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ORATION 
 
 DELIVERED BEFOEE THE 
 
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 JsALJJSXa HI^^ILL, 
 
 JI'LV -i, 1S7-4 
 
 1\ I C H A 1\ 1 ) F K O T H I ^' G H A AI 
 
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 BOSTON: 
 
 KOCKWKLL oc CHURCH ILL. CITY PRINTERS. 
 
 1 -J 2 W\ s II I X G T c> X Street. 
 
 1 S 7 i. 
 


 CITY OF bosto:n' 
 
 In Board of Aldekmen, July 6, 1874. 
 Resolved, That llie thanks of the City Council be presented 
 to tlie lion. Richard Frothingham, for the eloquent and patri- 
 otic oration, cleiivered by him, before the municipal authori- 
 ties of Boston, on the ninety-eighth anniversary of the Dec- 
 laration of American Independence, and that he be re<|uested 
 to furnish a copy thereof for publication. 
 Passed. Sent down for concurrence. 
 
 JOIIX T. CLARK, 
 
 CJtairman. 
 
 In Co3imon Council, July 9, 1874. 
 Concurred. E. O. SHEPARD, 
 
 President. 
 
 Approved, July 10, 1874. 
 
 SAMUEL C. COBB, 
 
 Mayor. 
 
ORATION. 
 
 Mu. ]\Iayok, Gentlemen of the Council, Fellow- 
 Citizens : — 
 
 The annual town-meeting, held in Boston in 1783, 
 voted " that the Anniversary of the Declaration of 
 Independence should be constantly celebrated by the 
 delivery of a public oration, in which the oratoi' shall 
 consider the feelhigs, manners, and principles which 
 led to this great national event, as well as the impor- 
 tant and happy effects " that " shall forever continue to 
 How from it." From that time there has been a suc- 
 cession of utterances giving expression to the love 
 and veneration in which successive generations on 
 this historic soil hold -the memory of the sages and 
 heroes of the Kevolution. The men of Boston of 
 that era, by their unswerving devotion to principle, 
 won the admiration of theii" brethren in all the col- 
 onics, and the gratitude of posterity. 
 
 We meet to-day, not as citizens of a town, or of a 
 city, or of a State, but as Americans. From the time 
 of the morning guns and bells to eventide, when the 
 sky is brilliant with illuminations, the thought is fixed 
 
6 ORATIOISr. 
 
 on the country. What a spectacle of progress it has 
 presented, as the three millions who began the na- 
 tional life with the aim of planting here the seeds of 
 Christian civiHzation, grew to forty millions! Com- 
 monwealth after commonwealth rose and took their 
 places by the side of the thirteen original States, and 
 thus as co-equals entered into the great inheritance 
 of liberty and law, — each, by planting the school and 
 the church, aiming to keep active those safeguards 
 of our institutions, pubhc education and religion. 
 
 Boston presents a type of this progress. Its popu- 
 lation was but sixteen thousand when it did the great 
 service in behalf of the principles of the Kevolution; 
 a population of thi"ee hundred and seventy-five thou- 
 sand rejoices in the happy eflects that flowed from 
 the triumph. To-day, with the addition of Brighton, 
 Charlestown, Dorchester, and Roxbury, there may be 
 said to be a new Boston. Hence, the community 
 dwelling in the beaiitiful natural scenery in which 
 Joseph Warren was born, the communities around 
 Bunker Hill and Faneuil Hall, join now, tor the first 
 time, to celebrate the glorious Fourth. As their 
 famed " Committees of Correspondence " met of old 
 in council to promote the cause of liberty and union, 
 so may their descendants be ever ready to stand forth 
 in their defence. 
 
 The work of to-day is a work of peace. Boston is 
 
JULY 4, 1874. 7 
 
 growing. On every side we see life and vigor. The 
 way in which enterprise is covering with solid 
 striictnres the recent desolation by fire, and the activ- 
 ity in the marts of trade, show how alive business 
 men are to their opportunities. May the inhabitants 
 of the places recently incorporated with Bohton catch 
 something of the spii'it of the original town, and be- 
 come sensitive to its interests and honor. Unquestion- 
 abl}' it is destined to be a great city. There cannot be 
 a wiser policy than to take every step with such a future 
 in view. Indeed, nothing is surer than a continuous 
 growth of Boston, because nothing is surer than that 
 its priceless i)rivileges, its noble educational and 
 charitable activities, its commerce and its arts, Avill 
 ever have, what is essential to them, the protective 
 shield of a great nation. 
 
 We are here to celebrate the day in which the birth 
 of the nation was announced to the world. The 
 Saxon, the Celt and the Korinan, the Scot, the Swede 
 and the Huguenot came here, encountered the hard- 
 shi])s of the Avilderness, and began a new civilization. 
 They brought with them old ideas and principles; but 
 here they assumed a significance they never had be- 
 fore. They brought here the Chi-istian idea of man; 
 on it they built their superstructure, and the individ- 
 ual took his proper })lace in the political system. 
 They brought with them the idea of the municipality; 
 but in their hands this priuiordial political unit be- 
 
8 ORATION. 
 
 came a new creation. They brought with them the 
 great discovery of modern times, representation; and 
 in their hands, as applied in the mnincipality and to 
 the general assembly, it was a representation of every 
 community. In this way was jjroduced the free 
 and independent American. It was a new growth. 
 It was the greatest American product. Power at- 
 tempted to check this d evelopment. Original methods 
 were devised to meet the demands and wants of the 
 hour. The thirteen commnnities grew into union. 
 They became the United Colonies. At length a ma- 
 jority of the people of these colonies instructed their 
 representatives in Congress assembled to dissolve 
 their connection with the crown. This was done by 
 the resolution passed on the Second day of July, 
 1776. Then the United Colonies became the United 
 States. The form of proclaiming this fact was then 
 matured. On the Fourtli day of July the Declara- 
 tion announced that the people had assumed, " among 
 the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station 
 to which the laws of N^ature and of Nature's God 
 entitled them." 
 
 Prophecy then became I'calit}^ It is remarkable 
 how far back there were prophetic voices concerning 
 this continent. They are met with before it was dis- 
 covered, — before even the voj^ages of the Northmen. 
 I have not time even to quote these sayings. Colum- 
 bus knew of them, and used them to induce monarchs 
 
JULY 1, KS 74. 9 
 
 to engage in costly enterprise. Thus the unknown 
 quantity in America, like the unknown quantity in 
 algebra, helped to solve the problem of its own ex- 
 istence. 
 
 In tlie early da3^s of colonization, Herbert wrote 
 the well-known lines, 
 
 " Religion stands on tiptoe in our land, 
 Koady to pass to the American strand ; " 
 
 M'hieh Archbishop Tillotson, in ITOo, interpreted to 
 mean, that, when vice should overspi"ead England, the 
 Gospel woidd pass into America, and that vast colo- 
 nies had been transplanted out of Europe into these 
 parts on purpose to make way for the cliange. The 
 idea that these colonies were looking to the estab- 
 lishment of a republic, that they designed indepen- 
 dence, and would become independent, was discussed 
 in the Cabinets of Charles the Second and of James, 
 and in the Parliament of Queen Anne. It was a 
 constant allegation of the royal governors through- 
 out the colonial age that they were devising plans for 
 dissolving their allegiance to the crown. During 
 this period the rising glory of America was the theme 
 of many an Amei-ican pen. It was common to pi-e- 
 dict that hei'e would be a great nation. I can think 
 of no prediction so distinct as that of Nathaniel 
 Ames, the father of Fisher Ames. His little almanac 
 of 1758, full of information in regard to the condition 
 of the country, burns and glows with the thought of 
 
10 ORATION". 
 
 the rising glory of America, "As," he says, "the 
 celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the 
 finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, 
 long night of heathenish darkness from America. So 
 arts and sciences will change the face of nature in 
 their tour from hence to the western ocean." Hav- 
 ing dwelt on the prospect of progress, he says, " O ye 
 unborn inhabitants of America ! should this page es- 
 cape the destined conflagration at the year's end, and 
 these alphabetical letters remain legible; when your 
 eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the season 
 round for two or three centuries more, you will know 
 that in Anno Domini 1758 we dreamed of your 
 times." 
 
 This was printed on the eve of the aggressions on 
 the rights of the colonists, by successive British ad- 
 ministrations. They elicited a continuous strain of 
 animating prophecy concerning America. It was 
 computed, in 1765, that in seventy-five years the pop- 
 ulation would number sixteen millions ; that in one 
 hundred years it would increase to thirty-two mil- 
 lions; and it was said that America would be the 
 gi'eatest empire the world had ever seen. It ivas 
 averred, in 1773, that, if the ministry persisted in its 
 policy, it would not be fifteen years before the Amer- 
 icans would form an independent nation; and all were 
 enjoined to pre})are to act as joint members of the 
 grand American Commonwealth. In this way a sen- 
 
JULY 4, 18 74. 11 
 
 tiinent of nationality mingled instinctively in the 
 utterances with the idea of independence; or the 
 thought that the colonies wonld not only throw oil' 
 tlieii" allegiance to the crown, but would become a 
 l)olitical unit, — a nation. This sentiment was min- 
 istered to by the nature ol' the country : — a vast, con- 
 nected, and fertile land; the absence of impassable 
 barriei's l)eiween the sections; a cfnnate uniting the 
 productions of the torrid and the temperate zones; 
 majestic rivers inviting inland comnumication; an im- 
 perial line of coast, stimulating maritime enterprise. 
 It seemed, to the thoughtfid, that the Almighty had 
 ft)rmed it foi" the abode of a people that should stand 
 pre-t'minent in the world. Their ideal of what should 
 constitute a country was not simply hills and valleys, 
 land and water, but spii'itual things as well; and as 
 tliey nuised on the establishment, in this land, of 
 Ainei-ican liberty on the basis of American law, — on 
 the Christian idea of man that was shaping their civil 
 and i-eligious institutions, — they reached the faith 
 that pi'ogi-ess was about to receive a fi'esh impulse, 
 ^' as if the New WorKl was to surpass the Old, and 
 the gloiy of the human nature was to receive its 
 highest perfection near the setting sun." 
 
