Anglo-Saxon civilization has taught the individual to protect his own rights American civilization will teach him to respect the rights of others.

Bryan contrasts two civic ideals. By “Anglo-Saxon civilization” he gestures toward an inherited tradition of individualism and legal self-assertion—training citizens to know and defend their own rights. He then casts “American civilization” as a moral and democratic advance: not merely claiming rights, but internalizing duties toward others by respecting their equal claims. The line fits Bryan’s broader reform rhetoric, which often framed democracy as an ethical project requiring social responsibility (e.g., toward workers, the poor, and political minorities). The antithesis implies that a mature society is measured less by how fiercely individuals protect themselves than by how reliably they restrain themselves for the common good.