America First: Patriotic Readings
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Title: America First: Patriotic Readings
Editor: Jasper Leonidas McBrien
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AMERICA FIRST
Patriotic Readings
by
JASPER L. McBRIEN, A. M.
Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Nebraska
and Now School Extension Specialist for the United
States Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C.
[Illustration: AMERICA FIRST]
[Illustration]
American Book Company
New York Cincinnati Chicago
Copyright, 1916
by Jasper L. McBrien
All rights reserved
AMERICA FIRST
W. P. 7
FOREWORD
America First was the central thought in President Wilson's address to
the Daughters of the American Revolution on the twenty-fifth anniversary
of their organization--their Silver Jubilee--in Washington, D. C.,
October 11, 1915. The president declared in this address that all
citizens should make it plain whether their sympathies for foreign
countries come before their love of the United States, or whether they
are for America first, last, and all the time. He asserted, also, that
our people need all of their patriotism in this confusion of tongues in
which we find ourselves over the European war.
The press throughout the country has taken up the thought of the
President and, seconded by the efforts of the Bureau of Education, has
done loyal work in making "America First" our national slogan. This is
all good so far as it goes--especially among the adult population, many
of whom must be educated, if educated at all, on the run. But the rising
generation, both native-born and foreign, to get the full meaning of
this slogan in its far-reaching significance, must have time for study
and reflection along patriotic lines. There must be the right material
on which the American youth may settle their thoughts for a definite end
in patriotism if our country is to have a new birth of freedom and if
"this government of the people, by the people, and for the people is not
to perish from the earth." The prime and vital service of amalgamating
into one homogeneous body the children alike of those who are born here
and of those who come here from so many different lands must be rendered
this Republic by the school teachers of America.
The purpose of this book is to furnish the teachers and pupils of our
country, material with which the idea of true Americanism may be
developed until "America First" shall become the slogan of every man,
woman, and child in the United States.
CONTENTS
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
_Jasper L. McBrien_
INTRODUCTION 13
TABLEAU--THE SPIRIT OF SEVENTY-SIX 19
CAST OF CHARACTERS 20
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS--A DRAMATIZATION 21
AMERICAN PATRIOTISM
WHAT IS PATRIOTISM _Jasper L. McBrien_ 71
AMERICA FOR ME _Henry van Dyke_ 73
AMERICA FIRST _Woodrow Wilson_ 75
THE MEANING OF THE FLAG _Woodrow Wilson_ 83
MAKERS OF THE FLAG _Franklin K. Lane_ 87
THE FLAG OF THE UNION FOREVER _Fitzhugh Lee_ 90
FAREWELL ADDRESS _George Washington_ 94
WASHINGTON _John W. Daniel_ 104
ABRAHAM LINCOLN _Henry Watterson_ 129
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS _Abraham Lincoln_ 151
ROBERT E. LEE _E. Benjamin Andrews_ 154
OUR REUNITED COUNTRY _Clark Howell_ 163
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY _Henry Cabot Lodge_ 171
A REMINISCENCE OF GETTYSBURG _John B. Gordon_ 175
THE NEW SOUTH _Henry W. Grady_ 181
THE DUTY AND VALUE OF PATRIOTISM _Archbishop Ireland_ 195
OUR COUNTRY _William McKinley_ 202
BEHOLD THE AMERICAN _T. DeWitt Talmage_ 206
THE HOLLANDER AS AN AMERICAN _Theodore Roosevelt_ 212
THE ADOPTED CITIZEN _Ulysses S. Grant_ 217
OUR NAVY _Hampton L. Carson_ 220
THE PATRIOTISM OF PEACE _William J. Bryan_ 232
A PLEA FOR UNIVERSAL PEACE _George W. Norris_ 238
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS _Abraham Lincoln_ 255
NEUTRALITY PROCLAMATION _Woodrow Wilson_ 256
POETRY OF PATRIOTISM
CONCORD HYMN _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ 261
WARREN'S ADDRESS _John Pierpont_ 262
PATRIOTISM _Sir Walter Scott_ 263
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER _Francis Scott Key_ 263
MY COUNTRY _Samuel F. Smith_ 265
THE AMERICAN FLAG _Joseph Rodman Drake_ 266
SONG OF MARION'S MEN _William Cullen Bryant_ 267
THE OLD CONTINENTALS _Guy Humphreys McMaster_ 269
THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL _Wm. Ross Wallace_ 271
LIBERTY TREE _Thomas Paine_ 272
THE RISING IN 1776 _Thomas Buchanan Read_ 274
AMERICA _Bayard Taylor_ 278
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY _Francis M. Finch_ 279
ABRAHAM LINCOLN _James Russell Lowell_ 281
THE FLAG GOES BY _Henry Holcomb Bennett_ 284
THE SHIP OF STATE _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ 285
THE NAME OF OLD GLORY _James Whitcomb Riley_ 286
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments for permission to use copyrighted and other valuable
material in this volume are hereby tendered to authors and publishers as
follows:
To President Woodrow Wilson for his three addresses "America First,"
"The Meaning of the Flag," and "Neutrality Proclamation."
To Secretary Franklin K. Lane for his speech on "The Makers of the
Flag."
To William Jennings Bryan and his publishers, Funk and Wagnalls Company,
New York and London, for extracts from his address on "The Patriotism of
Peace."
To Archbishop Ireland for extracts from his address on "The Duty and
Value of Patriotism."
To George L. Schuman and Company, publishers of _Modern Eloquence_,
Chicago, for the following extracts and addresses: "Our Country," by
William McKinley; "Our Reunited Country," by Clark Howell; "The Blue and
the Gray," by Henry Cabot Lodge; "A Reminiscence of Gettysburg," by John
B. Gordon; "The New South," by Henry W. Grady; and "The Hollander as an
American," by Theodore Roosevelt.
To A. C. Butters for the address on "Washington," by John W. Daniel,
from _Modern Eloquence_ published by George L. Schuman and Company.
To Henry Watterson, Louisville, Kentucky, for the extracts from his
lecture on Abraham Lincoln.
To E. Benjamin Andrews and to his publishers, Fords, Howard and Hulbert,
for the extracts from his lecture on Robert E. Lee.
To J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, for the poem by Thomas
Buchanan Read, "The Rising in 1776."
To Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, for the poem by Henry van Dyke,
"America for Me," and also for the extract from the poem "Wanted," by J.
G. Holland.
To The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, for the poem by James
Whitcomb Riley, "The Name of Old Glory."
To Henry Holcomb Bennett for his poem entitled, "The Flag Goes By."
To Christopher Sower Company, Philadelphia, for the poem by Edward
Brooks, entitled "Be a Woman."
The selections from the poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Bayard Taylor are used by
permission of and special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company, the
authorized publishers of the works of those authors.
The thanks of the author are also extended to Nelson Warner, Katherine
M. Cook, Mrs. L. R. Caldwell, Belvia Cuzzort, W. R. Hood, and Dr.
Stephen B. Weeks of the Bureau of Education, for valuable assistance in
the compilation of this work.
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
A DRAMATIZATION
[Illustration: SIGNING THE DECLARATION]
INTRODUCTION
This dramatization of the Continental Congress portrays the spirit of
the times during the period of the American Revolution. It deals
principally with the debates for and against the Declaration of
Independence; it is a summary of the grievances, struggles, sacrifices,
and victories of the colonies from the enactment of the obnoxious Stamp
Act by the British Parliament to the resignation of George Washington as
commander-in-chief of the American army.
In the construction of a drama covering such a heroic period and
relating to events so momentous, all of which must pass in review before
us within an hour and a half's time, it is necessary to exercise a
certain dramatic license. The historical literalist, like the scriptural
literalist, makes the letter kill the spirit of the truth. After all, it
is not the dry facts, dates, and mechanics of history that are of
greatest importance; it is the fundamental principles, causes, and
effects underlying the events as well as the spirit of the times, that
are of first consideration.
Any modification of historical fact in this dramatization has been made
only to give a fuller meaning to the great facts of history touched upon
therein. It is the period of the American Revolution that is to be
portrayed, as already stated--not alone those memorable days of June and
July, 1776, during which the debates on the Declaration of Independence
took place. For example, Patrick Henry was a member of the First and
the Second Continental Congress, though not a member at the time the
Declaration of Independence was debated, Washington was a member of the
First Continental Congress, but Jefferson was not. Congress was a
changing body in its membership then as is our Congress to-day.
Jefferson declares that Patrick Henry was the man who put the ball of
the American Revolution in motion. Not to give Henry a place in this
dramatization would be like the play of "Hamlet" with Hamlet left out.
It must be remembered that no record was made of the debates in the
Continental Congress as is done verbatim by expert reporters in Congress
to-day and published in the Congressional Record. Therefore, the
speeches herein have been adapted from such sources as Paine's
"Separation of Britain and America," Webster's "Supposed Speech of John
Adams," "Wirt's Supposed Speech of Patrick Henry," Alexander H.
Stephens's "Corner Stone Speech," Webster's "Supposed Speech of
Opposition to Independence," and Sumner's "True Grandeur of Nations."
The dialogue between Jefferson and Adams is taken from a letter of John
Adams to Timothy Pickering, dated August 6, 1822. The speeches of
Stephens and Sumner are paraphrased to suit the times to which they are
here applied.
Great care has been exercised to place each of the leading characters in
these debates on the side in which he _at that time_ conscientiously
believed. In the roll call in this drama on the vote for independence,
the history of each colony has been thoroughly studied so as to bring
out the changed attitude of the people of the various colonies toward
independence, as well as of certain members of the Continental Congress
on this question.
The scenes of Washington and his army just before the battle of Long
Island, the tableau of The Spirit of '76, and Washington's resignation
as commander-in-chief of the army, are introduced not alone for their
psychological effect on the dramatization proper, but for their own
worth in teaching patriotism.
With twenty-nine leading characters the dramatization can be well
staged. But if fifty-five characters are available--the number who
signed the Declaration, and if there is room for so many, so much the
better, except as the number of performers is increased there will be an
additional expense for costumes.[1] It may be given as a reading lesson
without costumes; it may be given so as a drama; but it is a greater
success given in costumes.
Those who take part in this dramatization should be costumed as nearly
like the characters they represent as possible. As a rule, wigs can be
rented for this purpose at a reasonable cost, and it will not be
difficult to dress in the style of the Revolutionary period--buckle
shoes, silk stockings, knee pants, ruffled shirt, and the conventional
coat of the time.
The same freedom must be permitted and exercised in carrying out this
dramatization, that marked the actors in the Continental Congress itself
in its stormy debates and noisy sessions. Immediately following the
close of each speech there should be a clamor for recognition on the
part of the delegates, but the president will be careful to recognize
the proper person so as to make the play move without any hitch. As each
speaker proceeds there should be a reasonable number of interruptions by
applause or dissenting voices so as to play both sides as strongly as
possible.
The parliamentary procedure must not be followed too strictly or it will
kill the interest in the play on the part of the public. It must be
given with dispatch and dramatic effect to make a happy hit.
These debates may be considered as an oratorical contest with prizes
awarded accordingly if so desired. It adds interest to the work.
It is hard to tell in which years of school work it is best to give this
dramatization--whether in the grammar grades, in the high school, or in
the college, for it is within the understanding of grammar grade boys;
it is not too elementary for young men in the high school; and it is
profound enough for the best thought and the best efforts of college
students. If given by grammar school boys and high school young men, it
will have a wholesome influence in training for a better citizenship at
an opportune time. If presented by college, university, and normal
school students it will give those who are fitting themselves for
teaching a valuable lesson in methods. If it were given by every grammar
school, high school, college, university and normal school, on every
Chautauqua platform, and by every patriotic society in the United States
on Washington's Birthday and other patriotic occasions, and then
repeated on the Fourth of July every year for the next decade it would
do much towards combating that dangerous "aggressive hyphenated
Americanism," that has sprung up in our country and whose baneful
effects it will take much earnest teaching to obliterate. When all
native-born children of foreign parentage, and when all citizens of
foreign birth know the story of the struggle and sacrifice by which our
country rose to her proud station it will make them feel "that they are
Americans among Americans; that they are part of America and have a
share and a duty toward American institutions." May it also cause those
native-born Americans who have become luke-warm in their love of
country, careless of its honor, and negligent in its defense to awake to
their duty with a spirit to do their duty before it is too late. May it
make of every one of us a truer American "by being wholly and without
reserve, and without divided allegiance, and with emphatic repudiation
of the entire principle of 'dual nationality,' an American citizen and
nothing else."
_In their ragged regimentals
Stood the old Continentals,
Yielding not,
When the grenadiers were lunging.
And like hail fell the plunging
Cannon shot;
When the files
Of the isles,
From the smoky night encampment, bore the banner of the rampant_
_Unicorn;_
_And grummer, grummer, grummer, rolled the roll of the drummer_
_Through the morn!_
[Illustration: TABLEAU--THE SPIRIT OF SEVENTY-SIX]
CAST OF CHARACTERS
SPEAKERS
FOR THE DECLARATION
John Hancock, _President_
Richard Henry Lee
John Adams
Roger Sherman
Benjamin Franklin
Samuel Adams
Joseph Hewes
Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
AGAINST THE DECLARATION
Edward Rutledge
John Dickinson
George Walton
Robert Morris
Charles Thomson, _Secretary_
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS
Josiah Bartlett
Stephen Hopkins
William Floyd
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Samuel Chase
Benjamin Harrison
Lyman Hall
Oliver Wolcott
Elbridge Gerry
William Hooper
Benjamin Rush
Richard Stockton
Thomas McKean
Caesar Rodney
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS
General Washington and his Army
Fifer }
Drummer } Leading the Army
Little Boy } in "The Spirit of '76"
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
ACT I.
SCENE I.--_Congress assembled; John Hancock in the chair as president;
his keynote speech._
JOHN HANCOCK.[2] Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--I thank you for
the signal honor you have conferred on me in making me your presiding
officer. I am glad to see so many Colonies represented in this Congress.
Let us show the nations of the old world what the people of the new
world will do when left to themselves, to their own unbiased good sense,
and to their own true interests. On us depend the destinies of our
country--the fate of three millions of people, and of the countless
millions of our posterity. Matchless is our opportunity--matchless also
is our responsibility! May the God of nations guide us in our
deliberations and in our actions.
Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of
the slain, the weeping voice of Nature cries, "'Tis time to part." Even
the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a
strong and natural proof that the authority of the one over the other
was never the design of Heaven. The time, likewise, at which the
continent was discovered, adds weight to the argument, and the manner
in which it was peopled, increases the force of it. The Reformation was
preceded by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously
meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home
should afford neither friendship nor safety.
The authority of Great Britain over this continent is a form of
government which sooner or later must have an end: and a serious mind
can draw no true pleasure by looking forward, under the painful and
positive conviction that what he calls "the present constitution" is
merely temporary. As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this
government is not sufficiently lasting to insure anything which we may
bequeath to posterity; and by a plain method of argument, as we are
running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it,
otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the
line of our duty rightly, we should take our children by the hand, and
fix our station a few years farther into life; that eminence will
present a prospect which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from
our sight.
Though I would carefully avoid giving unnecessary offense, yet I am
inclined to believe that all those who espouse the doctrine of
reconciliation may be included within the following descriptions:
Interested men, who are not to be trusted; weak men, who cannot see;
prejudiced men, who will not see; and a certain set of moderate men, who
think better of the European world than it deserves: and this last
class, by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the cause of more
calamities to this continent than all the other three.
It is the good fortune of many to live distant from the scene of sorrow;
the evil is not sufficiently brought to their doors to make them feel
the precariousness with which all American property is possessed. But
let our imaginations transport us a few moments to Boston; that seat of
wretchedness will teach us wisdom, and instruct us forever to renounce a
power in whom we can have no trust. The inhabitants of that unfortunate
city, who but a few months ago were in ease and affluence, have no other
alternative than to stay and starve, or turn out to beg. Endangered by
the fire of their friends if they continue within the city, and
plundered by the soldiery if they leave it. In their present situation
they are prisoners without hope of redemption, and in a general attack
for their relief they would be exposed to the fury of both armies.
Men of passive tempers look somewhat lightly over the offenses of
Britain, and, still hoping for the best, are apt to call out, "Come,
come, we shall be friends again for all this." But examine the passions
and feelings of mankind, bring the doctrine of reconciliation to the
touchstone of nature, and then tell me whether you can hereafter love,
honor, and faithfully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword
into your land? If you cannot do all these, then are you deceiving
yourselves, and by your delay bringing ruin upon your posterity. Your
future connection with Britain, whom you can neither love nor honor,
will be forced and unnatural, and being formed only on the plan of
present convenience, will in a little time fall into a relapse more
wretched than the first. But if you say you can still pass the
violations over, then I ask, hath your house been burnt? Hath your
property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children
destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a
parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched
survivor? If you have not, then are you not a judge of those who have.
But if you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then are
you unworthy the name of husband, father, friend or lover, and, whatever
may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward and
the spirit of a sycophant.
Gentlemen of the First American Congress, in the name of Equality,
Fraternity and Liberty, I welcome you to this council. What is your
pleasure, gentlemen?
RICHARD HENRY LEE. Mr. President:--I wish to move the adoption of the
following resolution: "Resolved, that these united colonies are, and of
right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved
from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political
connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to
be, totally dissolved."