 J?ut there is an unfair way of presenting even 
 truths, as when all the facts are gathered on one side 
 of a subject, and those on the other side are 
 ignored. The critical have a right to ask the salient 
 
12 ORATION. 
 
 question, Is there not to ])e found as mnch argnment 
 in favor of forming the thirteen colonies, each entirely 
 indepejiclent of each other, into so many nations, as 
 there is in favor of establishing one American Ke- 
 pnhlic? The conviction in relation to the power 
 which might be jnstly exercised by the several col- 
 onies was remarkable. There was in the public 
 mind an ideal of a line of limitation, in relation to 
 local rights, which they never allowed the imperial 
 power to invade without a j^i'otest. From the 
 earliest jjeriod of the colonies, down to the contro- 
 versy on the Stamp Act, there was not a single 
 assembly which had not been called upon, at one 
 time or anothei', to defend their free exercise of 
 political rights against the aggressions of the pre- 
 rogative. In each instance the same manliness in 
 standing in defence of this ideal line was ever seen. 
 There was a oneness of political ideas in all the 
 colonies on this point. The positions thus main- 
 tained with resj^ect to local rights induced the royal- 
 ists to charge upon their opponents, that, logically, 
 they would make each town, or each county, oi* each 
 colony, an independent nation. The whigs would 
 indignantly repudiate this, and would aver that they 
 clauned no rights which were inconsistent with any 
 obligation which the individual, the municipality, or 
 the colony owed to the crown or the common coun- 
 try. ^J'hey revered the British Constitution, because 
 
JULY 4, 18 74. Id 
 
 they viewed it as a ])roteetor of their civil and 
 religious institutions. Especially did thev look upon 
 their municipalities and their general assemblies as 
 tlu' fields in wliicli the in(li\i(hial was trained in the 
 duties of self-government. l>ut T have not met, in 
 all the tiles of newspapers which I liave examined, 
 l)i'ior to 177(), a single essay, Avritten by a whig, 
 lu'ging the establishment of thirteen nations. 
 
 Thus there is found, in the political thought of 
 that era. tlu' idea of a nation. Tt was not merely 
 s])cculati()n by the scholar in his closet. It was 
 a distinct aim urged in the press. It Avas the talk 
 in the marts of trade, in the workshop, in the fields. 
 The thouuht was grander than (irreece ever attained. 
 ^' 1' hat the Greeks could be united into one political 
 conununity, never came into the mind of any Greek 
 statesman, or (ireek philosopher. The independence 
 of each city Avas the one cardinal principle from 
 wliicli all Greek political life started. The city was 
 the Greek idea of a nation.-' In America it was 
 not merely ))ublic o|)iuion, l)ut it was a conviction 
 that the civilization which had been planted here 
 (U'lnandcd for its I'uture development the protective 
 power of a cDUunon coinitry. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence was the joint act 
 of a people acting on such ideas. It was matured, 
 announced, and' i-atifu'd. under cii'cumstauces that 
 Americans on this day cannot tire oi" remembei-iug. 
 
14 ORATION. 
 
 The war had continued, with various success, from 
 the houi- of the I'attle of the musketry on the glori- 
 ous morning of the nineteenth of April, 1775. Dur- 
 ing the summer succeeding perils were multiplying 
 on every side. The Indians in the settlements on 
 the frontiers were indulging their merciless play of 
 scalping; Carlton Avas di"iving the continental array 
 out of Canada; the Howes, at the head of a power- 
 ful land and naval force, were threatening New 
 England and moving on 'New Yoi"k; Parker's fleet 
 was approaching Chai-leston; the loyalists were 
 arming, enrolling and rising in Delaware, ISTew Jersey 
 and New York. "Armies," it was said in the press, 
 " composed of Hessians, Hanoverians, regulars, and 
 Indians, were plundering and murdering, while the 
 king was amusing a distressed people with the sound 
 of commissionei's crying, ^ Peace, peace,' when there 
 is no peace! " " Anxiety and apprehension," a con- 
 temporary says, ■■ invaded every breast. Every 
 public assembly, every religious congregation, every 
 scene of social intercourse or domestic privacy and 
 retirement, was a scene of deliberation on the public 
 calamity and impending danger." There was mourn- 
 ing in many a home on account of the fall of the 
 " beauty of Israel on the high places." What though 
 the land was poor, and the future all unknown? 
 The people felt that the time which the prophets had 
 predicted had come. There was a sentiment of 
 
JULY +, 18 74. 15 
 
 iKitioiinlity. Tliei'e was a fresh emotion of love of 
 eoun1i-y, and that country .Vnierica. It was inspn-a- 
 tion; it was ])()wer. I'heir words were: "May 
 America rise triuni[)liant, Ijlossoin as the rose, and 
 swell wiih increasing splendor, like the growing* 
 beauties of the spiing, bearing in her right hand the 
 great charter of salvation, the Gospel of the heavenly 
 Jesus, and in the left, the unfolding volumes of 
 Peace, Liberty, and Truth." They wei'e confident 
 that their cause would raise u[) defenders; and 
 though the cloud of wai* made their horizon as the 
 night, yet a living faith in the providence of God 
 looked up in trust, and in the darkened sky saw 
 golden hues tliat gave the promise of the morning. 
 
 Every newspaj)er of this period that 1 have seen 
 contains the following lines: — 
 
 '* From NoKTii thoii<:li storniv wiiid^ may IjIow, 
 
 T(i l)last fair Froedoni, fragrant Ihnver, 
 And ni'go llio seas to overllow 
 
 The l)anks, that shield it from tlieir power; 
 Yet, phmted Iiere In" (iod's own hand, 
 
 Be not, dear fngitive, dismayed ; 
 Tin:; winds sliall ci'ase at Ilis command, 
 
 'riic sea's ])routl wa\ cs shall soon be stayed." 
 
 Tn thi.'^ devoted spirit there was great political 
 action. I'he whole laud was alive with meetings, 
 called to take into consideration the subject of inde- 
 pendence. The people met in the towns, as in 
 
16 ORATION. 
 
 IVIassachnsetts; in the counties, as in Virginia; or 
 they sent delegates to act for them in conventions, 
 or in general assemblies; and resolutions wei'e 
 adopted to stand by Congress, in case Congress 
 made a Declaration of Independence. Such was 
 the action of Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestovvn, 
 and Boston. The noble town which the British 
 ai'my had just left put forth a plea for independence, 
 that is a fit crowning of their revolutionary action. 
 It might have been read by every member of Con- 
 gress during the first debate on independence, for it 
 was printed in the Phihxdelphia papers of that date. 
 After such action, the Congress, sitting in Inde- 
 pendence Hall, matured the Declaration. This was 
 piinted at once in the newspapers. 
 
 The press pronounced it the greatest event that 
 ever happened to the Amei'ican colonies. It pre- 
 dicted that it would be celebrated through a long 
 succession of futnre ages by anniversary commemo- 
 rations, and be considered a grand era in the history 
 of the American States. The people of the Old Thir- 
 teen colonies, in every form of rejoicing, received 
 the Declai-ation with exultation. There were sponta- 
 neous meetings in hundreds of villages, towns, cities 
 and counties. Communities rested from their daily 
 toil as on gala days. There were jjrocessions; the 
 Declaration was read amidst the acclamations of the 
 people, mingled with roll of drams and the roar of 
 
JULY 4, 18 74. 17 
 
 ai'tilleiy. Then followed feasts and toasts. In the 
 evening- there were bonfires on the hills and illnmina- 
 tions in the towns. Snch Avere the scenes along the 
 line of the colonies from ^ew Hampshire to Georgia. 
 
 There was also official action by the assemblies as 
 they convened. They gave pledges to stand by the 
 Declai'ation. The Assemblj'' of Massachusetts ex- 
 pressed their entire satisfaction with it, and with 
 the general approbation it elicited. They pledged 
 their fortunes, lives and sacred honor to support it. 
 The ratification was hearty and unanimous. The 
 Declaration was oi'dered to be published in form in 
 every locality, — by the selectmen of the towns, or 
 by the sheriffs in the counties, or by the clergy from 
 the [)ulpit. 
 
