There is one other special provision of the Constitution, which I have
reserved to this stage, not so much from its superior importance, but
because it fitly stands by itself. This alone, if practically applied,
would carry Freedom to all within its influence. It is an amendment
proposed by the First Congress, as follows:
"No _person_ shall be deprived of life, _liberty_, or property,
_without due process of law_."
Under this great aegis the liberty of every person within the national
jurisdiction is unequivocally placed. I say every person. Of this there
can be no question. The word "person" in the Constitution embraces every
human being within its sphere, whether Caucasian, Indian, or African,
from the president to the slave. Show me a person within the national
jurisdiction, and I confidently claim for him this protection, no matter
what his condition or race or color. The natural meaning of the clause
is clear, but a single fact of its history places it in the broad light
of noon.
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