was then U.S.-backed Saigon, he developed his film. When the image
of the naked little girl emerged, everyone feared it would be rejected because of the news
agency's strict policy against nudity.
But veteran Vietnam photo editor Horst Faas took one look and knew it was a shot made to break
the rules. He argued the photo's news value far outweighed any other concerns, and he won.
A couple of days after the image shocked the world, another journalist found out the little girl had
somehow survived the attack. Christopher Wain, a correspondent for the British Independent
Television Network who had given Phuc water from his canteen and drizzled it down her burning
back at the scene, fought to have her transferred to the American-run Barsky unit. It was the only
facility in Saigon equipped to deal with her severe injuries.
"I had no idea where I was or what happened to me," she said. "I woke up and I was in the
hospital with so much pain, and then the nurses were around me. I woke up with a terrible fear."
Thirty percent of Phuc's tiny body was scorched raw by third-degree burns, though her face
somehow remained untouched. Over time, her melted flesh began to heal.
"Every morning at 8 o'clock, the nurses put me in the burn bath to cut all my dead skin off," she
said. "I just cried and when I could not stand it any longer, I just passed out."
After multiple skin grafts and surgeries, Phuc was finally allowed to leave, 13 months after the
bombing. She had seen Ut's photo, which by then had won the Pulitzer Prize, but she was still
unaware of its reach and power.
She just wanted to go home and be a child again.
___
For a while, life did go somewhat back to normal. The photo was famous, but Phuc largely
remained unknown except to those living in her tiny village near the Cambodian border. Ut and a
few other journalists sometimes visited her, but that stopped after northern communist forces
seized control of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975, ending the war.
Life under the new regime became tough. Medical treatment and painkillers were expensive and
hard to find for the teenager, who still suffered extreme headaches and pain.
She worked hard and was accepted into medical school to pursue her dream of becoming a
doctor. But all that ended once the new communist leaders realized the propaganda value of the
'napalm girl' in the photo.
She was forced to quit college and return to her home province, where she was trotted out to
meet foreign journalists. The visits were monitored and controlled, her words scripted. She smiled
and played her role, but the rage inside began to build and consume her.
"I wanted to escape that picture," she said. "I got burned by napalm, and I became a victim of war
... but growing up then, I became another kind of victim."
She turned to Cao Dai, her Vietnamese religion, for answers. But they didn't come.
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"My heart was exactly like a black coffee cup," she said. "I wished I died in that attack with my
cousin, with my south Vietnamese soldiers. I wish I died at that time so I won't suffer like that
anymore ... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and
bitterness."
One day, while visiting a library, Phuc found a Bible. For the first time, she started believing her
life had a plan.
Then suddenly, once again, the photo that had given her unwanted fame brought opportunity.
She traveled to West Germany in 1982 for medical care with the help of a foreign journalist. Later,
Vietnam's prime minister, also touched by her story, made arrangements for her to study in Cuba.
She was finally free from the minders and reporters hounding her at home, but her life was far
from normal. Ut, then working at the AP in Los Angeles, traveled to meet her in 1989, but they
never had a moment alone. There was no way for him to know she desperately wanted his help
again.
"I knew in my dream that one day Uncle Ut could help me to have freedom," said Phuc, referring
to him by an affectionate Vietnamese term. "But I was in Cuba. I was really disappointed because
I couldn't contact with him. I couldn't do anything."
___
While at school, Phuc met a young Vietnamese man. She had never believed anyone would ever
want her because of the ugly patchwork of scars that banded across her back and pitted her arm,
but Bui Huy Toan seemed to love her more because of them.
The two decided to marry in 1992 and honeymoon in Moscow. On the flight back to Cuba, the
newlyweds defected during a refueling stop in Canada. She was free.
Phuc contacted Ut to share the news, and he encouraged her to tell her story to the world. But
she was done giving interviews and posing for photos.
"I have a husband and a new life and want to be normal like everyone else," she said.
The media eventually found Phuc living near Toronto, and she decided she needed to take
control of her story. A book was written in 1999 and a documentary came out, at last the way she
wanted it told. She was asked to become a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador to help victims of war.
She and Ut have since reunited many times to tell their story, even traveling to London to meet
the Queen.
"Today, I'm so happy I helped Kim," said Ut, who still works for AP and recently returned to Trang
Bang village. "I call her my daughter."
After four decades, Phuc, now a mother of two sons, can finally look at the picture of herself
running naked and understand why it remains so powerful. It had saved her, tested her and
ultimately freed her.
"Most of the people, they know my picture but there's very few that know about my life," she said.
"I'm so thankful that ... I can accept the picture as a powerful gift. Then it is my choice. Then I can
work with it for peace."
President Reagan's Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate
Description
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered a major speech on the Cold War with the
Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall as a back drop. In staging this speech, President Reagan
hoped to draw a parallel with the historic speech delivered in Berlin by President John F.
Kennedy in July 1963. It was in this speech that President Kennedy spoke the famous phrase:
"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take
pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner." In Reagan's speech, he recalls this famous speech and
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added his own historic phrase—in particular the phrase "Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev,
open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Source
Ronald Reagan, "Remarks on East-West Relations," speech, Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin,
German Democratic Republic, June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Public
Papers, Reagan Library(accessed May 15, 2008).
...
We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of
freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in
this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the
Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer, Paul Lincke,
understood something about American Presidents. You see, like so many Presidents before me, I
come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: "Ich hab noch einen koffer in Berlin." [I
still have a suitcase in Berlin.]
Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America. I
understand that it is being seen and heard as well in the East. To those listening throughout
Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest greetings and the good will of the American people. To
those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my
remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me. For I join you, as I join your
fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin. [There is
only one Berlin.]
...
And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance
of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some
political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being
jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from
state control. Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they
token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system
without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and
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security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world
peace.
There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance
dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if
you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come
here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
...
As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed
words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, "This wall will fall.
Beliefs become reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it
cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.
President Bush’s Speech from 9/11/2001
February 10, 2012
On September 11, 2001, at 8:30pm, after returning to the White House, President Bush gave the
following speech. It was in response to the events that happened on that day. He confirms that
he believes the attacks were done by terrorists and that he is taking the necessary actions to
protect our nation from any further attacks. He tried to reassure the nation that we will be strong
and defend our country. He asks people to pray for the lost and for their families. He wants
everyone to come together.
I have included this speech because it’s important to know how the president reacted on that
day. President Bush had to make a very hard decision following the attacks of 9/11. He had to
defend our country by declaring war against terrorism. I think it showed that the president was
upset, a little nervous, but willing to do whatever was necessary to protect our country.
Good evening.
Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of
deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries,
business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.
Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of
airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge — huge structures collapsing have filled us with
disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were
intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the
foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts
shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack
because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will
keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil — the very worst of human nature — and
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we responded with the best of America. With the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for
strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response
plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York
City and Washington D.C. to help with local rescue efforts. Our first priority is to get help to those
who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around
the world from further attacks. The functions of our government continue without interruption.
Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential
personnel tonight and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong,
and the American economy will be open for business as well.
The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts. I have directed the full
resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to
bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these
acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning
these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have
called to offer their condolences and assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all
those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against
terrorism.
Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been
shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be
comforted by a Power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me.
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.
America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget
this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night. And God bless America.
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