 Such was the spectacle which the people of the 
 United States presented, of joy and of sorrow, of 
 suffering and of heroism, as they entered into the 
 solemn covenant of country. It requires imagination 
 to give actions past a life-like image as though they 
 were present. How vividly has the poet embodied 
 in immortal song the feelings of that generation as 
 they launched the ship United States! — 
 
 "Sail on, O Ship of State ! 
 Sail on, O Union, stron<^ and great! 
 Humanity with all its fears, 
 "With nil the hopes of future yeai's, 
 Is liang-iny Itreatliless on thy fate! 
 3 
 
IS 0T.ATT01C. 
 
 TTe tno"^ "^ 
 
 TThfli anxiis rang, "vrhat hammeTf: heaz. 
 Ir. "what a ioTse aiiu "wliaT a hen" 
 
 TTeTe shaped thv anchor? 
 
 Pear DOT each sudden soxuj i^. — 
 
 "Ti? Oi The wave aaid dot the Toek : 
 
 "Ti~ liBT the flappiiur of th- - 
 
 And DOT ii reDT Diade by th^ ^.... 
 
 111 spiTe ofToet aDd teDipesf? roar. 
 
 Ii:i spite of fe/lse li^hri; od the shoTe. 
 
 Sail on. dot fear to breasT tht- *e:i ! 
 
 Om- iearts. otd- hopes, are all "uith thee. — 
 
 cmr Jiearts. oxn* hope?, oxn- prayers , oxn- tear.-. 
 
 Out faith TriTanpnani o'er otd" fears. 
 
 Are all 'with thee. — are all "tvitb thee ' " 
 
 It k simple justice to the illustrion? builders of this 
 say. that they did not launch her until they 
 had dcTised means ic meei tiie storms she Tnight be 
 destined tC' encounter. The band who had enti'usied 
 in her then- all of liie and fortune had covenanted 
 -with each other to make her safety tl:ieh paramount 
 obiect. They had provided a Council to "ruide her, 
 and tiiex had pled^red themselves to abide by its 
 decree^. They had chosen as theii' commander 
 ^jlSHEsgto:^. — the dear and venerated name, vrhich 
 the AzQeriean motiier will never cease to pronounce 
 tci he: diiiareri Trith -t^^ry lender expression of love 
 and of .gratitude — vrhose star ivill forever be a light 
 and guide to the sons of liberty over the civilized 
 
JULT ^ ' 19 
 
 world. Thev had fixed at her mast-head The Union 
 Flag-. Having done all that their wisdom conld 
 su<2r£2re?3t, thev had invoked Almiofhty Grod to smile 
 upon their etfoits, and ;^nide her into a haven of 
 safety. 
 
 This Council was the Continental Congress. It 
 met in ITTi. The present year is the centenary of 
 meniornble political action. I do not purpose to re- 
 view the proceedings of that remarkable body, but 
 only to emphasize some of the things that make that 
 year an epoch in our history. 
 
 The method adopted, by the popular party, to obtain 
 a repeal of the T<Dwnshend revenue acts, was by 
 entering into an agreement not to buy merchandise 
 imported from England until the obnoxious law was 
 repealed. Fidelity to the non-impoitation covenant 
 was a test of patriotism. The result was a repeal of 
 all but the duty on tea. Then the merchants of 
 Xew York, in a circular letter, proposed to reopen 
 trade with England in everytliing except in the 
 single article of tea. 
 
 A venerable matron has just celebrated her one 
 huudre<i and tilth birthday. She was bom in 17'39. 
 She was living wlien this proposition from Xew 
 York was submitted to the colonies. \V hat was the 
 Union, what this" country, then? 
 
 A few items of intelligence, in that mirror of the 
 passing time, the newspaper, will supply the outline. 
 
20 OEATIOX. 
 
 which the imagination can fill up. This was the 
 news in Boston : — 
 
 " At a oreat meetino' in Faneuil Hall a circular 
 letter from the city of ]^ew York, in token of abhor- 
 rence, was ordered to be torn in pieces, and scattered 
 to the winds." 
 
 " The students in Princeton College, arrayed in 
 black gowns, gathered in the college yard (James 
 Madison is one of them), and while the bell tolled, 
 this letter was committed to the flames." 
 
 " A great meeting in the City of Charleston, South 
 Carolina, of which Charles Pinckney was chairman, 
 voted that the people of Georgia ought to be ampu- 
 tated from the i*est of the brethren, as a rotten part, 
 that might spread a dangerous infection." 
 
 " At a meeting held in Faneuil Hall, it was voted 
 not to hold intercourse with the merchants of 2sew 
 Hampshire, or with any who hold intercourse with 
 them." 
 
 " The merchants of Philadelphia, Boston and 
 Charleston have decreed non-intercourse with ^ew 
 York." 
 
 " Captain Whitman, lately arrived in Philadelphia 
 from iS^ewport,was not allowed to land his cargo, but 
 was compelled to turn back." 
 
 " In AYyoming, Pennsylvania, the Connecticut men 
 have kept up an almost continuous fire on the block- 
 house from four entrenchments." 
 
JULY 4, 1874. 21 
 
 " '^riiere has been a raid from New York into 
 sundiT towns granted by Xew Hampshire, in which 
 blood was shed." 
 
 This was the Union that eyes saw which see the 
 Union of to-day. The ])atriots were bitter towards 
 each other on account of the breaking- of the non-im- 
 portation agreement. Colonies were fighting each 
 other on questions of jurisdiction. America seemed 
 destined to reproduce the petty autonomy of ancient 
 Greece, and, as a ]KMialty, to suffer from border war- 
 fare, chronic imjjotence, and subjection to foreign 
 sway. 
 
 Two years after this disunion the tax on tea was 
 annulled. The bold strike of the Boston Tea Party 
 elicited the Boston Port Act, by which the trade of 
 the town was cut off and its municipal privileges 
 were annulled; the act alti'ring the charter of Massa- 
 chusetts, b^^ which its local government Avas over- 
 thrown; and the act for the administi-ation of justice, 
 by which persons charged with offences might be 
 removed to England foi" trial. The presence of an 
 army and a fleet attested that the hand of the 
 greatest powei' on the globe was laid lieavily on 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 The people of the twelve colonies saw, in this 
 action, their own rights and liberties menaced. Then 
 the separate interests, the rivalries, the contentions, 
 the i)rejudices, the antagonisms of the colonies seemed 
 buried and foi'gotten; the only thing remembered 
 
22 ORATION. 
 
 was, that one of them had been stricken down by 
 the hand of power. Pathetic appeal, party manipu- 
 lation, personal influence, were not required to arouse 
 a general indignation. This instinctively welled up 
 from every American heart. The blow, like a wound 
 upon a single nerve, convulsed the whole body politic. 
 On the Fourth of July, 1774, what unbounded 
 congratulations mnst have been heard in this com- 
 munity as the journals of that morning announced, 
 " Every post brings advices of the action of towns, 
 cities and counties, containing assurances of their 
 sending deputations to assist at the grand Congress 
 of representatives of all the colonies, to whose wisdom, 
 firmness and virtue, the liberty, property and whole 
 interest of this free and august continent are to be 
 delegated! " 
 
 The action here described as going on in July 
 continued until the meeting of the Congress in Sep- 
 tember. The foremost men of the Revolution par- 
 ticipated in it. It was far more than the choice of 
 members to the proposed Congress. For illustra- 
 tion: Baltimore adopted this significant resolution: 
 " Mesolved, unanimously, that the inhabitants of this 
 county will, and it is the opinion of this meeting that 
 this colony ought to, break off* all trade and dealings 
 with that colony, province or town, which shall de- 
 cline or refuse to come into similar resolutions with a 
 majority of the colonies." The pledge to abide by 
 
JULY 4, 1874. 23 
 
 tho deoision of the Congress in relation to dealing- 
 wit h the mother country was universal. Xo colony 
 was more decisive in its action than A^irginia; and 
 no resolves were more explicit than those which Jef- 
 ferson i)enned, or of tiie meeting in which Washing- 
 ton was the chairman. In this colonj' a convention 
 of delegates from all the counties decided that those 
 who refused to abide by the decisions of the Con- 
 gress ought to be regarded as inimical to the coun- 
 try. These meetings had the quality of regularity. 
 They Avere composed of persons qualified to vote 
 under the laws. They collected and expressed defi- 
 nitely and authoritatively the wnll of the majorit}'. 
 It was to the effect, that, in the matter of procuring 
 a retlress of grievances, the w^ay marked out by the 
 Congress should be looked upon as a ])aramount I'ule 
 of action. Further, it was declared that those who 
 did not submit to the decisions of the majority should 
 suffer i)ains and penalties. 
 
 The inhabitants of Massachusetts in the same w ay 
 were enjoined to anmd the acts of Parliament wdiich 
 altei'ed theii' charter. This injunction w^as universal. 
 Thus it was decided, before the Congress met, or 
 before the act was attempted to be executed, that it 
 should share the fate of the Stamp Act, even though 
 the shedding of blood might be the consequence. 
 And the pledge was given to support Massachusetts 
 in this resistance. In maturing this action, AVash- 
 
24 ORATIO^^. 
 
 ingtoii said, in the Virginia Convention, ■"' I will raise 
 one thonsand men, snbsist them at my own expense, 
 and march myself at their head for the relief of 
 Boston." 
 