JOHN ADAMS. Mr. President:--I second the motion.
JOHN HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress, you have heard the
motion of Mr. Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, for immediate and absolute
independence. Are there any remarks?
RICHARD HENRY LEE. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--Why do we delay? Why still deliberate? Let this happy day
give birth to an American republic. Let her arise, not to devastate and
to conquer, but to reëstablish the reign of peace and law. The eyes of
Europe are fixed upon us. She demands of us a living example of freedom
that may exhibit a contrast in the felicity of the citizen to the ever
increasing tyranny which devastates her polluted shores. She invites us
to prepare an asylum where the unhappy may find solace and the
persecuted repose. She entreats us to cultivate a propitious soil where
that generous plant of liberty, which first sprang and grew in England,
but is now withered by the blasts of tyranny may revive and flourish,
sheltering under its salubrious shade all the unfortunate of the human
race. If we are not this day wanting in our duty to our country, the
names of the American legislators of 1776 will be placed by posterity at
the side of Theseus, of Lycurgus, of Romulus, of Numa, of the three
Williams of Nassau and of all those whose memory has been and forever
will be, dear to virtuous men and good citizens.[3]
(_At the close of Mr. Lee's brief speech there is a clamor for
recognition. John Adams is recognized._)
JOHN ADAMS. Mr. President:--I move that a committee of five be selected
by ballot to draft a Declaration representing the views of these united
colonies.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Mr. President:--I second the motion.
JOHN HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--The motion has
been made and seconded that a committee of five be selected by ballot to
draft a proper Declaration representing the views of these united
colonies. You have heard the motion, are there any remarks? (_Calls for
the question._)
As many as favor this motion make it known by saying "aye" (_ayes
respond_); contrary, "no" (_noes respond_). The ayes seem to have it,
the ayes have it, and the motion is carried.
Gentlemen of the Continental Congress, I shall appoint Benjamin Rush of
Pennsylvania, Samuel Chase of Maryland, and Edward Rutledge of South
Carolina as tellers for this election and they will wait upon you for
your ballots for the committee. Please write the names of the five men
whom you wish to serve on this committee, on your ballot and deposit the
same in the hat when passed.
(_Ballots are gathered by the tellers who report the result to the
president of the Congress._)
Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--By your ballots you have
selected the following persons as the committee of five to draft the
Declaration as already ordered--Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams
of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of
Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York. Gentlemen, what is
your further pleasure?
SAMUEL ADAMS. Mr. President:--I move that the Congress do now take a
recess until to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock to give the committee just
appointed time in which to prepare the Declaration ordered.
JOSEPH HEWES. Mr. President:--I second the motion which Mr. Adams has
offered.
JOHN HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Congress:--It has been moved and seconded
that this Congress take a recess until to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock
in order to give the committee just appointed time in which to prepare a
proper Declaration. You have heard the motion, are there any remarks?
(_Calls for question._)
As many as favor the motion make it known by saying "aye" (_ayes
respond_); contrary, "no" (_noes respond_). The ayes seem to have it,
the ayes have it, and this Congress will take a recess until to-morrow
morning at 10 o'clock.
CURTAIN
ACT II.
SCENE I.--_Meeting of the Committee of Five. Livingston absent._
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Gentlemen of the Committee, I move that Thomas
Jefferson and John Adams be appointed as a sub-committee of this
Committee of Five to draft the Declaration ordered by the Continental
Congress.
ROGER SHERMAN. I second the motion.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. As many as
favor the same make it known by saying "aye."
(_Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams are silent while Mr. Sherman and Mr.
Franklin vote aye._)
The ayes seem to have it, the ayes have it, and Mr. Jefferson and Mr.
Adams are elected.
JOHN ADAMS. Gentlemen, it seems to me you have taken snap judgment on
Mr. Jefferson and myself.
THOMAS JEFFERSON. Yes, gentlemen, you have.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. The committee has so ordered and as Congress itself
gave Mr. Jefferson the highest number of votes and Mr. Adams the next
highest number in the selection of this committee, I am sure that
Congress will be highly pleased at our having selected you for this
great work. We also feel that we should congratulate ourselves upon the
choice we have made.
JOHN ADAMS. Thank you, gentlemen, for the compliment.
THOMAS JEFFERSON. I join Mr. Adams in thanking you, gentlemen, for the
confidence you have in us.
ROGER SHERMAN. Gentlemen of the committee, I move that we take a recess
until to-night so as to give the sub-committee time to prepare the
Declaration.
MR. ADAMS. I second the motion.
MR. FRANKLIN. As many as favor the motion make it known by saying "aye"
(_ayes respond_). The ayes seem to have it, the ayes have it, and the
committee will take a recess until eight o'clock to-night.
(_Mr. Franklin and Mr. Sherman leave Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson to
themselves to deliberate over the Declaration._)
MR. JEFFERSON. Mr. Adams, I suggest that you make the draft of this
Declaration.
MR. ADAMS. I will not!
MR. JEFFERSON. [4]You should do it.
MR. ADAMS. Oh, no!
MR. JEFFERSON. Why will you not? You ought to do it.
MR. ADAMS. I will not!
MR. JEFFERSON. Why?
MR. ADAMS. Reasons enough.
MR. JEFFERSON. What can be your reasons?
MR. ADAMS. Reason first, you are a Virginian and a Virginian ought to
appear at the head of this business. Reason second, I am obnoxious,
suspected, and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third, you
can write ten times better than I can.
MR. JEFFERSON. Well, if you are decided, I will do the best I can.
MR. ADAMS. Very well, when you have drawn it up we will have a meeting.
(_Exeunt Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson._)
SCENE II.--_Washington's Address to his Army. Washington and his army[5]
in camp on Long Island._
The time is now near at hand, which must probably determine whether
Americans are to be freemen or slaves, whether their houses and farms
are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves to be consigned to a
state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The
fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and
the conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only
the choice of a brave resistance or the most abject submission. We have,
therefore, to resolve to conquer or to die.
Our own, our country's honor, calls upon us for a vigorous and manly
exertion. If we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the
whole world. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we
shall have their blessings and praises if happily we are the instruments
of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them. Let us,
therefore, animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world
that a freeman contending for liberty on his own ground is superior to
any slavish mercenary on earth.
Liberty, property, life, and honor are all at stake. Upon your courage
and conduct rest the hopes of our bleeding and insulted country. Our
wives, children, and parents expect safety from us only; and they have
every reason to believe that Heaven will crown with success so just a
cause.
The enemy will endeavor to intimidate by show and appearance; but
remember that they have been repulsed on various occasions by a few
brave Americans. Their cause is bad--their men are conscious of it. If
they are opposed with firmness and coolness on their first onset, with
our advantage of works and knowledge of the ground, the victory is most
assuredly ours.
SCENE III.--TABLEAU--"_The Spirit of '76._"
As soon as the sound of battle has died away following the
departure of Washington and his army, put on the tableau of "The
Spirit of '76." The fifer, the drummer, and the little boy should
be good musicians playing patriotic music of the Revolution. Their
wounded and ragged comrades are seen in the background.
SCENE IV.--_Mr. Jefferson seated at his desk and putting on the
finishing touches to his original draft of the Declaration of
Independence. Enter Mr. Adams._
MR. ADAMS. Good evening, Mr. Jefferson.
MR. JEFFERSON. Good evening, Mr. Adams.
MR. ADAMS. Well, have you the Declaration finished?
MR. JEFFERSON. Mr. Adams, I have done the best I could but I am not very
well satisfied with what I have written. I wish you would look it over
and make such corrections and criticisms as your judgment deems proper.
MR. ADAMS (_studying the Declaration_). Mr. Jefferson, I am delighted
with your production. Your statements relative to the inalienable rights
of men are unanswerable and to secure these rights, governments _must_
be instituted among men, _deriving_ their _just powers from_ the
_consent_ of the _governed_. This paragraph concerning negro slavery
meets with my approval but I fear it will not meet with the approval of
some of the Southern delegates. I congratulate you, Mr. Jefferson, on
what you have done. This document will make you immortal.
MR. JEFFERSON. Thank you, Mr. Adams, I fear you are too extravagant in
your praise of my work.
(_Enter Mr. Franklin and Mr. Sherman._)
MR. FRANKLIN. Well, gentlemen, have you completed the draft for the
Declaration?
MR. ADAMS. Mr. Jefferson has finished it. It is all his work. I have
reviewed the paper very hurriedly but in my opinion it is one of the
greatest documents ever written by man. Look it over, gentlemen, and let
us hear your opinion of it.
MR. FRANKLIN (_studying the Declaration_). Mr. Jefferson, I congratulate
you, sir. Your declaration on the inalienable rights of men is well
stated. I agree with you that governments _derive_ their _just powers
from_ the _consent_ of the _governed_. I like that paragraph on slavery
but I believe that some of the Southern delegates will oppose it. This
is a paper of which you should be proud, Mr. Jefferson. I congratulate
you, sir. Here, Mr. Sherman, let us have your views on this Declaration.
MR. SHERMAN (_studying the Declaration_). You have covered all our
grievances in the twenty-seven distinct charges you have made against
the present king of Great Britain. We can well afford to submit these
facts to a candid world. That paragraph on slavery, Mr. Jefferson, meets
with my approval heartily, but I fear some of the Southern delegates
will oppose it strongly. We can certainly appeal to the Supreme Judge of
the world for the rectitude of our intentions. I believe with you that
divine Providence will support us in making this Declaration good.
Therefore, I am willing to stand with you in pledging our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor to this end. I do not see how I could
make any suggestions that would improve it. Mr. Jefferson, I
congratulate you on the great work you have done in this paper for our
country and for humanity.
MR. JEFFERSON. Gentlemen, I thank you all most heartily and sincerely
for the compliments you have paid me on this paper, but I am no orator
myself, especially for such an occasion as this; therefore, I should
like to have Mr. Adams report this Declaration to the Continental
Congress, move its adoption for me, and lead in the debates in favor of
it.
MR. FRANKLIN. Gentlemen:--I move that Mr. Adams be requested to report
this Declaration to the Congress as desired by Mr. Jefferson.
MR. SHERMAN. I second the motion.
MR. FRANKLIN. Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. As many as favor the
same make it known by saying "aye." (_Response of ayes; Mr. Adams is
silent_.) The ayes seem to have it, the ayes have it, and the motion is
carried for Mr. Adams to so report this Declaration. The committee is
adjourned.
CURTAIN
ACT III.
SCENE I.--_The Continental Congress again in session._
MR. HANCOCK. (_Looking at his watch, as he calls the Congress to
order._) Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--The time has come to
which we adjourned yesterday in order to give the Committee of Five,
appointed to draft the Declaration, due time to prepare the same. Are
the gentlemen of the Committee present and ready to report?
MR. ADAMS. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--At
the request of Mr. Jefferson and the other members of the Committee, I
beg leave to submit the following Declaration for your consideration
after it has been read by the secretary of this Congress. Permit me to
say here, however, that the credit for the authorship of this paper
belongs entirely to Mr. Jefferson. It is his work, which the other
members of the Committee are unanimous in approving.
(_Charles Thomson, secretary of the Congress, reads the Declaration
of Independence. This part should be assigned to one who has a good
clear voice and is a good public reader. If it is thought best not
to read all of the Declaration, its most striking paragraphs should
be read. Do not forget to have the famous paragraph on slavery
read. If it were omitted the great speech of George Walton would be
out of place._)
JOHN ADAMS.[6] Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand
and my heart to this vote in favor of this Declaration of Independence.
It is true, indeed, that in the beginning we aimed not at independence.
But there's a divinity which shapes our ends. The injustice of England
has driven us to arms; and, blinded to her own interest for our good,
she has obstinately persisted, till independence is now within our
grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it is ours. Why, then,
should we defer the Declaration?
Is any man so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with England,
which shall leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or
safety to his own life and his own honor? Are not you,[7] sir, who sit
in that chair, is not he,[8] our venerable colleague near you, are you
not both already the proscribed and predestined objects of punishment
and of vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal clemency, what are you,
what can you be, while the power of England remains, but outlaws? If we
postpone independence do we mean to carry on, or to give up the war? Do
we mean to submit to the measures of Parliament, Boston Port Bill and
all? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we ourselves shall be ground
to powder, and our country and its rights trodden down in the dust? I
know we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit. Do we intend to
violate that most solemn obligation ever entered into by men, that
plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to Washington, when, putting
him forth to incur the dangers of war, as well as the political hazards
of the times, we promised to adhere to him, in every extremity, with our
fortunes and our lives? I know there is not a man here who would not
rather see a general conflagration sweep over the land, or an earthquake
sink it, than one jot or tittle of that plighted faith fall to the
ground. For myself, having twelve months ago, in this place, moved you,
that George Washington be appointed commander of the forces raised, or
to be raised, for defense of American liberty, may my right hand forget
her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I hesitate
or waver in the support I give him.
(_At the close of Mr. Adams' speech there is loud clamor for
recognition. The president recognizes Edward Rutledge of South
Carolina, who speaks against the Declaration._)
EDWARD RUTLEDGE. [9]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--Let us pause! This step, once taken, cannot be retraced. This
resolution, once passed, will cut off all hope of reconciliation. If
success attend the arms of England, we shall then be no longer colonies,
with charters, and with privileges. These will all be forfeited by this
act; and we shall be in the condition of other conquered people--at the
mercy of the conquerors. For ourselves, we may be ready to run the
hazard; but are we ready to carry the country to that length? Is success
so probable as to justify it? Where is the military, where the naval
power, by which we are to resist the whole strength of the arm of
England? For she will exert that strength to the utmost. Can we rely on
the constancy and perseverance of the people?--or will they not act as
the people of other countries have acted, and, wearied with a long war,
submit in the end, to a worse oppression? While we stand on our old
ground, and insist on redress of grievances, we know we are right, and
are not answerable for consequences. Nothing, then, can be imputable to
us.
(_At the close of Mr. Rutledge's speech there is a clamor for
recognition. The president recognizes Roger Sherman of
Connecticut._)
ROGER SHERMAN. [10]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--The war must go on. We must fight it through. And if the war
must go on, why put off longer the Declaration of Independence? That
measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. The
nations will then treat with us, which they never can do while we
acknowledge ourselves subjects, in arms against our sovereign. Nay, I
maintain that England herself will sooner treat for peace with us on
the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her acts, to
acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us has been a course of
injustice and oppression. Her pride will be less wounded by submitting
to the course of things which now predestinates our independence, than
by yielding the points in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The
former she will regard as the result of fortune; the latter she would
feel as her own deep disgrace. Why, then, why, then, sir, do we not as
soon as possible change this from a civil to a national war? And since
we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all
the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory?
If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The cause
will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The people, the
people, if we are true to them will carry us, and will carry themselves,
gloriously through this struggle. I care not how fickle other people
have been found. I know the people of these colonies, and I know that
resistance to British aggression is deep and settled in their hearts,
and cannot be eradicated. Every colony, indeed, has expressed its
willingness to follow, if we but take the lead. Sir, the Declaration
will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of a long and
bloody war for the restoration of privileges, for redress of grievances,
for chartered immunities, held under a British king, set before them the
glorious object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them
anew the breath of life. Read this Declaration at the head of the army;
every sword will be drawn from its scabbard, and the solemn vow uttered
to maintain it, or to perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the
pulpit, religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty will
cling around it, resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. Send it to
the public halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it who heard the
first roar of the enemy's cannon; let them see it who saw their brothers
and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the streets of
Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its support.
(_At the close of Mr. Sherman's speech there is a loud clamor for
recognition. The president recognizes John Dickinson of
Pennsylvania._)
JOHN DICKINSON. [11]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--If we now change our object, carry our pretensions farther,
and set up for absolute independence, we shall lose the sympathy of
mankind. We shall no longer be defending what we possess, but struggling
for something which we never did possess, and which we have solemnly and
uniformly disclaimed all intention of pursuing, from the very outset of
the troubles. Abandoning thus our old ground of resistance only to
arbitrary acts of oppression, the nations will believe the whole to have
been mere pretense, and they will look on us, not as injured, but as
ambitious subjects. I shudder before this responsibility. It will be
upon us, it will be upon us, if, relinquishing the ground we have stood
upon so long, and stood so safely, we now proclaim independence, and
carry on the war for that object, while these cities burn, these
pleasant fields whiten and bleach with the bones of their owners, and
these streams run blood. It will be upon us, it will be upon us, if
failing to maintain this unseasonable and ill-judged Declaration, a
sterner despotism, maintained by military power, shall be established
over our posterity, when we ourselves, given up by an exhausted, a
harassed, a misled people, shall have expiated our rashness and atoned
for our presumption on the scaffold.
[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN]
(_At the close of Mr. Dickinson's speech there is a loud clamor for
recognition. The president recognizes Benjamin Franklin of
Pennsylvania._)
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. [12]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see
clearly, through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. We
may not live to the time when this Declaration shall be made good. We
may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be ignominiously and on
the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that
my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall
be ready, at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may.
But while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a
country, and that a free country.
But whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured that this
Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but
it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the thick
gloom of the present, I see the brightness of the future as the sun in
heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in
our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it with
thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illuminations. On its
annual return they will shed tears, copious, gushing tears, not of
subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of
gratitude, and of joy. Sir, before God, I believe the hour has come. My
whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I
hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off
as Mr. Adams of Massachusetts began, that, sink or swim, live or die,
survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment,
and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment, independence
_now, and_ INDEPENDENCE FOREVER!
