"Its constitution the glittering and sounding generalities of natural right which make up the Declaration of Independence."

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Added on April 10, 2026
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1776Founding Fathers of the United States of AmericaHistorical documentsUnited Kingdom–United States relations
Original Language: English

Sources

Rufus Choate, Letter to the Maine Whig Committee (1856). Six years earlier, Choate gave a lecture in Providence which was reviewed by Franklin J. Dickman in the Journal of December 14, 1849. Unless Choate used the words "glittering generalities", and Dickman made reference to them, it would seem as if Dickman must have the credit of originating the catchword. Dickman wrote: "We fear that the glittering generalities of the speaker have left an impression more delightful than permanent". Reported