 This Congress met on the fifth day of September, 
 1774. Their first great act related to Massachnsetts. 
 It was passed on the eighth of October: ^"^ Itesolved, 
 That this Congress approve of the opposition made 
 by the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay to the late 
 acts of Parhament; and if the same shall be attempted 
 to be carried into execution by force, in such case all 
 America ought to support them in their opposition." 
 This pledge was but the echo of hundreds of locali- 
 ties. 
 
 After great difficulty Congress agreed to Articles of 
 Association. On the twentieth of October, fifty-two 
 members signed them. This instrument begins with 
 these words: "We do for ourselves, and the inhab- 
 itants of the several colonies whom we represent, 
 firmly agree and associate under the sacred ties of 
 virtue, honor, and love of our country." The instru- 
 ment consists of fourteen articles. It contains rules 
 in relation to the non-importation and non-exporta- 
 tion and non-consumption of merchandise from Great 
 Britain. One article provides that the parties to the 
 Association will not import nor piu'chase any slave 
 imported after the first day of December, and will 
 wholly discontiiuie the slave-trade, and refuse to deal 
 
J U L Y 4 , 1 .s 7 4 . 25 
 
 willi those ooneernc'd in it. ^Viiother stipulated not 
 onlv Cor non-intercourse witli the inhabitants of any 
 colony that did not accede to or might hereafter vio- 
 hite this Association, but for holding them "as un- 
 worthy the rights of freemen, and as inimical to the 
 liberties of their country." Another provides that 
 "a connnittee be chosen m every county, city, and 
 town, by those who are qualified to vote for the rep- 
 resentatives in the Ijcgislature, whose bnsmess it 
 shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all per- 
 sons touching this Association ; " and these commit- 
 tees were instructed to ])ubli>h in the "Gazette" the 
 names of \ iolators of the Association, to the end that 
 they might be '' universally condemned as the ene- 
 mies of ^Vnu'rican lil)erty." The Committees of Cor- 
 respondence were charged to inspect the entries at 
 the custom-houses. Thus the Association was virtu- 
 ally law ])earing gn the individual; and a ])enalty 
 was attixed to all \iolations of it. 
 
 The close of the labors of this Congress was thus 
 announced in the journals: "J^ast week, the grand 
 Continental Congress ended, they having, in a man- 
 ner highly honorable to themselves and their constit- 
 uents, and serviceable to their country, finished the 
 important business on which they were appointed 
 and met — to deliberate and determine lor a great 
 and increasing nation. The world has hardly ever 
 seen any assembly that had matters of greater conse- 
 
26 ORATION. 
 
 qiieiice before them; that were chosen in a more hon- 
 orable manner, were better qualified for the high 
 trust reposed in them, executed it in a more fciithful, 
 judicious-, and eflPectual manner, or were more free 
 and unanimous in their conclusions than this." 
 
 There remains the crowning action. This Asso- 
 ciation was ratified or adopted by every colony but 
 Georgia and l^ew York, and in these colonies by 
 some of the parishes and towns. The Connecticut 
 Assembly approved of the Association, and directed 
 the towns to comply with the recommendatious of 
 -the Congress. In Virginia the freeholders met in 
 their several counties and voted that the Association 
 should be their sole rule of conduct, and pledged 
 themselves, " by the sacred ties of honor, virtue, and 
 love of country," to observe it. Some of the towns 
 of jS^cw Jersey instructed their committees "to fol- 
 low the direction of the Association as much as if it 
 were a law of the province." The action was similar 
 in all the colonies. It was to the point, as expressed 
 in the resolves of one of the counties, that the Asso- 
 ciation ought to be considered as the rule of their 
 conduct ill all matters respecting their political en- 
 gagements. This adoption of the Association virtu- 
 ally installed a new and independent authority, — a 
 government through congresses and comniittees. In 
 these proceedings the spirit exhil^ited in the munici- 
 palities was the same, Avhether they had grown up 
 
.1 U L Y 4 , 1 8 7 4 . 27 
 
 iiiulor chnrtci', propriclnrv or I'oval forms of g'overn- 
 mciil, and wlicllu'r tlic individual or (k'noniinational 
 sYnipalliics wci-e CongTegational, Presbyterian, Epis- 
 c'oj);ilian, or (^)nak('r. fudcrlying all were Christian 
 hrot licrhood, synipalliy in limdaniental politieal ideas, 
 and cnthusiasin for tlie rights ol" lunnan nature. 
 
 The Association has been termed ^' A compact 
 formed foi- tlu' preservation of .Vmerican rights;" "A 
 league of the continent, which first expressed the sov- 
 ereign Avill of a free nation in America," and '^ The 
 coijmiencement of the American Union." It was 
 sul)st;intially tin' hrst enactment of a general hnv b}^ 
 tlie Amei'ican i)e()[)le. It w\as termed "The Associa- 
 ti(ni of the Tnited Colonies." To Congress w^as then 
 delegated the ])ower to deal w^ith Great Britain, so 
 far as the matters of i)eace and war wei'e concerned. 
 This power may l)e said to have been renewed, rather 
 than to have been ivvoked. The British administra- 
 tion, on several occasions, attempted to deal with the 
 colonics separately by a|)pealing to the assemblies; 
 but, IVom this time down to the peace, in every case 
 the ad\anccs were indignantly repelled. .Ml ]»roposi- 
 tions relating to national a Hairs were referred to the 
 Continental Congress. 
 
 This year, therefore, is the centenary of the em- 
 bodiment of mighty forces in our political system. 
 
 The sentiment of union rose paramount over all 
 provincialisms and antagonisms. It w^as made a 
 
28 ORATION. 
 
 reality. It Avas as much a fact as the connected 
 land. Its behests were obeyed as though they were 
 the law. On the flag of that day was the motto 
 " Union and Liberty." It denoted forces working 
 together. The feeling was union and liberty now and 
 forever. That generation realized that there could 
 be no union without libei'ty, and no genuine libei'ty 
 without the power there is in union to protect it. 
 
 Tliere was also the dawn of our nationality. It 
 appears everywhere in the political utterances. It 
 imbues the great proceedings that united all hearts 
 in the ties of a common fraternity. It is seen in the 
 pledges of fidelity to fundamental political ideas. It 
 culminated in the great determination to suppoit the 
 people of Massachusetts in resisting by force the 
 overthi'ow of her liberties. The hour for the use of 
 natioiial power had come, and it found an American 
 manhood prepared to meet the highest duties of the 
 citizen. 
 
 During a period often months there was a continu- 
 ous stream of donations flowing into Boston for the 
 relief of its poor. The spirit that dictated this action is 
 seen in the letters that accomj^anied the gifts. They 
 remained in manuscript more than three-quarters of 
 a century. They show how deep the conviction of 
 that generation was that American liberty should have 
 the protection of American law. This record is as a 
 window admitting a view of their inner life; reveal- 
 
JULY4,1874. 29 
 
 mg tlieir Ihougbt, tlieir hope, their faith, their pas- 
 sion, tlieir love; showing- how they felt as country- 
 men, and what they regarded as their countiy. 
 Nothing could be more generous than the expression 
 of admiration, or more tender than the offerings of 
 sympathy, or more free from calculation than the en- 
 thusiasm for principle, oi" more solemn than the 
 pledge of fortune or life, or more reverent than the 
 trust in Providence. The noble record portra3'S the 
 brotherhood that constituted the real union of the 
 colonies. It admits posterity into the heart of the 
 Revolution. It is a Christian prologue gi-andly 
 spoken on the entrance of the United Colonies into 
 the iamily of nations. This constitutes the rarity 
 of the spectacle. The love and tenderness and sym- 
 pathy were as conspicuous as the political action was 
 sublime. This was the Union, this was our countr}^, 
 as it came from the hand of God. 
 
 Let all who would know our history pause long on 
 lliis great year. Dr. Kamsay felt the luxury of the 
 hour, and has desci'ibed it simply and beautifully. 
 He says that " A noble spirit sj)read li'om breast to 
 breast, and IVom colony to colony, beyond the power 
 of liuinan calculation. The time having come lor tlie 
 people to pass Irom the control of the mother 
 country, 4he Governor of the Universe, b}- a secret 
 intiuence on thcii' minds, disposed them to union." 
 The same intiuence im[)elled them all to march on 
 
30 ORATION. 
 
 one way, and to give to this Union the strength of 
 law. In the stern resolves of the people before the 
 Congress met, in the Association it matured, and in 
 the ratification of it by the people, ideas and prin- 
 cij^les wei-e marshalled into political order. It was 
 made certain that the construction of a new founda- 
 tion for Liberty and Law would go side b}^ side with 
 the dissolution of old ties. Anai-chy Avas rendered im- 
 possible. It is not easy to overrate the importance 
 of this result. It is safe to say that it influenced the 
 whole future course of American history. 
 
 The Congress shrunk from the question of Sover- 
 eignty. The hour to deal with this profound question 
 had not come, and this body stood in the attitude of 
 loyal subjects petitioning the crown for a redress of 
 grievances. 
 