(_There is a loud clamor for recognition, and the president
recognizes George Walton of Georgia._)
GEORGE WALTON. [13]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--I am for this Declaration if the paragraph on slavery is
struck out. But I will oppose it to the end if that paragraph is
permitted to remain a part of it. There is not one good reason for
introducing the slavery question at this time. The relations between
individual master and slave have no place here in the greater and graver
matter of differences between the British Government and the American
Colonies. But since the issue is thrust upon us, I propose to meet it
squarely and fearlessly.
Mr. President and gentlemen, you cannot make equal what God Almighty has
made unequal. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his
spots? The Bible commands in the most emphatic language that servants
obey in all things their masters. Liberty loving Greece had her slaves.
Shall liberty loving America have less? Strike out that obnoxious
paragraph and every delegate from the Southern colonies will fall in
line for the Declaration of Independence, but if you make that paragraph
a part of the Declaration many delegates from the South will withdraw
from this convention, and then you will fight your own battles.
This paragraph on slavery is founded upon ideas fundamentally wrong.
These ideas rest upon the assumption of the equality of the races. This
is an error. It is a sandy foundation and a government founded upon it
will fall when the storms come and the winds blow.
Let us found our new government upon the great truth that the negro is
not the equal of the white man, that slavery--subordination to the
superior race--is his natural and normal condition. This truth has been
slow in the process of its development, like all other great truths in
the various departments of science.
Many governments have been founded upon the principle of the
subordination and serfdom of certain classes of the _same_ race; such
were and are in violation of the laws of nature. With us, _all_ the
_white_ race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of
the law. Not so with the negro; subordination is his place. He, by
nature or by the curse of Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he
now occupies in our system. The architect, in the construction of a
building, lays the foundation with proper material--the granite; then
comes the brick or the marble. The substratum of our society is made of
the material fitted by nature for it, and by experience we know that it
is best not only for the superior race, but for the inferior race, that
it should be so. It is, indeed, in conformity with the laws of the
Creator. It is not for us to inquire into the wisdom of His plans, or to
question them. For His own good purposes He has made one race to differ
from another, as He has made "one star to differ from another star in
glory."
Therefore, I declare again that you cannot make equal what God Almighty
has made unequal. He has made the negro and the white man unequal. You
cannot make them equal. And I move that the paragraph on slavery be
struck out. I have measured my words, gentlemen. The responsibility is
yours.
(_At the close of Mr. Walton's speech there is a loud clamor for
recognition, and the chair recognizes Samuel Adams._)
SAMUEL ADAMS. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--While I have no personal
objections against this paragraph on slavery--for personally I favor
it--yet from the standpoint of the general welfare of the colonies, I
deem it unwise at this time to take any action either for or against the
question of slavery. Therefore I second the motion of Mr. Walton to
strike out the paragraph on slavery.
MR. HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--It has been duly
moved and seconded that the paragraph in this Declaration on slavery be
struck out. You have heard the motion, are there any remarks?
WILLIAM HOOPER. Mr. President, before voting on this motion, I wish to
have the paragraph on slavery read again.
(_This request is seconded by many of the delegates._)
MR. HANCOCK. The secretary will read the paragraph on slavery again.
(_The secretary reads the paragraph on slavery as follows:_)
He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most
sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who
never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in
another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation
thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is
the warfare of the Christian king of Great Britain. Determined to keep
open a market where men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted
his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to
restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors
might want no fact of distinguished dye, he is now exciting those very
people to rise in arms among us and to purchase that liberty of which he
has deprived them by murdering the people upon whom he obtruded them:
thus paying off, former crimes committed against the _liberties_ of one
people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the _lives_ of
another.
(_After the reading of this paragraph the delegates call for a vote
on Mr. Walton's motion._)
MR. HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Congress, a vote is called for on Mr.
Walton's motion to strike out the paragraph on slavery. As many as are
in favor of this motion make it known by saying "aye" (_a strong aye
vote_); as many as are opposed to the motion make it known by responding
"no" (_a light vote of noes_). The ayes seem to have it, the ayes have
it, and the paragraph on slavery is struck out. Gentlemen, what is your
further pleasure?
(_A loud clamor for recognition, the chair recognizing Joseph Hewes
of North Carolina._)
JOSEPH HEWES. [14]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as
well as the abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have opposed
this Declaration in these debates. But different men often see the same
subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be
thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining, as I do,
opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my
sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The
question before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For my
own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or
slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be
the freedom of debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive
at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and
our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear
of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward
my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven,
which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of
hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to
the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the
part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?
Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who, having eyes, see
not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their
temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost,
I am willing to know the truth; to know the worst, and to provide for
it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of
experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past.
And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the
conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those
hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and
the house? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been
lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet.
Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how
this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike
preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and
armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown
ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to
win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the
implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings
resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its
purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other
possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of
the world, that calls for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no
other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains, which
the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to
oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for
the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject?
Nothing! We have held the subject up in every light of which it is
capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and
humble supplication? What terms shall we find, which have not been
already exhausted? Let us not. I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves
longer.
(_A loud clamor for recognition. The chair recognizes Robert Morris
of Pennsylvania._)
ROBERT MORRIS. [15]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--I am opposed to war first, last, and all the time. It is a
relic of barbarism. I believe in the gospel of peace on earth, good will
toward men. It would be better to settle our differences with England
even by flipping a coin than by fighting and killing one another. Let us
hearken unto the voice of God as it comes ringing down the centuries
from Mount Sinai, "Thou shalt not kill." Shall this new government start
out as the Cain among the nations of earth with the blood of our
brethren upon our hands? God forbid that we make ourselves so foolish
and so reckless as this! The history of trial by battle is the history
of folly and wickedness. As we revert to those early periods in the
history of the human race in which it prevailed, our minds are shocked
at the barbarism which we behold; we are horror stricken at the awful
subjection of justice to brute force.
Who told you, fond man! to regard that as glory when performed by a
nation, which is condemned as a crime and a barbarism, when committed by
an individual? In what vain conceit of wisdom and virtue do you find
this degrading morality? Where is it declared that God, who is no
respecter of persons, is a respecter of multitudes? Whence do you draw
these partial laws of a powerful and impartial God? Man is immortal; but
states are mortal. Man has a higher destiny than states. Shall states be
less amenable to the great moral laws of God than man? Each individual
is an atom of the mass. Must not the mass be like individuals of which
it is composed? Shall the mass do what the individual may not do? No! A
thousand times _NO_! The same laws which govern individuals govern
masses, as the same laws in nature prevail over large and small things,
controlling the fall of an apple and the orbits of the planets.
And who is this god of battles that some of you men believe in with so
much faith? It is Mars--man-slaying, blood-polluted, city-smiting, Mars!
Him we cannot adore. It is not he who causes the sun to shine on the
just and the unjust. It is not he who tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb. It is not he who distills the oil of gladness in every upright
heart. It is not he who fills the fountain of mercy and goodness. He is
not the God of love and justice. The god of battles is not the God of
Christians; to him can ascend no prayer of Christian thanksgiving; for
him no words of worship in Christian temples, no swelling anthem to peal
the note of praise.
Let us cease, then, to look for a lamp to our feet in the feeble tapers
that glimmer in the sepulchers of the past. Rather let us hail those
ever-burning lights above in whose beams is the brightness of the
noon-day. As the cedars of Lebanon are higher than the grass of the
valley, as the heavens are higher than the earth, as man is higher than
the beasts of the field, as the angels are higher than man, as he that
ruleth his spirit is higher than he that taketh a city; so are the
virtues and glories and victories of peace higher than the virtues and
victories of war.
To this great work of world-wide peace let me summon you. Believe that
you can do it, and you can do it. Blessed are the peace-makers for they
are the children of God.
(_Loud clamor for recognition, the chair recognizing Patrick Henry
of Virginia._)
PATRICK HENRY. [16]Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Continental
Congress:--We have done everything that could be done, to avert the
storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated;
we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne,
and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of
the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our
remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our
supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with
contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may
we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer
any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve
inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long
contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which
we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never
to abandon, until the glorious object of our contest shall be
obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to
arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us.
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable
an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week,
or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a
British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather
strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of
effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the
delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and
foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make proper use of those means which
the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people,
armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which
we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against
us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just
God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up
friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the
strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides,
sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now
too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in
submission and slavery! Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be
heard on the plains of Boston. The war is inevitable--and let it come! I
repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace,
peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale,
that sweeps from the north, will bring to our ears the clash of
resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we
here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life
so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains
and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may
take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
(_At the close of Mr. Henry's speech there are loud calls for a
vote upon the question. President Hancock orders the secretary to
call the roll of colonies in geographic order beginning with New
Hampshire._)
SECRETARY THOMSON. New Hampshire!
Josiah Bartlett. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--New Hampshire is
represented in the Congress by three delegates. Her people have appealed
to us and have instructed us to work for and vote for Independence. I
believe everybody knows more than any body. I consider it a signal
honor, sir, and it is the happiest hour of my life, to lead in this roll
call in favor of this Declaration. New Hampshire votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for New Hampshire."_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Massachusetts!
SAMUEL ADAMS. Mr. President:--The king of England has set a price upon
your head and mine. If this Declaration is not made good by the people
of these colonies you and I will be shot, hanged by the neck till dead,
or burned at the stake as traitors. If we fail, my only regret will be
that I have but one life to give for my country. But with faith in the
people and in God to carry our cause through to a glorious victory, the
delegates from Massachusetts stand as one man for Independence.
Massachusetts, therefore, votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for Massachusetts, and long live Samuel
Adams and John Hancock. Down with the tyrant king of England!"_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Rhode Island!
STEPHEN HOPKINS. Mr. President:--Rhode Island is a small colony. She is
represented in this Congress by only two delegates. But all that we are
and all we hope to be we are ready here and now to give for
Independence. Rhode Island votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for brave Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins,
and William Ellery."_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Connecticut!
ROGER SHERMAN. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--I have already addressed
you at some length in favor of this Declaration. It becomes my happy
duty now to cast the unanimous vote of the four delegates from
Connecticut for independence. Connecticut votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Long live Roger Sherman! Three cheers for
Connecticut."_)
_Secretary Thomson._ New York!
WILLIAM FLOYD. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--The instructions against
independence for the delegates from New York have never been recalled.
We, therefore, request the privilege to refrain from voting on this
question. We regret the situation, gentlemen!
PRESIDENT HANCOCK. New York is excused from voting on this question.
SECRETARY THOMSON. New Jersey!
RICHARD STOCKTON. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--I am happy to say that
New Jersey has given her five delegates in this Congress instructions to
vote for independence. New Jersey, therefore, votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for New Jersey."_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Pennsylvania!
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--From the beginning of
this Congress the delegates from Pennsylvania have labored under
instructions against independence. But during the past three months the
friends of independence in this commonwealth have worked in season and
out of season to have these instructions canceled and permission given
us to vote for independence. At a mass meeting in Philadelphia on June
18, presided over by that distinguished and influential radical, Colonel
Daniel Roberdeau, and attended by over 7,000 citizens from all sections
of the state, a public sentiment was created and started that resulted
in the overthrow of the old government of the aristocrats of the old
Assembly and then established a new government of the people under the
authority of the Conference of Committees which has given the delegates
from Pennsylvania instructions to vote for independence. Two of our
delegates, John Dickinson and Robert Morris, have retired from this
Congress considering such instructions a recall of their membership in
this body. Two other delegates from Pennsylvania, Charles Humphreys and
William Williams, question the authority of the Conference of Committees
and hold that the instructions of the old defunct Assembly are still
binding upon them. They vote against independence. But James Wilson who
has been opposed to Independence bows to the will of the people and
joins John Morton and myself in voting for Independence. Under the rule
of this Congress made in its beginning session that a majority of the
delegates from each colony, present and voting determines its vote upon
such a question as this, Pennsylvania casts two votes against
independence and three votes for independence and therefore votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for Pennsylvania! Long live Benjamin
Franklin, John Morton, and James Wilson!"_)
(_Immediately following the applause for Franklin, Caesar Rodney, a
delegate from Delaware, makes his appearance just in time to vote.
He has come eighty miles on horseback and has not had time to
change his boots and spurs and still carries a riding whip. He is
given a great ovation._)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Delaware!
THOMAS McKEAN. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--Until this moment the vote
for Delaware has been in doubt. George Read, my colleague, will vote
against independence. But thank God the timely arrival of Caesar Rodney
who joins me in voting for independence, places Delaware on the right
side of this question. To make sure of this I sent an express rider at
my own expense to Dover, Delaware, for Mr. Rodney. He has come eighty
miles on horseback at post-haste. He has not had time to change his
riding attire, but he is here in time to join me in voting for
independence. Posterity will erect a monument in his honor[17] as they
will to that other famous revolutionary rider--Paul Revere. Mr.
President, under the rule as stated by Mr. Franklin governing the votes
of colonies in this Congress, Delaware votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Hurrah for Delaware! Long live Thomas McKean and
Caesar Rodney!"_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Maryland!
SAMUEL CHASE. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--Maryland has passed through
a similar struggle to that in Pennsylvania as described by Mr. Franklin.
An appeal has been made to every county committee and one after another
they have directed their representatives in the state convention to vote
for new instructions to the delegates in this Congress. At last the old
instructions against independence have been canceled and new
instructions given us in an unanimous resolve to vote for independence.
See the glorious effect of county instructions! Our people have fire if
not smothered. And, therefore, Maryland votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for Maryland and Samuel Chase!"_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Virginia!
BENJAMIN HARRISON. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--Virginia is here with a
solid delegation for independence. Our battle cry has been so well
stated by Mr. Henry that we need but to repeat it now--Liberty or Death!
Virginia votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for Virginia! Long live Richard Henry
Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry!"_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. North Carolina!
JOSEPH HEWES. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--We have had a hard struggle
in North Carolina between aristocracy on one hand and democracy on the
other. But at last the people have won and North Carolina votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for North Carolina!_")
[Illustration: From the painting by Trumbull
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS]
SECRETARY THOMSON. South Carolina!
EDWARD RUTLEDGE. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--When Richard Henry Lee's
resolution declaring for independence was first introduced I was opposed
to its adoption _at that time_. I feared that the people of my colony
were not then ready for it. I thought also that for the general welfare
of all the colonies it was then too early to declare for independence.
The contest in South Carolina for independence has been as bitter among
her own people as it has been in any of the other colonies. But opinions
alter and conditions change with the passing of time. Therefore, South
Carolina now has a solid delegation here ready to walk through the fiery
furnace of war, though it be seventy times heated, to make this
Declaration good. South Carolina votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for South Carolina and Edward
Rutledge!"_)
SECRETARY THOMSON. Georgia!
LYMAN HALL. Mr. President and Gentlemen:--Georgia is here with three
delegates who stand as one man for independence. Though last on the roll
of states on this question she will be among the first in her efforts
for American independence. Georgia votes _aye_.
(_Shouts of "Three cheers for Georgia!"_)
PRESIDENT HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--Twelve of the
thirteen colonies having voted for the Declaration of Independence, and
with no colony going on record against it, I consider our action
unanimous for I am confident that the New York Assembly[18] will give
her delegation instructions to sign this document in the near future.
JOHN ADAMS. Mr. President, I move that this Congress do now adjourn.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Mr. President, I second the motion.
PRESIDENT HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress, it has been
moved by Mr. Adams of Massachusetts and seconded by Mr. Franklin of
Pennsylvania that we do now adjourn. As many as favor this motion make
known by saying _aye_.
(_Unanimous response of ayes._)
The motion to adjourn has been carried unanimously and this Congress is
therefore adjourned.
SCENE II.--_The Spirit of 76._
Here repeat the Tableau of the Spirit of Seventy-six.
ACT IV.
SCENE I.--_Washington's Resignation. (A special session of the
Continental Congress to receive the Resignation of Washington.)_
PRESIDENT HANCOCK. Gentlemen of the Continental Congress:--Eight years
ago we made General George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the armies
raised and to be raised for American Independence. Through seven long
years of war, against overwhelming odds, in which brave men did brave
deeds, the rich man gave his wealth and the poor man gave his life,
baptizing their country's soil with their own blood from Bunker Hill to
Yorktown, the brave soldiers under General Washington fought on until an
army of veteran soldiers surrendered to a band of insurgent husbandmen.
The American nation has been born. Its independence has been recognized
by Great Britain and the civilized world. Peace has come! And General
Washington desires to surrender his commission to the Congress that
elected him to this position. He is in waiting to do this. I therefore
appoint John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania,
Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Samuel Chase of Maryland, Patrick Henry of
Virginia, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, and Lyman Hall of Georgia,
as an honorary committee to escort General Washington before this
Congress, to receive his resignation.
(_General Washington is escorted before Congress and makes the
following address:_)
_Mr. President:_--The great events on which my resignation depended,
having at length taken place, I have now the honor of offering my
sincere congratulations to Congress, and of presenting myself before
them to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to
claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my country.
Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and
pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a
respectable nation, I resign, with satisfaction, the appointment I
accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so
arduous a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in the
rectitude of our cause, the support of the Supreme Power of the Union,
and the patronage of Heaven.
The successful termination of the war has verified the most sanguine
expectations; and my gratitude for the interposition of Providence, and
the assistance I have received from my countrymen, increases with every
review of the momentous contest.
While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I should do
injustice to my own feelings, not to acknowledge, in this place, the
peculiar services and distinguished merits of the persons who have been
attached to my person during the war. It was impossible the choice of
confidential officers to compose my family could have been more
fortunate. Permit me sir, to recommend in particular those who have
continued in the service to the present moment as worthy of the
favorable notice and patronage of Congress.
I consider it as an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of
my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to
the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence
of them to his holy keeping.
Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great
theater of action; and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this august
body, under whose orders I have long acted, I here offer my commission,
and take my leave of all the employments of public life.
(_The Continental Congress, standing and shouting in concert, "Long
live General George Washington! First in war! First in peace! And
First in the hearts of his countrymen!"_)
CURTAIN
Footnotes:
[1] In small schools where there are not enough large boys to represent
all the characters, those who represent members of the Continental
Congress can become members of Washington's army, etc., for the other
scenes.
[2] This speech is adapted from Paine's "Separation of Britain and
America."
[3] Adapted from Wirt's supposed speech of Lee.
[4] This dialogue between Adams and Jefferson is taken from Adams's
letter to Timothy Pickering.
[5] If this is properly staged it will be very effective. National Guard
members will be glad to take part as members of Washington's army, with
their tents and uniforms and arms, if there are no school cadets to play
this part. The bugler sounds the call to arms. The soldiers fall into
line ready for the fight. Just before marching orders are given,
Washington delivers the following address, after which the curtain goes
down on this scene and the sound of battle is heard in the distance.
[6] This is a part of Webster's "Supposed Speech of John Adams."
[7] John Hancock.
[8] Samuel Adams.
[9] From Webster's "Supposed Speech of Opposition to Independence."
[10] From Webster's "Supposed Speech of John Adams."
[11] From Webster's "Supposed Speech of Opposition to Independence."
[12] From Webster's "Supposed Speech of John Adams."
[13] Adapted from the "Corner Stone" speech of Alexander H. Stephens,
and arranged by William R. Hood, Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C.
[14] From Wirt's "Supposed Speech of Patrick Henry."
[15] Robert Morris later signed the Declaration of Independence and
through his influence the American Revolution was financed. This speech
is adapted from Sumner's "True Grandeur of Nations" and other sources.
[16] From Wirt's "Supposed Speech of Patrick Henry."
[17] A monument was recently erected at Dover in his honor.
[18] On July 9, 1776, New York instructed her delegates to sign.
AMERICAN PATRIOTISM
[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON]
WHAT IS PATRIOTISM
Johnson defines a patriot as one whose ruling passion is the love of his
country, and patriotism as love and zeal for one's country. Curtis tells
us that Lowell's pursuit was literature, but patriotism was his passion.
"His love of country was that of a lover for his mistress. He resented
the least imputation upon the ideal America, and nothing was finer than
his instinctive scorn for the pinchbeck patriotism which brags and
boasts and swaggers, insisting that bigness is greatness and vulgarity
simplicity, and the will of a majority the moral law."
While some of us cannot make Lowell's pursuit our pursuit, we all can
and should make his passion our passion. Let us all, the native born as
well as the naturalized, say, deep down in our hearts with a patriotism
and a courage that will back it up and make it good, "Our Country--right
or wrong; if she is wrong we will set her right; if she is right we will
keep her right; and so let us trust in God and believe she is right."
Times like these demand men. Let American boys be taught in the home and
in the school and by the example of their fathers to be men among men.
"Men whom the lust of office will not kill,
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy,
Men who possess opinions and a will,
Men who have honor and will not lie;
Men who can stand before the demagogue
And down his treacherous flattering without winking,
Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking!"[1]
Times like these demand women! Let American girls be taught in the home
and in the school and by the example of their mothers to be women among
women.
"Be women! on to duty!
Raise the world from all that's low;
Place high in the social heaven
Virtue's fair and radiant bow;
Lend thy influence to each effort
That shall raise our nature human;
Be not fashion's gilded ladies,--
Be brave, whole-souled, true women!"[2]
To help to make such men and women of all American boys and
girls--Americans in _deeds_ as well as in _words_--Americans, who
knowing their rights, dare maintain them "_without compromise and at any
cost_"--this is the purpose of the following selections.
Jasper L. McBrien.
AMERICA FOR ME[3]
'Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down
Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,
To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the kings--
But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things.
_So it's home again, and home again, America for me!
My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,
In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars._
Oh! London is a man's town, there's power in the air;
And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair;
And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome;
But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.
I like the German fir-woods, in green battalions drilled;
I like the gardens of Versailles with flashing fountains filled;
But, oh, to take your hand, my dear, and ramble for a day
In the friendly western woodland where Nature has her way!
I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack:
The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.
But the glory of the Present is to make the Future free--
We love our land for what she is and what she is to be.
_Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me!
I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling sea,
To the blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars._
Henry van Dyke
AMERICA FIRST
The following address was delivered by President Wilson at the
celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, Washington, D. C., October 11th, 1915. It is
given here by special permission of the president.
MADAM PRESIDENT AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:--Again it is my very great
privilege to welcome you to the city of Washington and to the
hospitalities of the Capital. May I admit a point of ignorance? I was
surprised to learn that this association is so young, and that an
association so young should devote itself wholly to memory I cannot
believe. For to me the duties to which you are consecrated are more than
the duties and the pride of memory.
There is a very great thrill to be had from the memories of the American
Revolution, but the American Revolution was a beginning, not a
consummation, and the duty laid upon us by that beginning is the duty of
bringing the things then begun to a noble triumph of completion. For it
seems to me that the peculiarity of patriotism in America is that it is
not a mere sentiment. It is an active principle of conduct. It is
something that was born into the world, not to please it but to
regenerate it. It is something that was born into the world to replace
systems that had preceded it and to bring men out upon a new plane of
privilege. The glory of the men whose memories you honor and perpetuate
is that they saw this vision, and it was a vision of the future. It was
a vision of great days to come when a little handful of three million
people upon the borders of a single sea should have become a great
multitude of free men and women spreading across a great continent,
dominating the shores of two oceans, and sending West as well as East
the influences of individual freedom. These things were consciously in
their minds as they framed the great Government which was born out of
the American Revolution; and every time we gather to perpetuate their
memories it is incumbent upon us that we should be worthy of recalling
them and that we should endeavor by every means in our power to emulate
their example.
The American Revolution was the birth of a nation; it was the creation
of a great free republic based upon traditions of personal liberty which
theretofore had been confined to a single little island, but which it
was purposed should spread to all mankind. And the singular fascination
of American history is that it has been a process of constant
re-creation, of making over again in each generation the thing which was
conceived at first. You know how peculiarly necessary that has been in
our case, because America has not grown by the mere multiplication of
the original stock. It is easy to preserve tradition with continuity of
blood; it is easy in a single family to remember the origins of the race
and the purposes of its organization; but it is not so easy when that
race is constantly being renewed and augmented from other sources, from
stocks that did not carry or originate the same principles.
So from generation to generation strangers have had to be indoctrinated
with the principles of the American family, and the wonder and the
beauty of it all has been that the infection has been so generously
easy. For the principles of liberty are united with the principles of
hope. Every individual, as well as every nation, wishes to realize the
best thing that is in him, the best thing that can be conceived out of
the materials of which his spirit is constructed. It has happened in a
way that fascinates the imagination that we have not only been augmented
by additions from outside, but that we have been greatly stimulated by
those additions. Living in the easy prosperity of a free people, knowing
that the sun had always been free to shine upon us and prosper our
undertakings, we did not realize how hard the task of liberty is and how
rare the privilege of liberty is; but men were drawn out of every
climate and out of every race because of an irresistible attraction of
their spirits to the American ideal. They thought of America as lifting,
like that great statue in the harbor of New York, a torch to light the
pathway of men to the things that they desire, and men of all sorts and
conditions struggled toward that light and came to our shores with an
eager desire to realize it, and a hunger for it such as some of us no
longer felt, for we were as if satiated and satisfied and were indulging
ourselves after a fashion that did not belong to the ascetic devotion of
the early devotees of those great principles. Strangers came to remind
us of what we had promised ourselves and through ourselves had promised
mankind. All men came to us and said, "Where is the bread of life with
which you promised to feed us, and have you partaken of it yourselves?"
For my part, I believe that the constant renewal of this people out of
foreign stocks has been a constant source of reminder to this people of
what the inducement was that was offered to men who would come and be of
our number.
Now we have come to a time of special stress and test. There never was
time when we needed more clearly to conserve the principles of our own
patriotism than this present time. The rest of the world from which our
polities were drawn seems for the time in the crucible and no man can
predict what will come out of that crucible. We stand apart,
unembroiled, conscious of our own principles, conscious of what we hope
and purpose, so far as our powers permit, for the world at large, and it
is necessary that we should consolidate the American principle. Every
political action, every social action, should have for its object in
America at this time to challenge the spirit of America; to ask that
every man and woman who thinks first of America should rally to the
standards of our life. There have been some among us who have not
thought first of America, who have thought to use the might of America
in some matter not of America's origination. They have forgotten that
the first duty of a nation is to express its own individual principles
in the action of the family of nations and not to seek to aid and abet
any rival or contrary ideal. Neutrality is a negative word. It is a word
that does not express what America ought to feel. America has a heart
and that heart throbs with all sorts of intense sympathies, but America
has schooled its heart to love the things that America believes in and
it ought to devote itself only to the things that America believes in;
and, believing that America stands apart in its ideals, it ought not to
allow itself to be drawn, so far as its heart is concerned, into
anybody's quarrel. Not because it does not understand the quarrel, not
because it does not in its head assess the merits of the controversy,
but because America has promised the world to stand apart and maintain
certain principles of action which are grounded in law and in justice.
We are not trying to keep out of trouble; we are trying to preserve the
foundations upon which peace can be rebuilt. Peace can be rebuilt only
upon the ancient and accepted principles of international law, only upon
those things which remind nations of their duties to each other, and,
deeper than that, of their duties to mankind and to humanity.
America has a great cause which is not confined to the American
continent. It is the cause of humanity itself. I do not mean in anything
that I say even to imply a judgment upon any nation or upon any policy,
for my object here this afternoon is not to sit in judgment upon anybody
but ourselves and to challenge you to assist all of us who are trying to
make America more than ever conscious of her own principles and her own
duty. I look forward to the necessity in every political agitation in
the years which are immediately at hand of calling upon every man to
declare himself, where he stands. Is it America first, or is it not?
We ought to be very careful about some of the impressions that we are
forming just now. There is too general an impression, I fear, that very
large numbers of our fellow citizens born in other lands have not
entertained with sufficient intensity and affection the American ideal.
But the number of such is, I am sure, not large. Those who would seek to
represent them are very vocal, but they are not very influential. Some
of the best stuff of America has come out of foreign lands, and some of
the best stuff in America is in the men who are naturalized citizens of
the United States. I would not be afraid upon the test of "America
first" to take a census of all the foreign-born citizens of the United
States, for I know that the vast majority of them came here because they
believed in America; and their belief in America has made them better
citizens than some people who were born in America. They can say that
they have bought this privilege with a great price. They have left their
homes, they have left their kindred, they have broken all the nearest
and dearest ties of human life in order to come to a new land, take a
new rootage, begin a new life, and so by self-sacrifice express their
confidence in a new principle; whereas, it cost us none of these things.
We were born into this privilege; we were rocked and cradled in it; we
did nothing to create it; and it is, therefore, the greater duty on our
part to do a great deal to enhance it and preserve it. I am not deceived
as to the balance of opinion among the foreign-born citizens of the
United States, but I am in a hurry for an opportunity to have a line-up
and let the men who are thinking first of other countries stand on one
side and all those that are for America first, last, and all the time on
the other side.
Now, you can do a great deal in this direction. When I was a college
officer. I used to be very much opposed to hazing; not because hazing is
not wholesome, but because sophomores are poor judges. I remember a very
dear friend of mine, a professor of ethics on the other side of the
water, was asked if he thought it was ever justifiable to tell a lie. He
said Yes, he thought it was sometimes justifiable to lie; "but," he
said, "it is so difficult to judge of the justification that I usually
tell the truth." I think that ought to be the motto of the sophomore.
There are freshmen who need to be hazed, but the need is to be judged by
such nice tests that a sophomore is hardly old enough to determine them.
But the world can determine them. We are not freshmen at college, but we
are constantly hazed. I would a great deal rather be obliged to draw
pepper up my nose than to observe the hostile glances of my neighbors. I
would a great deal rather be beaten than ostracized. I would a great
deal rather endure any sort of physical hardship if I might have the
affection of my fellow men. We constantly discipline our fellow citizens
by having an opinion about them. That is the sort of discipline we ought
now to administer to everybody who is not to the very core of his heart
an American. Just have an opinion about him and let him experience the
atmospheric effects of that opinion! And I know of no body of persons
comparable to a body of ladies for creating an atmosphere of opinion! I
have myself in part yielded to the influences of that atmosphere, though
it took me a long time to determine how I was going to vote in New
Jersey.
So it has seemed to me that my privilege this afternoon was not merely
a privilege of courtesy, but the real privilege of reminding you--for I
am sure I am doing nothing more--of the great principles which we stand
associated to promote. I for my part rejoice that we belong to a country
in which the whole business of government is so difficult. We do not
take orders from anybody; it is a universal communication of conviction,
the most subtle, delicate, and difficult of processes. There is not a
single individual's opinion that is not of some consequence in making up
the grand total, and to be in this great coöperative effort is the most
stimulating thing in the world. A man standing alone may well misdoubt
his own judgment. He may mistrust his own intellectual processes; he may
even wonder if his own heart leads him right in matters of public
conduct; but if he finds his heart part of the great throb of a national
life, there can be no doubt about it. If that is his happy circumstance,
then he may know that he is part of one of the great forces of the
world.
I would not feel any exhilaration in belonging to America if I did not
feel that she was something more than a rich and powerful nation. I
should not feel proud to be in some respects and for a little while her
spokesman if I did not believe that there was something else than
physical force behind her. I believe that the glory of America is that
she is a great spiritual conception and that in the spirit of her
institutions dwells not only her distinction but her power. The one
thing that the world can not permanently resist is the moral force of
great and triumphant convictions.
THE MEANING OF THE FLAG
The following address on the Flag was delivered by President
Woodrow Wilson from the south portico of the Treasury Building,
Washington, D.C., June 14, 1915.
MR. SECRETARY, FRIENDS, AND FELLOW CITIZENS:--I know of nothing more
difficult than to render an adequate tribute to the emblem of our
nation. For those of us who have shared that nation's life and felt the
beat of its pulse it must be considered a matter of impossibility to
express the great things which that emblem embodies. I venture to say
that a great many things are said about the flag which very few people
stop to analyze. For me the flag does not express a mere body of vague
sentiment. The flag of the United States has not been created by
rhetorical sentences in declarations of independence and in bills of
rights. It has been created by the experience of a great people, and
nothing is written upon it that has not been written by their life. It
is the embodiment, not of a sentiment, but of a history, and no man can
rightly serve under that flag who has not caught some of the meaning of
that history.
Experience, ladies and gentlemen, is made by men and women. National
experience is the product of those who do the living under that flag. It
is their living that has created its significance. You do not create the
meaning of a national life by any literary exposition of it, but by the
actual daily endeavors of a great people to do the tasks of the day and
live up to the ideals of honesty and righteousness and just conduct. And
as we think of these things, our tribute is to those men who have
created this experience. Many of them are known by name to all the
world--statesmen, soldiers, merchants, masters of industry, men of
letters and of thought who have coined our hearts into action or into
words. Of these men we feel that they have shown us the way. They have
not been afraid to go before. They have known that they were speaking
the thoughts of a great people when they led that great people along the
paths of achievement. There was not a single swashbuckler among them.
They were men of sober, quiet thought, the more effective because there
was no bluster in it. They were men who thought along the lines of duty,
not along the lines of self-aggrandizement. They were men, in short, who
thought of the people whom they served and not of themselves.
But while we think of these men and do honor to them as to those who
have shown us the way, let us not forget that the real experience and
life of a nation lies with the great multitude of unknown men. It lies
with those men whose names are never in the headlines of newspapers,
those men who know the heat and pain and desperate loss of hope that
sometimes comes in the great struggle of daily life; not the men who
stand on the side and comment, not the men who merely try to interpret
the great struggle, but the men who are engaged in the struggle. They
constitute the body of the nation. This flag is the essence of their
daily endeavors. This flag does not express any more than what they are
and what they desire to be.
As I think of the life of this great nation it seems to me that we
sometimes look to the wrong places for its sources. We look to the noisy
places, where men are talking in the market place; we look to where men
are expressing their individual opinions; we look to where partisans are
expressing passions: instead of trying to attune our ears to that
voiceless mass of men who merely go about their daily tasks, try to be
honorable, try to serve the people they love, try to live worthy of the
great communities to which they belong. These are the breath of the
nation's nostrils; these are the sinews of its might.
