 The University of Vermont is the direct product of the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence was little more than a year old when the constitution of this state was adopted. It established a commonwealth founded on equality, freedom, the protection of property, education, and piety. They believed that people should rule because they believed the best should rule. It was their purpose to secure this by education and enlightenment, so it happened that this university was chartered in 1791 for the people. The experience which the founders of this institution lived out, the people of the present must think out. Life is not an exact science. In ethics, civics, economics, and politics, all the facts are not known. For dealing with these questions, we need colleges of the liberal arts to learn the process for discovering truth, to understand and comprehend the meaning of current events and recent history, and so understanding help interpret it wisely for the public benefit. There was never greater need than at the present hour. In this change that has marked all people, we have not remained unchanged. The teachings of the university are plain. Go forward in the line of duty, small or great, seeking the enlightenment of education, surpassing the hopes of the past, ensuring liberty by accepting responsibility, and conscious that from doing comes the power to do more.