In the critical World War II year of 1944 a huge "I Am an American Day" ceremony was held in Central Park, New York City, on 21 May. Many thousands of people were present, including many new citizens. The speaker was Learned Hand, whose long tenure on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals had made him the best known judge who was not sitting on the Supreme Court. His brief address was so eloquent and so moving that the text immediately became the object of wide demand. It was quickly printed and reprinted and also put into anthologies. The impact was so great that Judge Hand was invited to address a similar gathering the next year. The address went as follows: We have gathered here to affirm a faith, a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction, a common devotion. Some of us...