How can any man presume to interpret the emblem of the United States,
the emblem of what we would fain be among the family of nations, and
find it incumbent upon us to be in the daily round of routine duty? This
is Flag Day, but that only means that it is a day when we are to recall
the things which we should do every day of our lives. There are no days
of special patriotism. There are no days when we should be more
patriotic than on other days. We celebrate the Fourth of July merely
because the great enterprise of liberty was started on the fourth of
July in America, but the great enterprise of liberty was not begun in
America. It is illustrated by the blood of thousands of martyrs who
lived and died before the great experiment on this side of the water.
The Fourth of July merely marks the day when we consecrated ourselves
as a nation to this high thing which we pretend to serve. The benefit of
a day like this is merely in turning away from the things that distract
us, turning away from the things that touch us personally and absorb our
interest in the hours of daily work. We remind ourselves of those things
that are greater than we are, of those principles by which we believe
our hearts to be elevated, of the more difficult things that we must
undertake in these days of perplexity when a man's judgment is safest
only when it follows the line of principle.
I am solemnized in the presence of such a day. I would not undertake to
speak your thoughts. You must interpret them for me. But I do feel that
back, not only of every public official, but of every man and woman of
the United States, there marches that great host which has brought us to
the present day; the host that has never forgotten the vision which it
saw at the birth of the nation; the host which always responds to the
dictates of humanity and of liberty; the host that will always
constitute the strength and the great body of friends of every man who
does his duty to the United States.
I am sorry that you do not wear a little flag of the Union every day
instead of some days. I can only ask you, if you lose the physical
emblem, to be sure that you wear it in your heart, and the heart of
America shall interpret the heart of the world.
MAKERS OF THE FLAG
The following address was delivered by the Honorable Franklin K.
Lane, Secretary of the Interior, before the officers and employees
of this Department, about 5,000 in number, at the Inner Court,
Patent Office Building, June 14, 1914.
This morning, as I passed into the Land Office, The Flag dropped me a
most cordial salutation, and from its rippling folds I heard it say:
"Good morning, Mr. Flag Maker."
"I beg your pardon, Old Glory," I said, "aren't you mistaken? I am not
the president of the United States, nor a member of Congress, nor even a
general in the army. I am only a government clerk."
"I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker," replied the gay voice, "I know you
well. You are the man who worked in the swelter of yesterday
straightening out the tangle of that farmer's homestead in Idaho, or
perhaps you found the mistake in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or
helped to clear that patent for the hopeful inventor in New York, or
pushed the opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that mine in
Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old soldier in Wyoming. No
matter; whichever one of these beneficent individuals you may happen to
be, I give you greeting, Mr. Flag Maker."
I was about to pass on, when The Flag stopped me with these words:
"Yesterday the president spoke a word that made happier the future of
ten millions peons in Mexico; but that act looms no larger on the flag
than the struggle which the boy in Georgia is making to win the Corn
Club prize this summer.
"Yesterday the Congress spoke a word which will open the door of Alaska;
but a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise until far into the night,
to give her boy an education. She, too, is making the flag.
"Yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics, and yesterday,
maybe, a school teacher in Ohio taught his first letters to a boy who
will one day write a song that will give cheer to the millions of our
race. We are all making the flag."
"But," I said impatiently, "these people were only working."
Then came a great shout from The Flag:
"THE WORK that we do is the making of the flag.
"I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its shadow.
"I am whatever you make me, nothing more.
"I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become.
"I live a changing life, a life of moods and passions, of heartbreaks
and tired muscles.
"Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men do an honest work, fitting
the rails together truly.
"Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has gone from me, and cynically I
play the coward.
"Sometimes I am loud, garish and full of that ego that blasts judgment.
"But always I am all that you hope to be, and have the courage to try
for.
"I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope.
"I am the day's work of the weakest man, and the largest dream of the
most daring.
"I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the statute makers,
soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and
clerk.
"I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of to-morrow.
"I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why.
"I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolution.
"I am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you
believe I can be.
"I am what you make me, nothing more.
"I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of
yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this
Nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors. They are
bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you
have made them so out of your hearts. For you are the makers of the flag
and it is well that you glory in the making."
THE FLAG OF THE UNION FOREVER
Speech of General Fitzhugh Lee at a dinner given by the Friendly
Sons of St. Patrick and the Hibernian Society of Philadelphia, at
the city of Philadelphia, September 17, 1887. The occasion of the
dinner was the one hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the
Constitution of the United States. General Lee, then governor of
Virginia, was the guest of Governor Beaver at the dinner. The
Chairman, Hon. Andrew G. Curtin [Pennsylvania's war governor], in
introducing General Lee said: "We have here to-day a gentleman whom
I am glad to call my friend, though during the war he was in
dangerous and unpleasant proximity to me. He once threatened the
capital of this great state. I did not wish him to come in, and was
very glad when he went away. He was then my enemy and I was his.
But, thank God, that is past; and in the enjoyment of the rights
and interests common to all as American citizens, I am his friend
and he is my friend. I introduce to you, Governor Fitzhugh Lee."
MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HIBERNIAN SOCIETY:--I am very glad,
indeed, to have the honor of being present in this society once more; as
it was my good fortune to enjoy a most pleasant visit here and an
acquaintance with the members of your society last year. My engagements
were such to-day that I could not get here earlier; and just as I was
coming in Governor Beaver was making his excuses because, as he said, he
had to go to pick up a visitor whom he was to escort to the
entertainment to be given this evening at the Academy of Music. I am the
visitor whom Governor Beaver is looking for. He could not capture me
during the war, but he has captured me now. I am a Virginian and used to
ride a pretty fast horse, and he could not get close enough to me.
By the way, you have all heard of "George Washington and his little
hatchet." The other day I heard a story that was a little variation upon
the original, and I am going to take up your time for a minute by
repeating it to you.
It was to this effect: Old Mr. Washington and Mrs. Washington, the
parents of George, found on one occasion that their supply of soap for
the use of the family at Westmoreland had been exhausted, and so they
decided to make some family soap. They made the necessary arrangements
and gave the requisite instructions to the family servant. After an hour
or so the servant returned and reported to them that he could not make
that soap. "Why not," he was asked, "haven't you all the materials?"
"Yes," he replied, "but there is something wrong." The old folks
proceeded to investigate, and they found they had actually got the ashes
of the little cherry tree that George had cut down with his hatchet, and
there was no lye in it.
Now, I assure you, there is no "lie" in what I say to you this
afternoon, and that is, that I thank God for the sun of the Union which,
once obscured, is now again in the full stage of its glory; and that its
light is shining over Virginia as well as over the rest of this country.
We have had our differences. I do not see, upon reading history, how
they could well have been avoided, because they resulted from different
constructions of the Constitution, which was the helm of the ship of the
republic. Virginia construed it one way. Pennsylvania construed it in
another, and they could not settle their differences; so they went to
war, and Pennsylvania, I think, probably got a little the best of it.
The sword, at any rate, settled the controversy. But that is behind us.
We have now a great and glorious future in front of us, and it is
Virginia's duty to do all that she can to promote the honor and glory of
this country. We fought to the best of our ability for four years; and
it would be a great mistake to assume that you could bring men from
their cabins, from their plows, from their houses, and from their
families to make them fight as they fought in that contest unless they
were fighting for a belief. Those men believed that they had the right
construction of the Constitution, and that a state that voluntarily
entered the Union could voluntarily withdraw from it. They did not fight
for Confederate money. It was not worth ten cents a yard. They did not
fight for Confederate rations--you would have had to curtail the demands
of your appetite to make it correspond with the size and quality of
those rations. They fought for what they thought was a proper
construction of the Constitution.
They were defeated. They acknowledged their defeat. They came back to
their father's house, and there they are going to stay. But if we are to
continue prosperous, if this country, stretching from the gulf to the
lakes and from ocean to ocean, is to be mindful of its own best
interests, in the future, we will have to make concessions and
compliances, we will have to bear with each other and to respect each
other's opinions. Then we will find that that harmony will be secured
which is as necessary for the welfare of states, as it is for the
welfare of individuals.
I have become acquainted with Governor Beaver--I met him in Richmond.
You could not make me fight him now. If I had known him before the war,
perhaps we would not have got at it. If all the Governors had known each
other, and if all the people of different sections had been known to
each other, or had been thrown together in business or social
communication, the fact would have been recognized at the outset, as it
is to-day, that there are just as good men in Maine as there are in
Texas, and just as good men in Texas as there are in Maine. Human nature
is everywhere the same; and when intestine strifes occur, we will
doubtless always be able by a conservative, pacific course to pass
smoothly over the rugged, rocky edges, and the old Ship of State will be
brought into a safe, commodious, Constitutional harbor with the flag of
the Union flying over her, and there it will remain.
FROM WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
The appeal for a perpetual union and obedience to established law,
the warning against the evils of partisan politics and against the
dangers of entangling foreign alliances made by Washington in this
immortal address were never more important than at the present
time. They will become more important for each succeeding
generation. Let those who would know America's mission make a
careful study of this the greatest of state papers.
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now
dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of
your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your
peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty
which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from
different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken,
many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this
truth, as this is the point in your political fortress against which the
batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and
actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of
infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of
your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that
you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it;
accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of
your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with
jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion
that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon
the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our
country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link
together the various parts.
For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by
birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to
concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you
in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of
patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.
With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners,
habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and
triumphed together. The independence and liberty you possess are the
work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings,
and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to
your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more
immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds
the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the
union of the whole.
The _North_, in an unrestrained intercourse with the _South_, protected
by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of
the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial
enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The
_South_, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the same agency of the
_North_, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning
partly into its own channels the seamen of the _North_, it finds its
particular navigation invigorated; and while it contributes in different
ways to nourish and increase the general mass of the national
navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength to
which itself is unequally adapted. The _East_, in a like intercourse
with the _West_, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of
interior communications by land and water will more and more find, a
valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad or
manufactures at home. The _West_ derives from the _East_ supplies
requisite to its growth and comfort, and what is perhaps of still
greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the _secure_ enjoyment of
indispensable _outlets_ for its own productions to the weight,
influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the
Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as _one
nation_. Any other tenure by which the _West_ can hold this essential
advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength or from an
apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be
intrinsically precarious.
While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and
particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find
in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater
resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less
frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations, and what is of
inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those
broils and wars between themselves which so frequently afflict
neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which
their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which
opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate
and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those
overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government,
are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as
particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that
your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and
that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the
other.
These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and
virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary
object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government
can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to
mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope
that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of
governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue
to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With
such powerful and obvious motives to union affecting all parts of our
country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its
impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism
of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.
* * * * *
To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole
is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be
an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the infractions
and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced.
Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first
essay by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated
than your former for an intimate union and for the efficacious
management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of
our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation
and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the
distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing
within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to
your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance
with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the
fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems
is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of
government. But the constitution which at any time exists till changed
by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly
obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the
people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual
to obey the established government.
All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and
associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design
to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and
action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this
fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize
faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the
place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a
small but artful and enterprising minority of the community, and,
according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the
public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous
projects of faction rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome
plans, digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.
However combinations or associations of the above description may now
and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and
things to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and
unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and
to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards
the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
* * * * *
Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and
harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct. And can it
be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a
free, enlightened, and at no distant period a great nation to give to
mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided
by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course
of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any
temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it?
Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a
nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by
every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered
impossible by its vices?
In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that
permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and
passionate attachments for others should be excluded, and that in place
of them just and amicable feelings toward all should be cultivated. The
nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual
fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to
its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its
duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes
each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight
causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable when accidental or
trifling occasions of dispute occur.
Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests.
The nation prompted by ill will and resentment sometimes impels to war
the government contrary to the best calculations of policy. The
government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts
through passion what reason would reject. At other times it makes the
animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility, instigated
by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace
often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim.
So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces
a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the
illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common
interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other,
betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the
latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to
concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which
is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions by
unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by
exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate in the
parties from whom equal privileges are withheld; and it gives to
ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the
favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their
own country without odium, sometimes even with popularity, gilding with
the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable
deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good the
base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.
As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments
are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent
patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic
factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion,
to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attachment of a small
or weak toward a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the
satellite of the latter. Against the insidious wiles of foreign
influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealousy of
a free people ought to be _constantly_ awake, since history and
experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes
of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be
impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be
avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one
foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they
actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even
second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist
the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious,
while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the
people to surrender their interests.
The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in
extending our commercial relations to have with them as little
_political_ connection as possible. So far as we have already formed
engagements let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us
stop.
Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none or a very
remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies,
the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence,
therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial
ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics or the ordinary
combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.
Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a
different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient
government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury
from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause
the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously
respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making
acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation;
when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice,
shall counsel.
Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own
to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that
of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of
European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?
WASHINGTON
Address by John W. Daniel, lawyer, statesman, United States senator
from Virginia, delivered in the hall of the House of
Representatives, Washington, D. C., at the dedication of the
Washington National Monument, February 21, 1885, Mr. Daniel being
then a member of the House from Virginia. He was introduced by
Senator George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, president pro tempore of the
Senate, who occupied the speaker's chair, and presided at the
dedicatory exercises.
MR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, SENATORS, REPRESENTATIVES, JUDGES,
MR. CHAIRMAN, AND MY COUNTRYMEN:--Alone in its grandeur stands forth the
character of Washington in history; alone like some peak that has no
fellow in the mountain range of greatness.
"Washington," says Guizot, "Washington did the two greatest things which
in politics it is permitted to man to attempt. He maintained by peace
the independence of his country, which he had conquered by war. He
founded a free government in the name of principles of order and by
re-establishing their sway."
Washington did indeed do these things. But he did more. Out of
disconnected fragments he molded a whole and made it a country. He
achieved his country's independence by the sword. He maintained that
independence by peace as by war. He finally established both his country
and its freedom in an enduring frame of constitutional government,
fashioned to make Liberty and Union one and inseparable. These four
things together constitute the unexampled achievement of Washington.
The world has ratified the profound remark of Fisher Ames, that "he
changed mankind's ideas of political greatness." It has approved the
opinion of Edward Everett, that he was "the greatest of good men and the
best of great men." It has felt for him, with Erskine, "an awful
reverence." It has attested the declaration of Brougham, that "he was
the greatest man of his own or of any age." It is matter of fact to-day,
as when General Hamilton, announcing his death to the army, said, "The
voice of praise would in vain endeavor to exalt a name unrivaled in the
lists of true glory." America still proclaims him, as did Colonel Henry
Lee, on the floor of the House of Representatives, the man "first in
war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." And
from beyond the sea the voice of Alfieri, breathing the soul of all
lands and peoples, still pronounces the blessing, "Happy are you who
have for the sublime and permanent basis of your glory the love of
country demonstrated by deeds."
Ye who have unrolled the scrolls that tell the tale of the rise and fall
of nations, before whose eyes has moved the panorama of man's struggles,
achievements, and progression, find you anywhere the story of one whose
life work is more than a fragment of that which in his life is set
before you? Conquerors, who have stretched your scepters over boundless
territories; founders of empire, who have held your dominions in reign
of law; reformers, who have cried aloud in the wilderness of oppression;
teachers, who have striven with reason to cast down false doctrine,
heresy and schism; statesmen, whose brains have throbbed with mighty
plans for the amelioration of human society; scar-crowned Vikings of the
sea, illustrious heroes of the land, who have borne the standards of
siege and battle--come forth in bright array from your glorious
fanes--and would ye be measured by the measure of his stature? Behold
you not in him a more illustrious and more venerable presence?
Statesman, Soldier, Patriot, Sage, Reformer of Creeds, Teacher of Truth
and Justice, Achiever and Preserver of Liberty--the First of
Men--Founder and Savior of his Country, Father of his People--this is
he, solitary and unapproachable in his grandeur. Oh! felicitous
Providence that gave to America OUR WASHINGTON!
High soars into the sky to-day--higher than the Pyramids or the dome of
St. Paul's or St. Peter's--the loftiest and most imposing structure that
man has ever reared--high soars into the sky to where
"Earth highest yearns to meet a star,"
the monument which "We the people of the United States" have erected to
his memory. It is a fitting monument, more fitting than any statue. For
his image could only display him in some one phase of his varied
character--as the Commander, the Statesman, the Planter of Mount Vernon,
or the Chief Magistrate of his Country. So art has fitly typified his
exalted life in yon plain lofty shaft. Such is his greatness, that only
by a symbol could it be represented. As Justice must be blind in order
to be whole in contemplation, so History must be silent, that by this
mighty sign she may unfold the amplitude of her story.
In 1657, while yet "a Cromwell filled the Stuarts' throne," there came
to Virginia with a party of Carlists who had rebelled against him John
Washington, of Yorkshire, England, who became a magistrate and member of
the House of Burgesses, and distinguished himself in Indian warfare as
the first colonel of his family on this side of the water. He was the
nephew of that Sir Henry Washington who had led the forlorn hope of
Prince Rupert at Bristol in 1643, and who, with a starving and mutinous
garrison, had defended Worcester in 1649, answering all calls for
surrender that he "awaited His Majesty's commands."
And his progenitors had for centuries, running back to the conquest,
been men of mark and fair renown. Pride and modesty of individuality
alike forbid the seeking from any source of a borrowed lustre, and the
Washingtons were never studious or pretentious of ancestral dignities.