 Six months of war passed, when the king by proc- 
 clamation declared the parties in arms to be in rebel- 
 lion. This forced on the popular leaders the question 
 of Sovereignty. It was held to reside in king, lords, 
 and commons. To question this, was the unpardon- 
 able offence. The definition of sovereignty by the 
 jurists of the Old World was colored by customs, 
 ideas, and prejudices which time had rendered ven- 
 erable. It "had sometimes been viewed as a star, 
 which eluded our investigation by its immeasurable 
 height; sometimes it had been considered as a sun, 
 that could not be distinctly seen by reason of its in- 
 
JULY 4. 1874. 31 
 
 siifFerable s^ilendor." It wns regarded as something 
 more than human, and hekl in mysterions and pro- 
 found awe. As sueh, it had been the dispenser of 
 pohtieal rights, and espeeially when a nation, liow- 
 ever diversified as to race, was regarded as one com- 
 munity, and Mas ruled from a single central point. 
 It was the tory theorj^, that the colonies, as bodies 
 politic, hekl their })rivileges as a special grace from the 
 sovereign. This view was substantially questioned 
 in the discussions during the period from 1764 to 
 177G, and the "happy eftects " of independence can- 
 not be accounted for without taking into account 
 these discussions. By them the people became 
 familiar with the greatest ([uestions in politics. In 
 this way the pul)lic mind reached certain convictions 
 as to what should be made fundamentals in an Amer- 
 ican system. Then there was the training, in the 
 munici[)ality ami in the general assembly, of the exer- 
 cise of self-government. In this way, the people be- 
 came qunlified for the practical solution of the problem 
 of Sovei-eignty. When they were obliged to grapple 
 with it, — "to trace the dread and redoubtable Sov- 
 ereign to his ultimate and genuine source, — he was 
 found, as he ought to have been found, in the Free 
 and Independent Man." Sovereignty is in the peo- 
 ])le. In them are "those inherent 230wers of society, 
 which no climate, no time, no constitution, no con- 
 tract, can ever destroy or diminish." In them, as the 
 
32 ORATION. 
 
 supreme power, resides tlie right of command, or the 
 right to institute organic law, — to establish public 
 authority, and to compel obedience to it. On this 
 foundation rose the Amei-ican superstructure of gov— 
 ernment. 
 
 The architects of this superstructure, however, did 
 not feel themselves called upon to cut loose from the 
 past, or to deal with man according to any untried 
 theory of natural riglits; but, regarding him as a po- 
 litical being, they dealt with him as he stood related, 
 by the cumulative law of ages, to the institutions of 
 family and society, and as related to the common- 
 wealth by a polity which he had moulded. They re- 
 garded him as thus entitled to a great inheritance of 
 order, but subject to correlative obligations of duty. 
 Hence, instead of yielding to the demands of amiable 
 enthusiasts, or of confident theorists, or of merciless 
 iconoclasts, and trying to cast society into a new 
 mould, on the flattering Init deceitful promise that in 
 the process every wrong should disappear, they dealt 
 with man on the basis of existing fticts. They con- 
 centrated their eftorts to preserve what had been 
 gained, in the foith that time would bring whatever 
 was wrong in existing law nearer to that justice 
 wdiich is " the only true sovereign and supreme 
 majesty on earth." 
 
 Thus, throughout their work, the founders of the 
 rejniblic recognized the fact that the people had not 
 
JULY 4, 18 74. 33 
 
 been ruled fi-om a single central point, but were di- 
 vided into communities, or bodies politic, each of 
 wliicli had exercised a share of political power. Each 
 connnunity occupied a territory of definite boundaries; 
 cacli had a regular g-overnnient and a distinct code of 
 laws; each was a unit. In changing the base of the 
 sovereignty, or in effecting a revolution, they used, in 
 each, so far as it was practicable,, existing forms of 
 law. Hence the political action which l)rought about 
 this change was determined by those qualified under 
 the law to vote in elections. They were summoned 
 to act on test questions through the regular forms of 
 proceeding in the municipalities, and transmitted 
 their views b}^ representation to the larger l^odies, 
 expressing the voice of the unit, called the Colony or 
 State. The will of the majorit}'^, collected and de- 
 clared in this manner, was held to be binding as the 
 law, whether it related to the domestic concerns of 
 the Colony or State, or to the general welfare of the 
 Colonies or States in union, or the N^ation. This 
 fideht}' to a vital principle in I'cpublics — submission 
 to the regularly collected will of the majority — may 
 l)e traced through all the confusion and turmoil un- 
 avoidable in the transition from the old to the new, 
 during which inlluence had necessarily to supply the 
 ])la(e of established i)ublic authorit3\ The period of 
 transition was l)rief in the case of the local govern- 
 ments, whick, in each connnunity, were developments 
 
34: ORATION. 
 
 gradually adjusted to their circumstances and wants; 
 but to adjust the powers of a general government 
 adequate to the needs of a nation couiposed of inde- 
 pendent States, required the experience and delibera- 
 tions of several years. The basis of both govern- 
 ments was the same, — the people. The qualified 
 voters, it was assumed, expressed the will of the 
 whole people. This will was embodied iu written con- 
 stitutions, or organic laws. These were acts by which 
 the Sovereignty prescribed the spheres and degrees 
 of the power which officei's chosen periodically should 
 exercise in the unit of the State, or of the States in 
 union, or United States, — in other words, the rules 
 that should govern the conduct of the executive, 
 legislative, and judicial agencies in the functions of 
 government. The formative process was termed 
 taking up, ordaining, instituting, government. In 
 doing this, the qualified voters were, practically, the 
 sovereigns. The resvdt Avhich they reached — a i-e- 
 publican govei*nment — was a solution, practically, 
 of the profonnd question of Sovereignty; and the 
 infant nation was saved from being offered up by 
 enthusiasts as a sacrifice on the unsettled shrine of 
 political ideas. 
 
 In this w^ay the founders of the republic wrought 
 out the American system of government. In their 
 creative acts, the people simply exercised the sover- 
 eign power. They limited their own aetion, as well 
 
JULY 4, 1874. , 35 
 
 as the action of their agXMits, State and ]^»rational, in 
 the discharge of pohtical duties. The constitutions 
 Avere bj no menus finalities. They were not ends, 
 but means devised to promote the ])ul)lic good and 
 to i)resei-ve the public life. They were " a govern- 
 ment of the peoj)le, by the people, and for the peo- 
 jde." They are sacred obligations upon all, but 
 they are valuable only as they contribute to this 
 object. When thc}^ no longer eml)ody the results of 
 progress, the j^ower that made them has the power 
 of altering- them; for the sovereignty remains intact, 
 and has the right to exercise its power whenever 
 societ}^ demands it. 
 
 This Kepublican Government is the original politi- 
 cal contribution of the American Kevolution to 
 maiikind. Of all who have written on this system, 
 perhaps no one has been better qualified to pronounce 
 a judgment upon it than the late Lord Brougham. 
 In his work reviewing the governments of the* world, 
 he dwells long on that of the United States. He 
 examines the method devised of keeping the action 
 of the local and national legislatures within the 
 spheres of power allotted to them, — the authority 
 vested in the courts of the States and of the nation, 
 to declare void acts violative of the organic law; and 
 pronounces the means devised "the very greatest 
 i-elinement of social polity to which any state of 
 
36 okatio:n^. 
 
 circumstances has given rise, or to which any age has 
 given birth/' 
 
 The criticism on the founders of the republic has 
 been most severe, because, in setting up a general 
 government, they did not interfere with the domestic 
 policy of the several States to such an extent as to 
 abolish and prohibit slavery. How different is the 
 judgment of that noble friend of our conntry, John 
 Bright! His words are: " Colonial weakness, when 
 face to face with British strength, made it impossible 
 to put an end to slaver}^, or establish a republic fi'ee 
 from slavery. To meet England, it was necessaiy 
 to be united; and to be united, it was necessary to 
 tolerate slavery. The American people dreaded the 
 destruction of their country even more than they 
 hated the evil of slavery." Fortunately the founders 
 of the republic did not attempt an impossibility and 
 fail. JSTow that party heat on this question is gone, 
 let justice be done to these founders. They did as 
 well as they could. They did not admit the word 
 slave into the Constitution. They left the responsi- 
 bility for the continuance of slavery entirely with the 
 States. One State after another, after the Constitu- 
 tion was ordained and established, abolished slavery; 
 and had every State followed their example, there 
 would have been no obligation left in the Constitu- 
 tion in relation to it. But how diffei'ent it is with 
 the permanent things in our system, — with trial by 
 
JULY 4, 1S74. 37 
 
 jury, the haheas corims, freedom in I'eligion, freedom 
 of the press, and the rich chister of sister Rberties! 
 These know neither race, nor color, nor time, nor 
 frontiers; all these are provided for. Indeed, all are 
 comprehended in the great guaranty securing to the 
 people of each State a republican form of govern- 
 ment. They were the living forces that prepared 
 the Amei'icans ibr their great Avork. They are the 
 things that have grown with our growth, and 
 strengthened with our strength. They moukled the 
 glorious Old Thirteen. They moulded the great 
 States that grew up, entered into the inheritance of 
 the fathei's, and adorn our land. They are the living 
 forces to-day. They will continue to mould future 
 commonwealths. All honor to the founders of the 
 republic for casting over them the mighty shield of 
 this siy)reme law. In doing this they did all they 
 could to transmit these priceless blessings to pos- 
 terity. 
 
