Across the plains of America.
But in their hearts the slaves believed him, too,
Now its the U.S.A.
And the way to build America.
WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS--
Out oflabor-white hands and black hands-
All these hands made America.
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
Came the marts and markets, shops and stores,
Shipped the wide world over:
And the cotton that clothed America.
Indentured hands, adventurous hands,
Turning the rich soil went the plow in many hands
Now its Manhattan, Chicago,
Ax handles, hammer handles,
And the towns that grew cities.
Free hands and slave hands,
Now it is Me here, and You there.
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL--
Labor! Out of labor came the rowboats
Came the mighty products moulded, manufactured,
Down into the earth went the plow
Sold in shops, piled in warehouses,
AMONG THESE LIFE, LIBERTY
Held the plow handles,
That planted and harvested the food that fed
A long time ago, but not too long ago, a man said:
Crack went the whips that drove the horses
Covered wagons, stage coaches,
In the free hands and the slave hands,
That moved and transported America.
Splash into the rivers and the seas went the boat-hulls
Launched the boats and whipped the horses
That hewed and shaped the rooftops of America.
Seattle, New Orleans,
Labor! Out of labor came villages
His name was Jefferson. There were slaves then,
Came the foundries, came the railroads.
That fed and housed and moved America.
Boston and El Paso-
White hands and black hands
Came the dream, the strength, the will,
ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR
Came the wagons, and the coaches,
Clang against the trees went the ax into many hands
In indentured hands and adventurous hands,
And the sailboats and the steamboats,
Out of labor came the factories,
Thus together through labor,