But "we are quotations from our ancestors," says the philosopher of
Concord--and who will say that in the loyalty to conscience and to
principle, and to the right of self-determination of what is principle,
that the Washingtons have ever shown, whether as loyalist or rebel, was
not the germ of that deathless devotion to liberty and country which
soon discarded all ancient forms in the mighty stroke for independence?
One hundred and fifty-three years ago, on the banks of the Potomac, in
the county of Westmoreland, on a spot marked now only by a memorial
stone, of the blood of the people whom I have faintly described, fourth
in descent from the Colonel John Washington whom I have named, there
was born a son to Augustine and Mary Washington. And not many miles
above his birthplace is the dwelling where he lived, and near which he
now lies buried.
Borne upon the bosom of that river which here mirrors Capitol dome and
monumental shaft in its seaward flow, the river itself seems to reverse
its current and bear us silently into the past. Scarce has the vista of
the city faded from our gaze when we behold on the woodland height that
swells above the waters--amidst walks and groves and gardens--the white
porch of that old colonial plantation home which has become the shrine
of many a pilgrimage. Contrasting it as there it stands to-day with the
marble halls which we have left behind us, we realize the truth of
Emerson: "The atmosphere of moral sentiment is a region of grandeur
which reduces all material magnificence to toys, yet opens to every
wretch that has reason the doors of the Universe."
The quaint old wooden mansion, with the stately but simple old-fashioned
mahogany furniture, real and ungarnished; the swords and relics of
campaigns and scenes familiar to every schoolboy now; the key of the
Bastile hanging in the hall incased in glass, calling to mind Tom
Paine's happy expression, "That the principles of the American
Revolution opened the Bastile is not to be doubted, therefore the key
comes to the right place;" the black velvet coat worn when the farewell
address to the Army was made; the rooms all in nicety of preparation as
if expectant of the coming host--we move among these memorials of days
and men long vanished--we stand under the great trees and watch the
solemn river, in its never-ceasing flow, we gaze upon the simple tomb
whose silence is unbroken save by the low murmur of the waters or the
wild bird's note, and we are enveloped in an atmosphere of moral
grandeur which no pageantry of moving men nor splendid pile can
generate. Nightly on the plain of Marathon--the Greeks have the
tradition--there may yet be heard the neighing of chargers and the
rushing shadows of spectral war. In the spell that broods over the
sacred groves of Vernon, Patriotism, Honor, Courage, Justice, Virtue,
Truth seem bodied forth, the only imperishable realities of man's being.
There emerges from the shades the figure of a youth over whose cradle
had hovered no star of destiny, nor dandled a royal crown--an ingenious
youth, and one who in his early days gave auguries of great powers. The
boy whose strong arm could fling a stone across the Rappahannock; whose
strong will could tame the most fiery horse; whose just spirit made him
the umpire of his fellows; whose obedient heart bowed to a mother's
yearning for her son and laid down the midshipman's warrant in the
British Navy which answered his first ambitious dream; the student
transcribing mathematical problems, accounts, and business forms, or
listening to the soldiers and seamen of vessels in the river as they
tell of "hair-breadth 'scapes by flood and field;" the early moralist in
his thirteenth year compiling matured "Rules for behavior and
conversation;" the surveyor of sixteen, exploring the wilderness for
Lord Fairfax, sleeping on the ground, climbing mountains, swimming
rivers, killing and cooking his own game, noting in his diary soils,
minerals, and locations, and making maps which are models of nice and
accurate draughtsmanship; the incipient soldier, studying tactics under
Adjutant Muse, and taking lessons in broadsword fence from the old
soldier of fortune, Jacob Van Braam; the major and adjutant-general of
the Virginia frontier forces at nineteen:--we seem to see him yet as
here he stood, a model of manly beauty in his youthful prime, a man in
all that makes a man ere manhood's years have been fulfilled, standing
on the threshold of a grand career, "hearing his days before him and the
trumpet of his life."
The scene changes. Out into the world of stern adventure he passes,
taking as naturally to the field and the frontier as the eagle to the
air. At the age of twenty-one he is riding from Williamsburg to the
French post at Venango, in Western Pennsylvania, on a mission for
Governor Dinwiddie, which requires "courage to cope with savages and
sagacity to negotiate with white men"--on that mission which Edward
Everett recognizes as "the first movement of a military nature which
resulted in the establishment of American Independence." At twenty-two
he has fleshed his maiden sword, has heard the bullets whistle, and
found "something charming in the sound;" and soon he is colonel of the
Virginia regiment in the unfortunate affair at Fort Necessity, and is
compelled to retreat after losing a sixth of his command. He quits the
service on a point of military etiquette and honor, but at twenty-three
he reappears as volunteer aide by the side of Braddock in the
ill-starred expedition against Fort Duquesne, and is the only mounted
officer unscathed in the disaster, escaping with four bullets through
his garments, and after having two horses shot under him.
The prophetic eye of Samuel Davies has now pointed him out as "that
heroic youth, Colonel Washington, whom I can but hope Providence has
hitherto preserved in so signal a manner for some important service to
his country;" and soon the prophecy is fulfilled. The same year he is in
command of the Virginia frontier forces. Arduous conflicts of varied
fortunes are ere long ended, and on the 25th of November, 1759, he
marches into the reduced fortress of Fort Duquesne--where Pittsburgh now
stands, and the Titans of Industry wage the eternal war of Toil--marches
in with the advanced guard of his troops, and plants the British flag
over its smoking ruins.
That self-same year Wolfe, another young and brilliant soldier of
Britain, has scaled and triumphed on the Heights of Abraham--his flame
of valor quenched as it lit the blaze of victory; Canada surrenders; the
Seven Years' War is done; the French power in America is broken, and the
vast region west of the Alleghenies, from the lakes to the Ohio,
embracing its valley and tributary streams, is under the scepter of King
George. America has been made whole to the English-speaking race, to
become in time the greater Britain.
Thus, building wiser than he knew, Washington had taken no small part in
cherishing the seed of a nascent nation.
[Illustration: WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON]
Mount Vernon welcomes back the soldier of twenty-seven, who has become a
name. Domestic felicity spreads its charms around him with the
"agreeable partner" whom he has taken to his bosom, and he dreams of
"more happiness than he has experienced in the wide and bustling world."
Already, ere his sword had found its scabbard, the people of Frederick
county had made him their member of the House of Burgesses. And the
quiet years roll by as the planter, merchant, and representative
superintends his plantation, ships his crops, posts his books, keeps his
diary, chases the fox for amusement, or rides over to Annapolis and
leads the dance at the Maryland capital--alternating between these
private pursuits and serving his people as member of the Legislature and
justice of the county court.
But ere long this happy life is broken. The air is electric with the
currents of revolution. England has launched forth on the fatal policy
of taxing her colonies without their consent. The spirit of liberty and
resistance is aroused. He is loth to part with the Mother Land, which he
still calls "home." But she turns a deaf ear to reason. The first
Colonial Congress is called. He is a delegate, and rides to Philadelphia
with Henry and Pendleton. The blow at Lexington is struck. The people
rush to arms. The sons of the Cavaliers spring to the side of the sons
of the Pilgrims. "Unhappy it is," he says, "that a brother's sword has
been sheathed in a brother's breast, and that the once happy plains of
America are to be either drenched in blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad
alternative! But how can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" He
becomes Commander-in-Chief of the American forces. After seven years'
war he is the deliverer of his country. The old Confederation passes
away. The Constitution is established. He is twice chosen President, and
will not consent longer to serve.
Once again Mount Vernon's grateful shades receive him, and there--the
world-crowned Hero now--he becomes again the simple citizen, wishing for
his fellow men "to see the whole world in peace and its inhabitants one
band of brothers, striving who could contribute most to the happiness of
mankind"--without a wish for himself, but "to live and die an honest man
on his farm." A speck of war spots the sky. John Adams, now president,
calls him forth as lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief to lead
America once more. But the cloud vanishes. Peace reigns. The lark sings
at Heaven's gate in the fair morn of the new nation. Serene, contented,
yet in the strength of manhood, though on the verge of threescore years
and ten, he looks forth--the quiet farmer from his pleasant fields, the
loving patriarch from the bowers of home--looks forth and sees the work
of his hands established in a free and happy people. Suddenly comes the
mortal stroke with severe cold. The agony is soon over. He feels his own
dying pulse--the hand relaxes--he murmurs, "It is well;" and Washington
is no more.
Washington, the friend of Liberty, is no more!
The solemn cry filled the universe. Amidst the tears of his people, the
bowed heads of kings, and the lamentations of the nations, they laid him
there to rest upon the banks of the river whose murmurs were his
boyhood's music--that river which, rising in mountain fastnesses amongst
the grandest works of nature and reflecting in its course the proudest
works of man, is a symbol of his history, which in its ceaseless and
ever-widening flow is a symbol of his eternal fame.
No sum could now be made of Washington's character that did not exhaust
language of its tributes and repeat virtues by all her names. No sum
could be made of his achievements that did not unfold the history of his
country and its institutions--the history of his age and its
progress--the history of man and his destiny to be free. But whether
character or achievement be regarded, the riches before us only expose
the poverty of praise. So clear was he in his great office that no ideal
of the Leader or the Ruler can be formed that does not shrink by the
side of the reality. And so has he impressed himself upon the minds of
men, that no man can justly aspire to be the chief of a great free
people who does not adopt his principles and emulate his example. We
look with amazement on such eccentric characters as Alexander, Cæsar,
Cromwell, Frederick, and Napoleon; but when the serene face of
Washington rises before us mankind instinctively exclaims, "This is the
Man for the nations to trust and reverence and for heroes and rulers to
copy."
Disinterested patriot, he would receive no pay for his military
services. Refusing gifts, he was glad to guide the benefaction of a
grateful state to educate the children of his fallen braves in the
institution at Lexington which yet bears his name. Without any of the
blemishes that mark the tyrant, he appealed so loftily to the virtuous
elements in man that he almost created the qualities of which his
country needed the exercise; and yet he was so magnanimous and
forbearing to the weaknesses of others, that he often obliterated the
vices of which he feared the consequence. But his virtue was more than
this. It was of that daring, intrepid kind that, seizing principle with
a giant's grasp, assumes responsibility at any hazard, suffers sacrifice
without pretense of martyrdom, bears calumny without reply, imposes
superior will and understanding on all around it, capitulates to no
unworthy triumph, but must carry all things at the point of clear and
blameless conscience. Scorning all manner of meanness and cowardice, his
bursts of wrath at their exhibition heighten our admiration for those
noble passions which were kindled by the inspirations and exigencies of
virtue.
Great in action as by the council board, the finest horseman and
knightliest figure of his time, he seemed designed by nature to lead in
those bold strokes which needs must come when the battle lies with a
single man--those critical moments of the campaign or the strife when,
if the mind hesitates or a nerve flinches, all is lost. We can never
forget the passage of the Delaware that black December night, amidst
shrieking winds and great upheaving blocks of ice which would have
petrified a leader of less hardy mold, and then the fell swoop at
Trenton. We behold him as when at Monmouth he turns back the retreating
lines, and galloping his white charger along the ranks until he falls,
leaps on his Arabian bay, and shouts to his men: "Stand fast, my boys,
the Southern troops are coming to support you!" And we hear Lafayette
exclaim, "Never did I behold so superb a man!" We see him again at
Princeton dashing through a storm of shot to rally the wavering troops;
he reins his horse between the contending lines, and cries: "Will you
leave your general to the foe?" then bolts into the thickest fray.
Colonel Fitzgerald, his aid, drops his reins and pulls his hat down over
his eyes that he may not see his chieftain fall, when, through the smoke
he reappears waving his hat, cheering on his men, and shouting: "Away,
dear Colonel, and bring up the troops; the day is ours." "Coeur de
Lion" might have doffed his plume to such a chief, for a great knight
was he, who met his foes full tilt in the shock of battle and hurled
them down with an arm whose sword flamed with righteous indignation.
As children pore over the pictures in their books where they can read
the words annexed to them, so we linger with tingling blood by such
inspiring scenes, while little do we reck of those dark hours when the
aching head pondered the problems of a country's fate. And yet there is
a greater theater in which Washington appears, although not so often has
its curtain been uplifted.
For it was as a statesman that Washington was greatest. Not in the sense
that Hamilton and Jefferson, Adams and Madison were statesmen; but in a
larger sense. Men may marshal armies who cannot drill divisions. Men may
marshal nations in storm and travail who have not the accomplishments of
their cabinet ministers. Not so versed as they was he in the details of
political science. And yet as he studied tactics when he anticipated
war, so he studied politics when he saw his civil role approaching,
reading the history and examining the principles of ancient and modern
confederacies, and making notes of their virtues, defects, and methods
of operation.
His pen did not possess the facile play and classic grace of their pens,
but his vigorous eloquence had the clear ring of our mother tongue. I
will not say that he was so astute, so quick, so inventive as the one or
another of them--that his mind was characterized by the vivacity of wit,
the rich colorings of fancy, or daring flights of imagination. But with
him thought and action like well-trained coursers kept abreast in the
chariot race, guided by an eye that never quailed, reined by a hand that
never trembled. He had a more infallible discrimination of circumstances
and men than any of his contemporaries. He weighed facts in a juster
scale, with larger equity, and firmer equanimity. He best applied to
them the lessons of experience. With greater ascendancy of character he
held men to their appointed tasks; with more inspiring virtue he
commanded more implicit confidence. He bore a truer divining-rod, and
through a wilderness of contention he alone was the unerring Pathfinder
of the People. There can, indeed, be no right conception of Washington
that does not accord him a great and extraordinary genius. I will not
say he could have produced a play of Shakespeare, or a poem of Milton,
handled with Kant the tangled skein of metaphysics, probed the secrecies
of mind and matter with Bacon, constructed a railroad or an engine like
Stephenson, wooed the electric spark from heaven to earth with Franklin,
or walked with Newton the pathways of the spheres. But if his genius
were of a different order, it was of as rare and high an order. It dealt
with man in the concrete, with his vast concerns of business stretching
over a continent and projected into the ages, with his seething
passions; with his marvelous exertions of mind, body, and spirit to be
free. He knew the materials he dealt with by intuitive perception of the
heart of man, by experience and observation of his aspirations and his
powers, by reflection upon his complex relations, rights, and duties as
a social being. He knew just where, between men and states, to erect the
monumental mark to divide just reverence for authority from just
resistance to its abuse. A poet of social facts, he interpreted by his
deeds the harmonies of justice.
First to perceive, and swift to point out, the defects in the Articles
of Confederation, they became manifest to all long before victory
crowned the warfare conducted under them. Charged by them with the
public defense, Congress could not put a soldier in the field; and
charged with defraying expenses, it could not levy a dollar of imposts
or taxes. It could, indeed, borrow money with the assent of nine states
of the thirteen, but what mockery of finance was that, when the borrower
could not command any resource of payment.
The states had indeed put but a scepter of straw in the legislative hand
of the Confederation--what wonder that it soon wore a crown of thorns!
The paper currency ere long dissolved to nothingness; for four days the
army was without food, and whole regiments drifted from the ranks of our
hard-pressed defenders. "I see," said Washington, "one head gradually
changing into thirteen; I see one army gradually branching into
thirteen, which, instead of looking up to Congress as the supreme
controlling power, are considering themselves as dependent upon their
respective states." While yet his sword could not slumber, his busy pen
was warning the statesmen of the country that unless Congress were
invested with adequate powers, or should assume them as matter of right,
we should become but thirteen states, pursuing local interests, until
annihilated in a general crash--the cause would be lost--and the fable
of the bundle of sticks applied to us.
In rapid succession his notes of alarm and invocations for aid to Union
followed each other to the leading men of the states, North and South.
Turning to his own state, and appealing to George Mason, "Where," he
exclaimed, "where are our men of abilities? Why do they not come forth
and save the country?" He compared the affairs of this great continent
to the mechanism of a clock, of which each state was putting its own
small part in order, but neglecting the great wheel, or spring, which
was to put the whole in motion. He summoned Jefferson, Wythe, and
Pendleton to his assistance, telling them that the present temper of
the states was friendly to lasting union, that the moment should be
improved and might never return, and that "after gloriously and
successfully contending against the usurpation of Britain we may fall a
prey to our own folly and disputes."
How keen the prophet's ken, that through the smoke of war discerned the
coming evil; how diligent the patriot's hand, that amidst awful
responsibilities reached futureward to avert it! By almost a miracle the
weak Confederation, "a barrel without a hoop," was held together
perforce of outside pressure; and soon America was free.
But not yet had beaten Britain concluded peace--not yet had dried the
blood of Victory's field, ere "follies and disputes" confounded all
things with their Babel tongues and intoxicated liberty gave loose to
license. An unpaid army with unsheathed swords clamored around a
poverty-stricken and helpless Congress. And grown at last impatient even
with their chief, officers high in rank plotted insurrection and
circulated an anonymous address, urging it "to appeal from the justice
to the fears of government, and suspect the man who would advise to
longer forbearance." Anarchy was about to erect the Arch of
Triumph--poor, exhausted, bleeding, weeping America lay in agony upon
her bed of laurels.