 It was for these great things that the battles of the 
 devolution were fought, and to secure them that the 
 Kcpublican Government was instituted. The de- 
 cision in the late awful a])[)eal, in the only tribunal 
 having full jurisdiction between nations and I'rag- 
 ments of nations, gives full significance to the [)re- 
 amble under which this government acts. It 
 reads: — 
 
 " We, the people of the United States, in order to 
 
38 ORATION. 
 
 form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure 
 domestic ti-anquillity, provide for the common defence, 
 promote the general welfai'e, and secure the Blessings 
 of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
 and establish this Constitution for the United States 
 of Amei'ica." 
 
 Amendments to the Constitution prohibiting slavery 
 are by the side of the prohibition of any title of ' 
 nobility. There is now all over this land fealty to 
 the common bond. The seats of our national halls, 
 that were vacant for years which seemed ages, are 
 now filled. Thus all* constitutional duties are 
 performed. The expressions of fidelity to the old 
 flag have been such as to warrant the remark, that, 
 should there be war between this country and a for- 
 eign nation, none would be more prompt to maintain 
 our cause than those who fought in the Confedei'ate 
 rauAS. That there is not real jDeace between all the 
 sections, or even fraternity, is not owing to the sol- 
 diers who fought ISTorth or South. They wished the 
 war to end when the war was over. If the spirit 
 which they have manifested had been the spirit of 
 the whole country, we all shoukl be now not merely 
 countrymen, but friends. There is a fresh illustra- 
 tion of this fact. We had hardly ceased to admire 
 the generous and lofty strain of eulogy on the la- 
 mented Charles Sumner, by the gifted General 
 Lamar, of Mississippi, when ho but yesterday thrilled 
 
JULY 4, 187 4. 39 
 
 the national halls and the country with the words, 
 "The doeli'ine of secession, the right of withdrawing 
 from the Union, is extinct. The institution of sla- 
 very, with all its incidents, is dead, extinguished, and 
 sunk in that sea which never gives up its dead. The 
 enlightened people of the South would not, if they 
 conld, identify (he interests of the country with an 
 institution which stood utterly antagonistic to all the 
 elements and living forces in modern civilization. 
 They regard the three last amendments of the Con- 
 stitution as inviolable and sacred as the articles that 
 were written b}^ theii- fathers." 
 
 Among all the wonderful things of the last hun- 
 dred years, — the extension of knowledge, the dis- 
 coveries in the arts and sciences, the triuuiphs of 
 enterprise, the marvels of the telegraph, the wars, 
 the changes in the fate of kingdoms, — there is 
 nothing more wonderful than the preservation of this 
 Republican Government. It is a triumph for the 
 whole of our country. This govermnent stands 
 to-day stronger than ever. The party is not larger 
 than an onmibus could hold who would go back to a 
 monarchy or an order of nobility, or who would ex- 
 change this government for any other that the sun 
 shines upon. It is the strongest government upon 
 the face of the eai'th, because, at the call of the law, 
 millions stand ready to (ly to the standai'd of the law, 
 
40 OKATION. 
 
 and to meet invasions of public order as their per- 
 sonal concern. 
 
 And never, if we may credit European thinkers, 
 was the moral influence of the republic on the nations 
 so great as it is to-day. One says, " Next to the 
 Christian religion, the American government and 
 Constitution is the most precious possession which 
 the world holds, or Avhich the future can inherit." 
 Another writes, " Republican government, with all its 
 noble associations and inherited advantages, is, as I 
 believe, the last word in human political institutions. 
 Without any need for impatience, Europe is moving 
 towards it." 
 
 Testimonials like these speak powerfully to this 
 people of their responsibility and their duties. They 
 have the noblest inheritance ever bequeathed to a 
 generation; it is their dnty to adorn it and transmit 
 it to posterity. In what way can they better do this 
 than Ijy giving full effect to the great ideas of the 
 Revolution? 
 
 When in all is seen fidelity to the common bond, it 
 is a high duty to cultivate harmony in the nation. In 
 the colonial age there were fierce feuds on account of 
 boundary lines. Wars between some of the colonies 
 were so bitter that the peril of the revolutionary hour 
 did not bring peace. And when a long-existing con- 
 troversy was settled under the Confederation, a dis- 
 tinguished statesman predicted that " the day will 
 
JULY 4, 18 74. 41 
 
 eoine when all disputes in the great Kepublic of Eu- 
 rope will Ije tried in the same way, and Ameriea be 
 (j noted to exempli (y the wisdom of the measure." 
 The House of Kepresentatives have just adopted a 
 resolution in favor of international arl)itration, de- 
 elai'ing" that "the people of the United States are 
 devoted to the poliey of peace." Peace is the normal 
 condition of this republic; and the duty of promoting 
 l^eace on earth is the high injunctioji of Christianity. 
 The gi'eat result of the (xcneva arbitration is ac- 
 knowledged universally as one of the trium])lis of 
 the age. 
 
 AV^ith Avhat force do all the considerations in favor 
 of peace, as l)etween our country and Ibreign nations, 
 ap[)ly to the promotion of peace in this union of free 
 commonwealths I There are few who do not admit 
 that in the recent past, while working for the ])reser- 
 vation of the national government, the s])here of the 
 local rights of the States has been encroached upon, 
 and that now there is a tendency to a centralization 
 ol' power. ]^o one can desire to see the civic privi- 
 leges that this Commonwealth enjoys abridged, or a 
 just right al)rogated. .Ml will cheerfully accord to 
 othei- Slates the same I'ights that are enjoyed here. 
 
 Our countr}^ needs first the correction of enormous 
 wrongs. It needs a recognition of the idea that 
 intelligence should guide the destinies of great com- 
 monwealths. ^J'hey have a community in each other's 
 
42 ORATION. 
 
 interests. The Union between them onglit to l)e " a 
 partnership in all science, a partnership in art, a part- 
 nership in every virtue and in all perfection; a part- 
 nership not only in those who are living, l)nt l)etween 
 those who are dead." It is manifestly in the order of 
 Providence that the people in this Union are to live in 
 the relation of countrymen; it should he the desire 
 and aim of all to live in the rekition of friends. 
 
 AYelcome in behalf of the Union everything just, 
 that promises to restore the old fraternity ! "Welcome 
 the words of President Grant, "Let us have peace!" 
 Welcome the Executive Proclamation of General 
 Amnesty! Welcome the Proclamation commending 
 to the people, in the interests of peace and civiliza- 
 tion, the international exposition at Philadelphia on 
 the centenary of the birth of the nation! 
 
 Fitting is it that Philadelphia should be designated 
 as the place for such an exhibition. Here is Carpen- 
 ter's Hall, having in it the generous inscription, 
 "Within these walls Henry, Hancock, and Adams 
 insjDired the delegates of the colonies with nerve and 
 sinew for tlie toils of war, resulting in national inde- 
 pendence." Here is Independence Hall, rich in me- 
 morials of the illustrious men who matnred the 
 Declaration. All over the city are grateful memo- 
 rials of the Englishman, Penn, the benign influence 
 of whose religion made it the " City of Brotherly 
 Love," and of Franklin, the great Bostonian. Here 
 
JULY i, 1874. 43 
 
 tliG representatives of every community, from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific, may fitly assemble around the 
 old altar, and express allegiance to one country as 
 the common mother of all. 
 
 It Avould be well if there is also a celebration of 
 the great centenar}^ by the political units in our sys- 
 tem, — the towns, cities, counties, and States. The 
 presentation of the feelings and principles of the 
 Revolution, the htippy etfects that will forever flow 
 from their triumph and the responsibilities of the 
 hour, would be the natural theme. Such celebra- 
 tions coidd not fail to imbue ingenuous youth with 
 the desire to know our noble history. It would bring- 
 before them the venerable forms of the founders of 
 the republic, and tend to rouse the spirit of Seven- 
 teen Hundred and Seventy-Four. This would be 
 reconciliation, peace, reconstruction, civilization. 
 
 In the Meg Merrilies of the stage, the crone sud- 
 denly confronts the travellers. One trembles and 
 shrinks out of fear; the young laird stares in aston- 
 ishment, if not in dread. The crone bends forward 
 and repeats the strain which she sung to the heir in 
 his childhood. There was poAver in those words. 
 The}' revived old memories. The heart of the lau*d 
 was touched, and he vielded liimself np to the spell. 
 
 The great centenary will revive memories of the 
 days when the people of thirteen colonies, under 
 the lead of great ideas, marched one way. Union 
 
44 OEATIOX. 
 
 was ever before tliem as their cloud by day, and theii- 
 pillar of fii'e by nigbt. "Wliat a galaxy of sages and 
 heroes bore this banner on I There were Gads- 
 den, and the Pinctneys, of Sonth Carolina; the 
 Adamses, and Hawley, and Hancock, and Warren, 
 of Massachusetts; the noble band in Pennsylvania, 
 with Franklin at their head; Patrick Henry, and 
 Jefferson, and Wythe, the Lees, and Madison, and 
 Washington, of Virginia, and a host of others. 
 They all spoke and acted as Americans. They were 
 for one country, one Constitution, and one flag. 
 Their ideas and aims were comprehensive enough for 
 this day, for future days, for all time. They prompt- 
 ed '"thoughts that breathe and words that burn." 
 There is power in them. Let these memories touch 
 the heart, as they did in the infancy of the nation, 
 and ihej cannot fail to do something to revive the 
 old fi'aternity. 
 
 Should this be the result of the celebration of the 
 great centenary, it will be worth all it may cost. 
 Wonderful as it will be to see what a hundred years 
 have done in the line of mateiial prosperity, this will 
 pale before a revival of the springs of the national 
 life fi'om the fountain-head. This would be a recon- 
 struction on the rightbasis. This would be the best 
 guaranty of the perpetuity of the republic, and that 
 this great government will continue to shield the 
 priceless blessings of Liberty and Law along the line 
 of the generations. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
tijk actiox of uostox. ciiaulkstowx, dor- 
 ciip:stek and koxbuky on the question 
 of ixdepexdexce. 
 
 In ^Lissachiisetts, l)oth In-iuiches of the Legislature, on the 
 Ist of May, 177(5, aiiTcetl to an Act providing- that all civil 
 processes, instead of being issued in the name of the king, 
 and Ijcariiig llu^ date of a reign, should l)e issned in Ihe name 
 of the government and people of .Massachnsetts, and bear the 
 date of the year of the Christian era; the act to continue in 
 force until a reconnnendalion of '' Congress or act of a gen- 
 eral .\nierican Legislatnre, or the local legislature, should 
 otherwise prescril)e.*' 
 
 On the 10th of ^Nlay tlu^ lower branch adopted the follow- 
 ing resolve : — 
 
 In tue House of KEruESENTATivES, JNIay 10, 177G. 
 
 BcsoIvchI, as the opinion of this House, tliut the inhiibitants of 
 each town iu this Colony ought, in full meeting warned for that 
 purpose, to advise the person or persons who shall be chosen to 
 represent them in the next (Jeneral Court, whether that, if the 
 honorable Congress should, for the safety of said colonies, declare 
 them independent of the kingdom of Great Britain, they, the said 
 inhabitants, will solemnly engage, with their lives and fortunes, to 
 su[)p()rt them in the measnre. 
 
 Attest, AVii.T.i.oi Stouv, ClerJi pro tern. 
 
 The following proceedings constituted the response to this 
 Aote by the toAvns now Boston : — 
 
 BOSTOX. 
 
 Boston, ss : To tue Constai'.i.e or tue Town or r>osT(»x Each 
 
 AND KvEUV or TnE:\[ — (Jkeeting : — 
 
 Tu the n:ime of tiietJovi'mment and People of the Massnchusetts 
 
 Bay, you are re([nireil forthwith to warn all the Freeholders and 
 
 other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston (within your respective 
 
48 APPE^^DIX. 
 
 Precincts) that have an estate of forty shillings p annum in Free- 
 hold in Land within this Province or Territory at the least, or 
 other Estate to the value of Fift}- Pound, Sterling, to Convene 
 at Dr. Chauncy's Meeting House on Thursday the 23*^ Da}- of Maj' 
 Instant at 10 O'Clock Fore Xoon, then and there to Elect & De- 
 pute one or more Persons (being Freeholders & Resident in the 
 Town) according to the number set and limitted by an Act of the 
 General Assemby to serve for and Represent them in the Great & 
 General Court or Assembly- appointed to be convened, held and 
 kept for the Government's Service at the Meeting House in 
 Watertown, upon T\"ednesday the 29''' Day of Ma}' instant, and so 
 De Die in Diem during their Session or Sessions, according to a 
 Precept under the Hand and Seal of William Greenleaff, Esq. 
 Sheriff of the Count}' of Suffolk bearing date the 29"' Day of 
 April in the year of our Lord Oue thousand Seven hundred and 
 seventy six. You are alike required to Warn all the Freeholders 
 and other Inhabitants of said Town qualified as the law directs to 
 meet at the same time and place : To consider whether the}' will 
 iu conformity to a Resolve of the late Hon'''*' House of Rep- 
 resentatives, for this Colony, advise our Representatives, •• That 
 if the Hon**'^ Continental Congress should for the safety of the 
 Colonies, declare them Independant of the Kingdom of Great 
 Britain, they the said Inhabitants will solemnly engage with their 
 Lives and Fortunes to support them in the measure " — as also 
 what farther Instructions may be necessary for the Representa- 
 tives that may be chosen, — Whether any measures shall be taken 
 for the borrowing a Sum of Money to answer the present 
 necessities of the Town : To choose such officers as may be want- 
 ing, and to act upon all those matters and things that stand re- 
 ferred ov^- to said Meeting. 
 
 Hereof fail not and make return of this Warrant with your 
 doings therein unto myself one Day at least before the said time 
 of Meeting : — 
 
 Dated at Boston the 20"' Day of May, Anno que Domini 1776. 
 By order of the Selectmen, 
 
 William Cooper, 
 
 Town Clerk. 
 
APPENDIX. 49 
 
 BosTOx, May 22d 1776. 
 Pursuant to the within AV^arrant wo the Constables of the Town 
 of Boston have notilicd the Freeholders and other Inhabitants 
 within our respective Avards, to meet at the Time and Place men- 
 tioned in said Warrant for the purposes therein expressed. 
 
 John Wells Wards 1, ) 
 
 George Thomas 3, ) 
 
 4. 5 
 
 Samuel Gueenleaf G, ) 
 
 10, i 
 
 11. ) 
 John Fote 7, 
 
 John Bennett 
 
 1} 
 
 At a Mooting of the Froeholdors & other Inhabitants of the 
 Town of Boston, duel}- qualified & legally warned, in public 
 Town Meeting assembled, at The Old Brick Mooting House, on 
 Thursday, the 23'^ day of May, Anno Domini 1776. 
 
 That Article in the Warrant, Viz| " To consider whether the 
 Town will, in Conforniitv to a Resolve of the late Hon''''' House of 
 Representatives for this Colony, advise their Representatives 
 " That if the Hon''''-' Continental Congress should, for the Safety 
 of the Colonies, declare thorn Independent of the Kingdom of 
 Groat Brilain, they, the Inliabitanls, will solemnly engage, with 
 their Lives and Fortunes to sup[)ort tliem in the Measure " — was 
 road & dnely considered, & the C^uostion being according!}' put 
 — Passed in the Allirnialive unanimously. 
 
 That Article in the AYarrant, viz. : '• To consider what farther 
 Instructions may be necessary for the Representatives that may 
 be chosen " — was read — whereupon. 
 
 Voted that ]Mr. William Davis, Joseph Gh-oonleaff, Esq., Perez 
 Morton, Escp, I\Ir. Benjamin Ilitchburne, Dr. Charles Jarvis, be a 
 Coiuittee to i)roi)are a Draught of Instructions for the Repre- 
 sentatives chosen, and to make Report as soon as may be. 
 
 7 
 
50 APPENDIX. 
 
 MoiKla}', Ma}^ 30*. Met according to adjournment. 
 The Comittee on Instructions reported the following Draught, 
 viz. : — 
 
 Instructions to the Representatives of the Toini of Boston : — 
 
 Gentlemen, — At a time when, in all Probability, the whole 
 United Colonies of America are upon the Verge of a glorious 
 Eevolution, & when, consequently, the most important Questions 
 that ever were agitated by the Representative Bod}' of this Colony, 
 touching its internal Police, will demand your attention ; your 
 Constituents think it necessary to instruct you, in several Matters, 
 what Part to act, that the Path of 3'our Dut}* may be plain before 
 you. 
 
 We have seen the humble Petitions of these Colonies to the 
 King of Great Britain repeatedly rejected with Disdain. For the 
 Prayer of Peace he has tendered the Sword ; — for Libert}^, 
 Chains ; — for Safet}^, Death ! 
 
 He has licenced the Instruments of his hostile Oppressions to 
 rob us of our Property, to burn our . Houses, & to spill our 
 Blood. 
 
 He has invited every barbarous Nation, whom he could hope to 
 influence, to assist him in prosecuting these inhuman Purposes. 
 The Prince, therefore, in support of wdiose Crown and Dignit}^, 
 not many, many 3'ears since, we would most cheerfully have 
 expended both Life and Fortune, we are now constrained to con- 
 sider as the worst of Tyrants ; Loyalty to him is now Treason to 
 our Country. 
 
 We have seen his venal Parliament so basely prostituted to his 
 Designs, that they have not hesitated to enforce his arbitrary 
 Requisitions with the most sanguinary Laws. 
 
 We have seen the People of Great Britain so lost to every 
 sense of Virtue and Honor, as to pass over the most pathetic and 
 earnest appeals to their Justice with an unfeeling Indifterence. 
 
 The Hopes we placed on their Exertions have long since failed. 
 In short, we are convinced that it is the fixt & settled Determi- 
 nation of the King, Ministry, & Parliament of that Island to 
 conquer & subjugate the Colonies, & that the People there 
 have no Disposition to oppose them. 
 
APPENDIX. 51 
 
 A Reconciliation with them ai)i)oars to us to be as dangerous as it 
 is absurd. A Spirit of Resentment once roused it is not easy to ap- 
 pease. The Recollection of past Injuries will perpetually keep 
 alive the Flame of Jealous}-, which will stimulate to new Imposi- 
 tions on the one side, & consequent Resistance on the other; & 
 the whole Body i)olitic will be constanth'' subject to civil Fermen- 
 tations & Commotions. 
 