Not a moment did Washington hesitate. He convened his officers, and
going before them he read them an address, which, for homethrust
argument, magnanimous temper, and the eloquence of persuasion which
leaves nothing to be added, is not exceeded by the noblest utterances
of Greek or Roman. A nobler than Coriolanus was before them, who needed
no mother's or wife's reproachful tears to turn the threatening steel
from the gates of Rome. Pausing, as he read his speech, he put on his
spectacles and said: "I have grown gray in your service, and now find
myself growing blind." This unaffected touch of nature completed the
master's spell. The late fomenters of insurrection gathered to their
chief with words of veneration--the storm went by--and, says Curtis in
his History of the Constitution, "Had the Commander-in-Chief been other
than Washington, the land would have been deluged with the blood of
civil war."
But not yet was Washington's work accomplished. Peace dawned upon the
weary land, and parting with his soldiers, he pleaded with them for
union. "Happy, thrice happy, shall they be pronounced," he said, "who
have contributed anything in erecting this stupendous fabric of freedom
and empire; who have assisted in protecting the rights of human nature,
and establishing an asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and
religions." But still the foundations of the stupendous fabric trembled,
and no cement held its stones together. It was then, with that
thickening peril, Washington rose to his highest stature. Without civil
station to call forth his utterance, impelled by the intrepid impulse of
a soul that could not see the hope of a nation perish without leaping
into the stream to save it, he addressed the whole People of America in
a circular to the governors of the states: "Convinced of the importance
of the crisis, silence in me," he said, "would be a crime. I will,
therefore, speak the language of freedom and sincerity." He set forth
the need of union in a strain that touched the quick of sensibility; he
held up the citizens of America as sole lords of a vast tract of
continent; he portrayed the fair opportunity for political happiness
with which Heaven had crowned them; he pointed out the blessings that
would attend their collective wisdom; that mutual concessions and
sacrifices must be made; and that supreme power must be lodged somewhere
to regulate and govern the general concerns of the Confederate Republic,
without which the Union would not be of long duration. And he urged that
happiness would be ours if we seized the occasion and made it our own.
In this, one of the very greatest acts of Washington, was revealed the
heart of the man, the spirit of the hero, the wisdom of the sage--I
might almost say the sacred inspiration of the prophet.
But still the wing of the eagle drooped; the gathering storms baffled
his sunward flight. Even with Washington in the van, the column wavered
and halted--states straggling to the rear that had hitherto been
foremost for permanent union, under an efficacious constitution. And
while three years rolled by amidst the jargon of sectional and local
contentions, "the half-starved government," as Washington depicted it,
"limped along on crutches, tottering at every step." And while
monarchical Europe with saturnine face declared that the American hope
of union was the wild and visionary notion of romance, and predicted
that we would be to the end of time a disunited people, suspicious and
distrustful of each other, divided and subdivided into petty
commonwealths and principalities, lo! the very earth yawned under the
feet of America, and in that very region whence had come forth a
glorious band of orators, statesmen and soldiers to plead the cause and
fight the battles of Independence--lo! the volcanic fires of rebellion
burst forth upon the heads of the faithful, and the militia were
leveling the guns of the Revolution, against the breasts of their
brethren. "What, gracious God! is man?" Washington exclaimed: "It was
but the other day that we were shedding our blood to obtain the
constitutions under which we live, and now we are unsheathing our swords
to overturn them."
But see! there is a ray of hope. Maryland and Virginia had already
entered into a commercial treaty for regulating the navigation of the
rivers and great bay in which they had common interests, and Washington
had been one of the commissioners in its negotiation. And now, at the
suggestion of Maryland, Virginia had called on all the states to meet in
convention at Annapolis, to adopt commercial regulations for the whole
country. Could this foundation be laid, the eyes of the nation-builders
foresaw that the permanent structure would ere long rise upon it. But
when the day of meeting came no state north of New York or south of
Virginia was represented; and in their helplessness those assembled
could only recommend a constitutional convention, to meet in
Philadelphia in May, 1787, to provide for the exigencies of the
situation.
And still thick clouds and darkness rested on the land, and there
lowered upon its hopes a night as black as that upon the freezing
Delaware; but through the gloom the dauntless leader was still marching
on to the consummation of his colossal work, with a hope that never
died; with a courage that never faltered; with a wisdom that never
yielded that "all is vanity."
It was not permitted the Roman to despair of the republic, nor did
he--our chieftain. "It will all come right at last," he said. It did.
And now let the historian, Bancroft, speak: "From this state of despair
the country was lifted by Madison and Virginia." Again he says: "We come
now to a week more glorious for Virginia beyond any in her annals, or in
the history of any republic that had ever before existed."
It was that week in which Madison, "giving effect to his own
long-cherished wishes, and still earlier wishes of Washington,"
addressing, as it were, the whole country, and marshaling all the
states, warned them "that the crisis had arrived at which the people of
America are to decide the solemn question, whether they would, by wise
and magnanimous efforts reap the fruits of independence and of union, or
whether by giving way to unmanly jealousies and prejudices, or to
impartial and transitory interests, they would renounce the blessings
prepared for them by the Revolution," and conjuring them "to concur in
such further concessions and provisions as may be necessary to secure
the objects for which that government was instituted, and make the
United States as happy in peace as they had been glorious in war."
In such manner, my countrymen, Virginia, adopting the words of Madison,
and moved by the constant spirit of Washington, joined in convoking that
Constitutional Convention, in which he headed her delegation, and over
which he presided, and whose deliberations resulted in the formation and
adoption of that instrument which the premier of Great Britain
pronounces "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by
the brain and purpose of man."
In such manner the state which gave birth to the Father of his Country,
following his guiding genius to the Union, as it had followed his sword
through the battles of Independence, placed herself at the head of the
wavering column. In such manner America heard and hearkened to the voice
of her chief; and now closing ranks, and moving with reanimated step,
the thirteen commonwealths wheeled and faced to the front, on the line
of the Union, under the sacred ensign of the Constitution.
Thus at last was the crowning work of Washington accomplished. Out of
the tempests of war, and the tumults of civil commotion, the ages bore
their fruit, and the long yearning of humanity was answered. "Rome to
America" is the eloquent inscription on one stone contributed to yon
colossal shaft--taken from the ancient Temple of Peace that once stood
hard by the palace of the Cæsars. Uprisen from the sea of revolution,
fabricated from the ruins of the battered Bastiles, and dismantled
palaces of unhallowed power, stood forth now the Republic of republics,
the Nation of nations, the Constitution of constitutions, to which all
lands and times and tongues had contributed of their wisdom. And the
priestess of Liberty was in her holy temple.
When Salamis had been fought and Greece again kept free, each of the
victorious generals voted himself to be first in honor; but all agreed
that Themistocles was second. When the most memorable struggle for the
rights of human nature, of which time holds record, was thus happily
concluded in the muniment of their preservation, whoever else was
second, unanimous acclaim declared that Washington was first. Nor in
that struggle alone does he stand foremost. In the name of the people of
the United States, their president, their senators, their
representatives, and their judges, do crown to-day with the grandest
crown that veneration has ever lifted to the brow of glory, him, whom
Virginia gave to America, whom America has given to the world and to the
ages, and whom mankind with universal suffrage has proclaimed the
foremost of the founders of empire in the first degree of greatness;
whom Liberty herself has anointed as the first citizen in the great
Republic of Humanity.
Encompassed by the inviolate seas stands to-day the American Republic
which he founded--a freer Greater Britain--uplifted above the powers and
principalities of the earth, even as his monument is uplifted over roof
and dome and spire of the multitudinous city.
Long live the Republic of Washington! Respected by mankind, beloved of
all its sons, long may it be the asylum of the poor and oppressed of all
lands and religions--long may it be the citadel of that liberty which
writes beneath the eagle's folded wings, "We will sell to no man, we
will deny to no man, Right and Justice."
Long live the United States of America! Filled with the free,
magnanimous spirit, crowned by the wisdom, blessed by the moderation,
hovered over by the guardian angel of Washington's example; may they be
ever worthy in all things to be defended by the blood of the brave who
know the rights of man and shrink not from their assertion--may they be
each a column, and altogether, under the Constitution, a perpetual
Temple of Peace, unshadowed by a Cæsar's palace, at whose altar may
freely commune all who seek the union of Liberty and Brotherhood.
Long live our Country! Oh, long through the undying ages may it stand,
far removed in fact as in space from the Old World's feuds and follies,
alone in its grandeur and its glory, itself the immortal monument of him
whom Providence commissioned to teach man the power of Truth, and to
prove to the nations that their Redeemer liveth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Lecture by Henry Watterson, journalist and orator, editor of the
Louisville, Ky., _Courier Journal_ since 1868. This lecture was
originally delivered before the Lincoln Club of Chicago, February
12, 1895, and subsequently repeated on many platforms as a lecture.
It has been heard in all parts of the country, but nowhere, with
livelier demonstrations of approval than in the cities of the South
"from Richmond and Charleston to New Orleans and Galveston."
The statesmen in knee breeches and powdered wigs who signed the
Declaration of Independence and framed the Constitution--the soldiers in
blue-and-buff, top-boots and epaulets who led the armies of the
Revolution--were what we are wont to describe as gentlemen. They were
English gentlemen. They were not all, nor even generally, scions of the
British aristocracy; but they came, for the most part, of good
Anglo-Saxon and Scotch-Irish stock.
The shoe buckle and the ruffled shirt worked a spell peculiarly their
own. They carried with them an air of polish and authority. Hamilton,
though of obscure birth and small stature, is represented by those who
knew him to have been dignity and grace personified; and old Ben
Franklin, even in woolen hose, and none too courtier-like, was the
delight of the great nobles and fine ladies, in whose company he made
himself as much at home as though he had been born a marquis.
The first half of the Republic's first half century of existence the
public men of America, distinguished for many things, were chiefly and
almost universally distinguished for repose of bearing and sobriety of
behavior. It was not until the institution of African slavery had got
into politics as a vital force that Congress became a bear-garden, and
that our law-makers, laying aside their manners with their small
clothes, fell into the loose-fitting habiliments of modern fashion and
the slovenly jargon of partisan controversy. The gentlemen who signed
the Declaration and framed the Constitution were succeeded by
gentlemen--much like themselves--but these were succeeded by a race of
party leaders much less decorous and much more self-confident; rugged,
puissant; deeply moved in all that they said and did, and sometimes
turbulent; so that finally, when the volcano burst forth flames that
reached the heavens, great human bowlders appeared amid the glare on
every side; none of them much to speak of according to rules regnant at
St. James and Versailles; but vigorous, able men, full of their mission
and of themselves, and pulling for dear life in opposite directions.
There were Seward and Sumner and Chase, Corwin and Ben Wade, Trumbull
and Fessenden, Hale and Collamer and Grimes, and Wendell Phillips, and
Horace Greeley, our latter-day Franklin. There were Toombs and Hammond,
and Slidell and Wigfall, and the two little giants, Douglas and
Stephens, and Yancey and Mason, and Jefferson Davis. With them soft
words buttered no parsnips, and they cared little how many pitchers
might be broken by rude ones. The issue between them did not require a
diagram to explain it. It was so simple a child might understand. It
read, human slavery against human freedom, slave labor against free
labor, and involved a conflict as inevitable as it was irrepressible.
Greek was meeting Greek at last; and the field of politics became almost
as sulphurous and murky as an actual field of battle. Amid the noise and
confusion, the clashing of intellects like sabers bright, and the
booming of the big oratorical guns of the North and the South, now
definitely arrayed, there came one day into the Northern camp one of the
oddest figures imaginable; the figure of a man who, in spite of an
appearance somewhat at outs with Hogarth's line of beauty, wore a
serious aspect, if not an air of command, and, pausing to utter a single
sentence that might be heard above the din, passed on and for a moment
disappeared.
The sentence was pregnant with meaning. The man bore a commission from
God on high! He said: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
believe this Government cannot endure permanently half free and half
slave. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the
house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided." He was
Abraham Lincoln.
How shall I describe him to you? Shall I do so as he appeared to me,
when I first saw him immediately on his arrival in the national capital,
the chosen president of the United States, his appearance quite as
strange as the story of his life, which was then but half known and half
told, or shall I use the words of another and a more graphic
wordpainter?
In January, 1861, Colonel A. K. McClure, of Pennsylvania, journeyed to
Springfield, Illinois, to meet and confer with the man he had done so
much to elect, but whom he had never personally known. "I went directly
from the depot to Lincoln's house," says Colonel McClure, "and rang the
bell, which was answered by Lincoln, himself, opening the door. I doubt
whether I wholly concealed my disappointment at meeting him. Tall,
gaunt, ungainly, ill-clad, with a homeliness of manner that was unique
in itself, I confess that my heart sank within me as I remembered that
this was the man chosen by a great nation to become its ruler in the
gravest period of its history. I remember his dress as if it were but
yesterday--snuff-colored and slouchy pantaloons; open black vest, held
by a few brass buttons; straight or evening dress coat, with tightly
fitting sleeves to exaggerate his long, bony arms, all supplemented by
an awkwardness that was uncommon among men of intelligence. Such was the
picture I met in the person of Abraham Lincoln. We sat down in his
plainly furnished parlor and were uninterrupted during the nearly four
hours I remained with him, and little by little, as his earnestness,
sincerity, and candor were developed in conversation, I forgot all the
grotesque qualities which so confounded me when I first greeted him.
Before half an hour had passed I learned not only to respect, but,
indeed, to reverence the man."
A graphic portrait, truly, and not unlike. I recall him, two months
later, a little less uncouth, a little better dressed, but in
singularity and in angularity much the same. All the world now takes an
interest in every detail that concerned him, or that relates to the
weird tragedy of his life and death.
[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN 1861]
And who was this peculiar being, destined in his mother's arms--for
cradle he had none--so profoundly to affect the future of humankind? He
has told us, himself, in words so simple and unaffected, so idiomatic
and direct, that we can neither misread them, nor improve upon them.
Writing, in 1859, to one who had asked him for some biographic
particulars, Abraham Lincoln said:--
"I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My
parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished
families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who
died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My
paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham
County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where, a year or
two later, he was killed by the Indians, not in battle, but by
stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest.
"My father (Thomas Lincoln) at the death of his father was but six
years of age. By the early death of his father, and the very narrow
circumstances of his mother, he was, even in childhood, a wandering
laboring boy, and grew up literally without education. He never did
more in the way of writing than bunglingly to write his own
name.... He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County,
Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many
bears and other animals still in the woods.... There were some
schools, so-called, but no qualification was ever required of a
teacher beyond 'readin', writin', and cipherin' to the rule of
three.' If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to
sojourn in the neighborhood he was looked upon as a wizard.... Of
course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I
could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three. But that was
all.... The little advance I now have upon this store of education
I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity.
"I was raised to farm work ... till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one
I came to Illinois--Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, ...
where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came
the Black Hawk war; and I was elected captain of a volunteer
company, a success that gave me more pleasure than any I have had
since. I went into the campaign--was elated--ran for the
legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten--the only time I
ever have been beaten by the people. The next, and three succeeding
biennial elections, I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a
candidate afterward. During the legislative period I had studied
law and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was
elected to the lower house of Congress. Was not a candidate for
reëlection. From 1849 to 1854, inclusive, practiced law more
assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and
generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I
was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise aroused me again.
"If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be
said that I am in height six feet four inches, nearly; lean in
flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and eighty pounds; dark
complexion, with coarse black hair and gray eyes. No other marks or
brands recollected."
There is the whole story, told by himself, and brought down to the point
where he became a figure of national importance.
His political philosophy was expounded in four elaborate speeches; one
delivered at Peoria, Illinois, the 16th of October, 1854; one at
Springfield, Illinois, the 16th of June, 1858; one at Columbus, Ohio,
the 16th of September, 1859, and one the 27th of February, 1860, at
Cooper Institute, in the city of New York. Of course Mr. Lincoln made
many speeches and very good speeches. But these four, progressive in
character, contain the sum total of his creed touching the organic
character of the Government and at the same time his party view of
contemporary issues. They show him to have been an old-line Whig of the
school of Henry Clay, with strong emancipation leanings; a thorough
anti-slavery man, but never an extremist or an abolitionist. To the last
he hewed to the line thus laid down.
Two or three years ago I referred to Abraham Lincoln--in a casual
way--as one "inspired of God." I was taken to task for this and thrown
upon my defense. Knowing less then than I know now of Mr. Lincoln, I
confined myself to the superficial aspects of the case; to the career
of a man who seemed to have lacked the opportunity to prepare himself
for the great estate to which he had come, plucked as it were from
obscurity by a caprice of fortune.
Accepting the doctrine of inspiration as a law of the universe, I still
stand to this belief; but I must qualify it as far as it conveys the
idea that Mr. Lincoln was not as well equipped in actual knowledge of
men and affairs as any of his contemporaries. Mr. Webster once said that
he had been preparing to make his reply to Hayne for thirty years. Mr.
Lincoln had been in unconscious training for the presidency for thirty
years. His maiden address as a candidate for the Legislature, issued at
the ripe old age of twenty-three, closes with these words: "But if the
good people in their wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background,
I have been too familiar with disappointment to be very much chagrined."