 We therefore think it absolutel}- impracticable for these Colonies 
 to be ever again subject to, or dependent upon Great Britain, with- 
 out endangering the very Existence of the States. 
 
 riaciug, however, uuliouiided Confidence in the Supreme Coun- 
 cil of the Conr/ress, we are determined to wait, most patientl}- to 
 wait, 'till their "Wisdom shall dictate the necessity of making a 
 Declaration of Inilependency. Nor should we have ventured to 
 express our Sentiments ui)on this subject, but from the Presump- 
 tion, that the Congress would choose to feel themselves supported 
 by the Peoide of each Colony, before they adopt a Resolution so 
 interesting to tlie Avhole. Tlie Inhabitants of this Town therefoi-e, 
 unanimously instruct & direct you, that, at the Approaching 
 Session of the (ieueral Assembly, you use your endeavors, tliat 
 the Delegates of this Colony, at the Congress, be advised, 
 that in Case the Congress should think it necessary for the 
 Safety of the United Colonies, to declare them independent of 
 (Ireat Britain, the Inhal)itants of this Colony, with their Lives & 
 the Remnant of their Fortunes, will most cheerfully support them 
 in the ]Measure. 
 
 Touching the internal Police of this Colon}', it is essentially 
 necessary, in Order to preserve Harmony among ourselves, that 
 the constituent Body be satislied, that they are fully & fiiirly 
 represented. The Right to legislate is originally in every mem- 
 ber of the Comunity ; which Right is always exercised in the in- 
 fancy of a State ; P)Ut when the Inhabitants arc become numer- 
 ous, 'tis not oidy inconvenient, but impracticable Jor all to meet 
 in One Assembly ; »t hence arose the necessity & Practice of 
 legislating by a few. freely chosen bj' the man}-. AVhen this Choice 
 is free, it the Rei)resentation equal, 'tis the Peoples Fault if thc}^ 
 are not hap[)y ; We therefore entreat you to devise some means 
 to obtain an e(iHal Rejrresentalion of the People of this Colony in 
 the Legislature. 
 
52 APPENDIX. 
 
 But care should be taken, that the Assembly be not imweild}' ; 
 for this would be an approach to the Evil meant to be cured by 
 Representation. The largest Bodies of men do not always dis- 
 patch Business Ayith the greatest Expedition, nor conduct it in the 
 wisest manner. 
 
 It is essential to Liberty, that the legislative, judicial and execu- 
 tive Powers of Government be, as nearly as possible, independ- 
 ent of, & separate from each other ; for where the}" are united in 
 the same person or number of pei'sons, there will be wanting that 
 mutual Check, which is the principal Security against the enact- 
 ing of arbitar^- Laws, and a wanton Exercise of Power in the Ex- 
 ecution of tliem. It is also of the highest Importance that every 
 Person in a Judiciar}' Department, emplo}' the greatest Part of his 
 Time & attention to the Duties of his Office. We therefore far- 
 ther instruct 3'ou, to procure the making such Law or Laws, as 
 shall make it incompatible for the same Person to hold a Seat in 
 the legislative & executive Departments of Government at one 
 & the same time ; That shall render the Judges in every Judi- 
 catory thro' the Colou}^, dependent, not on the uncertain Tenure of 
 Caprice or Pleasure, but on an unimpeachable Deportment in the 
 important Duties of their Station, for their continuance in Office ; 
 and to prevent the multiplicity of Offices in the same Person that 
 such Salaries be settled upon them, as Will place them above tlie 
 necessity of stooping to any indirect or collateral means for Sub- 
 sistence. 
 
 We wish to avoid a Profusion of the public Monies on the one 
 hand, & the Danger of Sacrificing our Liberties to a Spirit of 
 Parsimony on the other. 
 
 Not doubting of your Zeal & Abilities in the common Cause 
 of our County, we leave your Discretion to })rompt such Exertions, 
 in promoting any military Operations, as the Exigency of our pub- 
 lic affairs ma^^ require ; And in the same Confidence in your 
 Eervor & Attachment to the pul)lic Weal, we readil}' submit all 
 other matters of public Moment, that may require your Consider- 
 ation to 3'our own Wisdom & Discretion.' 
 
 ^ This paper will be found very nearly word for word in the Penn- 
 sylvania "Evening Post," of Saturday, June 8, 1776. On the 7th, Eiohard 
 Henry Lee submitted resolutions respecting Independence. They were de- 
 bated on tlie 8th and on the 10th, when the resolution on independence was 
 postponed until the first day of July. 
 
APPEXDIX. 53 
 
 The rorcgoing Draught of Instructions to our lve[)rosontatives, 
 having been read A: eonsidereil, the Question was put^ — 
 '• Whether the same shall be accepted & given to our Kepresen- 
 tatives, as their Instructions." Passed in the aflirniative unani- 
 mously. 
 
 CHAELESTOWX. 
 
 AVAKKANT FOR TUWX .MKI:TING IX CIIAKLESTOWX, 1770. 
 
 To TIIK C'oNSTAI'.LKS OF THE ToAVX OF ClIARLESTOWN OR TO EITHER 
 OF TIIE:\r, GUEETING : 
 
 In tlie Name of the Government and People of the Colonv' of the 
 Massachusetts Bay — You are hereby requir'd forthwith to Warn 
 tiie Inhabitants of Ciiarlestown aforesaid to assemble & meet 
 together at the House of Mr. Jeremiah Snow, Inholder in said 
 Town, on Tuesda}', the 28"' of this month of jNIay, at 2 o'clock, 
 afternoon. Then & there to act upon the following articles. 
 
 1. To know the mind of the Town whither the}' will in con- 
 formity to a Resolve of the Hon! House of Representatives at a 
 meeting cnird for that purpose, advise our Representatives, That 
 if the Hon! Continental Congress shou'd (for the safety of the 
 Colonies) declare them iNDErEXDAMX of the Kingdom of Great 
 Britain. They the said Inliabitants will solemnly Engage witli their 
 Lives & Fortunes to Support them in the measure. 
 
 2. To choose a Committee or Committees (if they Ihiidc proi)er) 
 to transact any matter or thing that may be judged necessary for 
 the Benefit of the Town or advantageous to the publick. 
 
 o. To hear the Report of any Connnittee that ma}' be otfered, 
 ct to act thereon as shall be thought proper. 
 
 Ilei-i'of fail not and make Return of this Warrant with your Do- 
 ings tiiercin to the Select Men or Town Clerk of Ciiarlestown 
 aforesaid one hour at least before the time pretix'd. Dated in 
 said Town May IG"' 177G. 
 
 B}- order of the Select Men, 
 
 Setu Saveetser, 
 
 Toiisn Clerk. 
 
54: APPEXDIX. 
 
 Charlestown, May 28*. 1776. 
 
 By A'irtiie of the within Warrant I have Warncl as many of the 
 Inhabitants as I coud find to appear at the Time & place & for 
 the purposes within mention'd Isaac Munro, Constable. 
 
 N. B. — The Meeting has been advertis'd 
 in the public Prints. 
 
 Town Meeting, May 28'^ 177G. Warrant Read. 
 
 Capt. Nathan Adams Voted Moderator, but refusing to Serve, 
 Mr. Nathaniel Frothingham was chosen. 
 
 Voted nnanimousl}' That it is the Mind of tlie Inhabitants That 
 our Representatives be advis'd — That if the Continental Congress 
 should (for the safety of the Colonies) Declare them Independent 
 on the Kingdom of Great Britain, The}" will in that case solemnly 
 Engage with their Lives & Fortnnes to Support them in that 
 measure. 
 
 Voted unanimously, That the Town Clerk serve our Representa- 
 tives with a Cop3^ of this Vote for their Direction. 
 
 Voted Not to act at present upon the Second Article in the 
 Warrant, g. v. 
 
 Then the Moderator dissolv'd the Meeting. 
 
 Setii Sweetser, 
 
 Toivn Clerk. 
 
 EOXBURY. 
 
 May the 22? 1776. 
 
 At a Meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Town 
 of Roxbury, Duly Warned, Doct. Jonathan, Davis : M' Aaron, Da- 
 vis: and Mr Increase, Sumner : Avere chosen by tlie Majr part of 
 the Electors Present, to Represent this ToAvn, In a Great and 
 General Court to be Convened held and kept, for the Govern- 
 ments Service, at the Meeting House In Watertown, upon Wednes- 
 day the twenty Ninth Day of May, Instant, at Nine O'Clock in the 
 Morning and So During their Session and Sessions. 
 
 Also To Know the Minds of the Inhabitants of this Town 
 whither they will Instruct and Advise the Persons chosen to Rep- 
 resent them in the Great and General Court, if the Honourable 
 Congress Should for tlie Safety of the said Colonys, Declare them 
 Indcpendant of the Kingdom of Great Brittan, they the said In- 
 
APPENDIX. 55 
 
 hal)itants, -u-ill Solemnly Engage, with their lives and fortunes to 
 Support them in the measures. 
 Voted and l^as'? in the affirmative. 
 
 DORCHESTEE. 
 
 Alt a IMooting of tlic Freeholders & other Inhabitants of the 
 Town of Dorchester, Qualified as the Law directs for Voting in 
 Town affairs, May T\vent3--Third, Anno Domini, 177G, Legall}^ 
 \\ anicd. — 
 
 Voted, That if the Continental Congress should think it best to 
 dechire an Independency with Great Uritain, we will Support them 
 witli our Lives and Fortunes. 
 
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