The man who wrote that sentence, thirty years later wrote this sentence:
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as
surely they will be, by the angels of our better nature." Between those
two sentences, joined by a kindred, somber thought, flowed a
life-current--
"Strong, without rage, without o'erflowing, full,"
pausing never for an instant; deepening whilst it ran, but nowise
changing its course or its tones; always the same; calm; patient;
affectionate; like one born to a destiny, and, as in a dream, feeling
its resistless force.
It is needful to a complete understanding of Mr. Lincoln's relation to
the time and to his place in the political history of the country, that
the student peruse closely the four speeches to which I have called
attention; they underlie all that passed in the famous debate with
Douglas; all that their author said and did after he succeeded to the
presidency. They stand to-day as masterpieces of popular oratory. But
for our present purpose the debate with Douglas will suffice--the most
extraordinary intellectual spectacle the annals of our party warfare
afford. Lincoln entered the canvass unknown outside the state of
Illinois. He closed it renowned from one end of the land to the other.
In that great debate it was Titan against Titan; and, perusing it after
the lapse of forty years, the philosophic and impartial critic will
conclude which got the better of it, Lincoln or Douglas, much according
to his sympathy with the one or the other. Douglas, as I have said, had
the disadvantage of riding an ebb tide. But Lincoln encountered a
disadvantage in riding a flood tide, which was flowing too fast for a
man so conservative and so honest as he was. Thus there was not a little
equivocation on both sides foreign to the nature of the two. Both wanted
to be frank. Both thought they were being frank. But each was a little
afraid of his own logic; each was a little afraid of his own following;
and hence there was considerable hair splitting, involving accusations
that did not accuse and denials that did not deny. They were
politicians, these two, as well as statesmen; they were politicians, and
what they did not know about political campaigning was hardly worth
knowing. Reverently, I take off my hat to both of them; and I turn down
the page; I close the book and lay it on its shelf, with the inward
ejaculation, "There were giants in those days."
I am not undertaking to deliver an oral biography of Abraham Lincoln,
and shall pass over the events which quickly led up to his nomination
and election to the presidency in 1860.
I met the newly elected president the afternoon of the day in the early
morning of which he had arrived in Washington. It was a Saturday, I
think. He came to the capitol under Mr. Seward's escort, and, among the
rest, I was presented to him. His appearance did not impress me as
fantastically as it had impressed Colonel McClure. I was more familiar
with the Western type than Colonel McClure, and, whilst Mr. Lincoln was
certainly not an Adonis, even after prairie ideals, there was about him
a dignity that commanded respect.
I met him again the forenoon of the 4th of March in his apartment at
Willard's Hotel as he was preparing to start to his inauguration, and
was touched by his unaffected kindness; for I came with a matter
requiring his immediate attention. He was entirely self-possessed; no
trace of nervousness; and very obliging. I accompanied the cortege that
passed from the senate chamber to the east portico of the capitol, and,
as Mr. Lincoln removed his hat to face the vast multitude in front and
below, I extended my hand to receive it, but Judge Douglas, just beside
me, reached over my outstretched arm and took the hat, holding it
throughout the delivery of the inaugural address. I stood near enough to
the speaker's elbow not to obstruct any gestures he might make, though
he made but few; and then it was that I began to comprehend something of
the power of the man.
He delivered that inaugural address as if he had been delivering
inaugural addresses all his life. Firm, resonant, earnest, it announced
the coming of a man; of a leader of men; and in its ringing tones and
elevated style, the gentlemen he had invited to become members of his
political family--each of whom thought himself a bigger man than his
master--might have heard the voice and seen the hand of a man born to
command. Whether they did or not, they very soon ascertained the fact.
From the hour Abraham Lincoln crossed the threshold of the White House
to the hour he went thence to his death, there was not a moment when he
did not dominate the political and military situation and all his
official subordinates.
Always courteous, always tolerant, always making allowance, yet always
explicit, his was the master-spirit, his the guiding hand; committing to
each of the members of his cabinet the details of the work of his own
department; caring nothing for petty sovereignty; but reserving to
himself all that related to great policies, the starting of moral forces
and the moving of organized ideas.
I want to say just here a few words about Mr. Lincoln's relation to the
South and the people of the South.
He was, himself, a Southern man. He and all his tribe were Southerners.
Although he left Kentucky when but a child, he was an old child; he
never was very young; and he grew to manhood in a Kentucky colony; for
what was Illinois in those days but a Kentucky colony, grown since
somewhat out of proportion? He was in no sense what we in the South used
to call "a poor white." Awkward, perhaps; ungainly, perhaps, but
aspiring; the spirit of a hero beneath that rugged exterior; the soul of
a prose poet behind those heavy brows; the courage of a lion back of
those patient, kindly aspects; and, long before he was of legal age, a
leader. His first love was a Rutledge; his wife was a Todd. Let the
romancist tell the story of his romance. I dare not. No sadder idyl can
be found in all the short and simple annals of the poor.
We know that he was a prose poet; for have we not that immortal prose
poem recited at Gettysburg? We know that he was a statesman; for has not
time vindicated his conclusions? But the South does not know, except as
a kind of hearsay, that he was a friend; the one friend who had the
power and the will to save it from itself. He was the one man in public
life who could have come to the head of affairs in 1861 bringing with
him none of the embittered resentments growing out of the anti-slavery
battle. Whilst Seward, Chase, Sumner and the rest had been engaged in
hand-to-hand combat with the Southern leaders at Washington, Lincoln, a
philosopher and a statesman, had been observing the course of events
from afar, and like a philosopher and a statesman. The direst blow that
could have been laid upon the prostrate South was delivered by the
assassin's bullet that struck him down.
But I digress. Throughout the contention that preceded the war, amid the
passions that attended the war itself, not one bitter, proscriptive word
escaped the lips of Abraham Lincoln, whilst there was hardly a day that
he was not projecting his great personality between some Southern man or
woman and danger.
Under the date of February 2, 1848, and from the hall of the House of
Representatives at Washington, whilst he was serving as a member of
Congress, I find this short note to his law partner at Springfield:--
"DEAR WILLIAM: I take up my pen to tell you that Mr. Stephens, of
Georgia, a little, slim, pale-faced, consumptive man, with a voice
like Logan's (that was Stephen T., not John A.), has just concluded
the very best speech of an hour's length I ever heard. My old,
withered, dry eyes (he was then not quite thirty-seven years of
age) are full of tears yet."
From that time forward he never ceased to love Stephens, of Georgia.
After that famous Hampton Roads conference, when the Confederate
commissioners, Stephens, Campbell, and Hunter, had traversed the field
of official routine with Mr. Lincoln, the president, and Mr. Seward, the
secretary of state, Lincoln, the friend, still the old Whig colleague,
though one was now president of the United States and the other
vice-president of the Southern Confederacy, took the "slim, pale-faced,
consumptive man" aside, and, pointing to a sheet of paper he held in his
hand, said: "Stephens, let me write 'Union' at the top of that page, and
you may write below it whatever else you please."
In the preceding conversation Mr. Lincoln had intimated that payment for
the slaves was not outside a possible agreement for reunion and peace.
He based that statement upon a plan he already had in hand, to
appropriate four hundred millions of dollars to this purpose.
There are those who have put themselves to the pains of challenging this
statement of mine. It admits of no possible equivocation. Mr. Lincoln
carried with him to Fortress Monroe two documents that still stand in
his own handwriting; one of them a joint resolution to be passed by the
two houses of Congress appropriating the four hundred millions, the
other a proclamation to be issued by himself, as president, when the
joint resolution had been passed. These formed no part of the discussion
at Hampton Roads, because Mr. Stephens told Mr. Lincoln they were
limited to treating upon the basis of the recognition of the
Confederacy, and to all intents and purposes the conference died before
it was actually born. But Mr. Lincoln was so filled with the idea that
next day, when he had returned to Washington, he submitted the two
documents to the members of his cabinet. Excepting Mr. Seward, they were
all against him. He said: "Why, gentlemen, how long is the war going to
last? It is not going to end this side of a hundred days, is it? It is
costing us four millions a day. There are the four hundred millions, not
counting the loss of life and property in the meantime. But you are all
against me, and I will not press the matter upon you." I have not cited
this fact of history to attack, or even to criticize, the policy of the
Confederate Government, but simply to illustrate the wise magnanimity
and justice of the character of Abraham Lincoln. For my part I rejoice
that the war did not end at Fortress Monroe--or any other
conference--but that it was fought out to its bitter and logical
conclusion at Appomattox.
It was the will of God that there should be, as God's own prophet had
promised, "a new birth of freedom," and this could only be reached by
the obliteration of the very idea of slavery. God struck Lincoln down in
the moment of his triumph, to attain it; He blighted the South to attain
it. But He did attain it. And here we are this night to attest it. God's
will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. But let no Southern man
point finger at me because I canonize Abraham Lincoln, for he was the
one friend we had at court when friends were most in need; he was the
one man in power who wanted to preserve us intact, to save us from the
wolves of passion and plunder that stood at our door; and as that God,
of whom it has been said that "whom He loveth He chasteneth," meant that
the South should be chastened, Lincoln was put out of the way by the
bullet of an assassin, having neither lot nor parcel, North or South,
but a winged emissary of fate, flown from the shadows of the mystic
world, which Æschylus and Shakespeare created and consecrated to
tragedy!
I sometimes wonder shall we ever attain a journalism sufficiently
upright in its treatment of current events to publish fully and fairly
the utterances of our public men, and, except in cases of provable
dishonor, to leave their motives and their personalities alone?
Reading just what Abraham Lincoln did say and did do, it is
inconceivable how such a man could have aroused antagonism so bitter and
abuse so savage, to fall at last by the hand of an assassin.
We boast our superior civilization and our enlightened freedom of
speech; and yet, how few of us--when a strange voice begins to utter
unfamiliar or unpalatable things--how few of us stop and ask ourselves,
may not this man be speaking the truth after all? It is so easy to call
names. It is so easy to impugn motives. It is so easy to misrepresent
opinions we cannot answer. From the least to the greatest what creatures
we are of party spirit, and yet, for the most part, how small its aims,
how imperfect its instruments, how disappointing its conclusions!
One thinks now that the world in which Abraham Lincoln lived might have
dealt more gently by such a man. He was himself so gentle--so upright in
nature and so broad of mind--so sunny and so tolerant in temper--so
simple and so unaffected in bearing--a rude exterior covering an
undaunted spirit, proving by his every act and word that--
"The bravest are the tenderest,
The loving are the daring."
Though he was a party leader, he was a typical and patriotic American,
in whom even his enemies might have found something to respect and
admire. But it could not be so. He committed one grievous offense; he
dared to think and he was not afraid to speak; he was far in advance of
his party and his time; and men are slow to forgive what they do not
readily understand.
Yet, all the while that the waves of passion were dashing over his
sturdy figure, reared above the dead-level, as a lone oak upon a sandy
beach, not one harsh word rankled in his heart to sour the milk of human
kindness that, like a perennial spring from the gnarled roots of some
majestic tree, flowed within him. He would smooth over a rough place in
his official intercourse with a funny story fitting the case in point,
and they called him a trifler. He would round off a logical argument
with a familiar example, hitting the nail squarely on the head and
driving it home, and they called him a buffoon. Big wigs and little wigs
were agreed that he lowered the dignity of debate; as if debates were
intended to mystify, and not to clarify truth. Yet he went on and on,
and never backward, until his time was come, when his genius, fully
developed, rose to the great exigencies intrusted to his hands. Where
did he get his style? Ask Shakespeare and Burns where they got their
style. Where did he get his grasp upon affairs and his knowledge of men?
Ask the Lord God who created miracles in Luther and Bonaparte!
What was the mysterious power of this mysterious man, and whence?
His was the genius of common sense; of common sense in action; of common
sense in thought; of common sense enriched by experience and unhindered
by fear. "He was a common man," says his friend Joshua Speed, "expanded
into giant proportions; well acquainted with the people, he placed his
hand on the beating pulse of the nation, judged of its disease, and was
ready with a remedy." Inspired he was truly, as Shakespeare was
inspired; as Mozart was inspired; as Burns was inspired; each, like him,
sprung directly from the people.
I look into the crystal globe that, slowly turning, tells the story of
his life, and I see a little heart broken boy, weeping by the
outstretched form of a dead mother, then bravely, nobly trudging a
hundred miles to obtain her Christian burial. I see this motherless lad
growing to manhood amid the scenes that seem to lead to nothing but
abasement; no teachers; no books; no chart, except his own untutored
mind; no compass, except his own undisciplined will; no light, save
light from Heaven; yet, like the caravel of Columbus, struggling on and
on through the trough of the sea, always toward the destined land. I see
the full-grown man, stalwart and brave, an athlete in activity of
movement and strength of limb, yet vexed by weird dreams and visions; of
life, of love, of religion, sometimes verging on despair. I see the
mind, grown as robust as the body, throw off these phantoms of the
imagination and give itself wholly to the work-a-day uses of the world;
the rearing of children; the earning of bread; the multiplied duties of
life. I see the party leader, self-confident in conscious rectitude;
original, because it was not his nature to follow; potent, because he
was fearless, pursuing his convictions with earnest zeal, and urging
them upon his fellows with the resources of an oratory which was hardly
more impressive than it was many-sided. I see him, the preferred among
his fellows, ascend the eminence reserved for him, and him alone of all
the statesmen of the time, amid the derision of opponents and the
distrust of supporters, yet unawed and unmoved, because thoroughly
equipped to meet the emergency. The same being, from first to last; the
poor child weeping over a dead mother; the great chief sobbing amid the
cruel horrors of war; flinching not from duty, nor changing his
life-long ways of dealing with the stern realities which pressed upon
him and hurried him onward. And, last scene of all, that ends this
strange, eventful history, I see him lying dead there in the capitol of
the nation, to which he had rendered "the last, full measure of his
devotion," the flag of his country around him, the world in mourning,
and, asking myself how could any man have hated that man, I ask you, how
can any man refuse his homage to his memory? Surely, he was one of God's
elect; not in any sense a creature of circumstance, or accident.
Recurring to the doctrine of inspiration, I say again and again, he was
inspired of God, and I cannot see how any one who believes in that
doctrine can regard him as anything else.
From Cæsar to Bismarck and Gladstone the world has had its statesmen and
its soldiers--men who rose to eminence and power step by step, through a
series of geometric progression as it were, each advancement following
in regular order one after the other, the whole obedient to
well-established and well-understood laws of cause and effect. They were
not what we call "men of destiny." They were "men of the time." They
were men whose careers had a beginning, a middle and an end, rounding
off lives with histories, full it may be of interesting and exciting
event, but comprehensive and comprehensible; simple, clear, complete.
The inspired ones are fewer. Whence their emanation, where and how they
got their power, by what rule they lived, moved and had their being, we
know not. There is no explication to their lives. They rose from shadow
and they went in mist. We see them, feel them, but we know them not.
They came, God's word upon their lips; they did their office, God's
mantle about them; and they vanished, God's holy light between the world
and them, leaving behind a memory, half mortal and half myth. From first
to last they were the creations of some special Providence, baffling the
wit of man to fathom, defeating the machinations of the world, the flesh
and the devil, until their work was done, then passing from the scene as
mysteriously as they had come upon it.
Tried by this standard, where shall we find an example so impressive as
Abraham Lincoln, whose career might be chanted by a Greek chorus as at
once the prelude and the epilogue of the most imperial theme of modern
times?
Born as lowly as the Son of God, in a hovel; reared in penury, squalor,
with no gleam of light or fair surrounding; without graces, actual or
acquired; without name or fame or official training; it was reserved
for this strange being, late in life, to be snatched from obscurity,
raised to supreme command at a supreme moment, and intrusted with the
destiny of a nation.
The great leaders of his party, the most experienced and accomplished
public men of the day, were made to stand aside; were sent to the rear,
whilst this fantastic figure was led by unseen hands to the front and
given the reins of power. It is immaterial whether we were for him, or
against him; wholly immaterial. That, during four years, carrying with
them such a weight of responsibility as the world never witnessed
before, he filled the vast space allotted him in the eyes and actions of
mankind, is to say that he was inspired of God, for nowhere else could
he have acquired the wisdom and the virtue.
Where did Shakespeare get his genius? Where did Mozart get his music?
Whose hand smote the lyre of the Scottish plowman, and stayed the life
of the German priest? God, God, and God alone; and as surely as these
were raised up by God, inspired by God, was Abraham Lincoln; and a
thousand years hence, no drama, no tragedy, no epic poem will be filled
with greater wonder, or be followed by mankind with deeper feeling than
that which tells the story of his life and death.
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Delivered by Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865, on the occasion of his
second inauguration as president of the United States.
FELLOW COUNTRYMEN:--At this second appearing to take the oath of the
presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than
there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a
course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration
of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly
called forth on every point and phase of the great contest, which still
absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little
that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all
else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and
it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With
high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were
anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it--all sought
to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this
place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent
agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to
dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties
deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the
nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it
perish. And the war came.
One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed
generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it.
These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that
this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen,
perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which insurgents
would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right
to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it.
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which
it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the
conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should
cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental
and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and
each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men
should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from
the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not
judged. The prayers of both could not be answered--that of neither has
been answered fully.
The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of
offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man
by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery
is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs
come, but which, having continued through his appointed time, he now
wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this
terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we
discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the
believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we
hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily
pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled
by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be
sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by
another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so
still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether."
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
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