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AN 
 
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 DELIVERED O.N THE 
 
 FOURTEENTH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 t. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BATTLE OP NEW-ORLEiOTS, 
 
 AT 
 
 GOFFSTOWN, JANUARY 8, 1829. 
 
 BY CHARLES GORDON ATHERTOIf, 
 
 OF DUNSTABLE, N. H. 
 
 CONCORD : 
 
 PRINTED BY R. H. SHERBURNE AND CO. 
 1S29. 
 
.N 
 
 
ORATION. 
 
 We have assembled, this day, my Fellow-Citizens, to com- 
 memorate an event important in its consequences to the well- 
 being of this Republick. Let us hope that our coming togeth- 
 er may not be in vain. Let no man deride it as an occasion 
 of empty show or useless festivity. By reverting to the deeds 
 of valour performed by our countrymen, patriotism is confirm- 
 ed. By the meeting and congratulations of those embarked 
 in a common cause, the cord of sympathy which ought ever 
 closely to bind together the hearts of freemen, is strengthen- 
 ed. By testifying that we remember services enacted for 
 our benefit, and by setting the seal of falsehood on the calum- 
 ny that republicks are ungrateful, we kindle the love of coun- 
 try afresh in every true bosom, and incite all, whenever occa- 
 sion shall offer, to imitate the examples of those whom we de- 
 light to honour. We come here to pay our tribute of thanks 
 to those Patriots and Heroes who have risked all for our 
 good — who thought no privations too great to endure — no 
 dangers too imminent to dare for their country. We come 
 here to express our grateful sense of the high desert of the 
 man whose matchless vigilance, activity, prudence and brave- 
 ry enabled our countrymen to gain a triumph which has never 
 been surpassed by any recorded in history. We come to cel- 
 ebrate the great military victory of the eighth of January, 
 achieved heretofore by the illustrious Jackson, and we also 
 come to rejoice in the moral victory — bloodless and peaceful, 
 but still more glorious which he has lately won by the power- 
 ful suffrages of a free and mighty people. 
 
 The circumstances attending the battle of New-Orleans, 
 are so well known to all, that it will be useless to dwell upon 
 them long. When it was supposed that New-Orleans, the em- 
 porium of the commerce of the West, and the key of an immense 
 and wealthy territory, was to be attacked, Maj. Gen. Andrew 
 Jackson, then on duty at Mobile, though he had, for a long 
 time been enduring such fatigue as seemed to render repose 
 necessary, started for that city. He arrived on the first day 
 of December, 1814, under circumstances calculated to de- 
 press the stoutest heart. No confidence could be placed in 
 a large portion of the population, composed of Spanish, 
 French and English who were bound to our government by- 
 no ties of affection. There was no sufficient supply either 
 of arms or of men. There were neither numbers to over- 
 power our enemy, nor was there discipline to compensate the 
 
deficiency of numbers. In the city, corruption was busy with 
 its arts ; many were directly hostile to his success, and many 
 basely indifferent under what government they might be 
 doomed to live, so their property and fortunes could be protec- 
 ted from harm. All was a mixture of confusion, selfishness, 
 supineness, imbecility and dismay. But though his body was 
 worn by exhaustion, and though he perceived fully the 
 difficulties he had to encounter, his spirit quailed not. Nor 
 did he at any time betray the least anxiety, but ever exhibited 
 the most serene composure and assurance. His arrival pro- 
 duced a new era. His reputation had preceded him, and his 
 presence served to inspire the doubting with confidence. His 
 energy repressed the-voice of discontent — his sagacity fore- 
 saw, and his prudence provided for all emergencies. His lan- 
 guage to Gov. Clairborne sufficiently evinces the temper of 
 mind with which he entered upon his work. " Remember" 
 says he, " our watchword is victory or death ! Our country 
 must and shall be defended. We will enjoy our liberty or 
 perish in the last ditch"! 
 
 At last it was ascertained that the British force had landed. 
 He determined, in order to produce an impression on their minds, 
 to commence an attack immediately- and the battle of the 23d of 
 December was the result, which was productive of considera- 
 ble loss to the enemy, and tended to animate and encourage 
 our troops. But he was aware that he had to contend with 
 veterans of the most perfect discipline, and undaunted valor, 
 flushed with their recent glories in an other hemisphere, and 
 recollecting that his troops were not only raw men, but far in- 
 ferior in numbers to his opponents, and not only inferior 
 in numbers, but badly provided with arms, he concluded 
 to adopt a defensive system. And with such unremitting 
 vigour did he toil in establishing his line of defence, that for 
 five days and four nights he was without sleep and constant- 
 ly employed. At length the morning of the ever memorable 
 8th of January came. The enemy commenced their grand 
 attack, and advanced under cover of a thick fog to within a 
 short distance of our entrenchments. Never was there a 
 more regular and steady charge. When they were perceiv- 
 ed, three cheers were given by our troops, and the work of 
 destruction commenced. A continued volley of artillery and 
 small arms pouring with destructive aim upon them, mowed 
 down their ranks with tremendous execution. The leaden 
 messengers of death were showered upon them in one unre- 
 mitting storm. Still did their brave and devoted, but illfated 
 men press on ; and some even succeeded in gaining our ditch 
 where they were made prisoners after the battle. But the 
 horrors which met them were too great for human en- 
 durance. They wavered and receded. Their general, in en- 
 deavoring to lead them on again to the charge, fell. After 
 
several vain attempts to rally, they were obliged to retreat, 
 leaving the field literally covered with dead and dying. The 
 merit of a great commander consists in doing the greatest 
 harm to an enemy, with the least to himself. Of the British, 
 there were killed, wounded, and prisoners, about 2600 — while 
 the Americans lost in killed and wounded, but 13 men ! Here 
 the proud veterans of England, confident of success, with 
 " beauty and booty" for their watchword, were compelled to 
 flee before a body of raw American troops, one third their 
 number " like sheep before the lion's whelp."* 
 
 Before the battle, as General Jackson was on his march 
 through the city to meet the enemy, he was interrupted by the 
 cries and lamentations of innumerable females who dreaded the 
 impending danger. Feeling for their distresses, and anxious 
 to quiet them, he directed Mr. Livingston, one of his aids, to 
 address them in the French language. "Tell them" said he, 
 " not to be alarmed. The enemy shall not alter their city." — 
 And most gloriously did he keep his word. " Nor is his fame 
 limited to a single enterprise." This, though the most im- 
 portant, is only one o£ many that have adorned his career. — 
 In every thing which he has undertaken, he has shewn a 
 mind equal to every emergency, and patriotism which nothing 
 could repress or chill. And you well remember the modesty 
 which he exhibited on receiving the congratulations of admir- 
 ing thousands on his return to the city he had protected from 
 the outrages of a brutal soldiery, attributing his success not 
 to himself, but to the kindness of an overruling Providence. 
 You well know the moderation which he displayed. Though 
 a conqueror flushed with victory, though receiving the thanks 
 and almost the adoration of the people, who would have shed 
 their blood for him, he submitted, in quiet magnanimity, to 
 the decision of Judge Hall, he stilled the indignant murmur- 
 ings of the assembly, and taught by example what has never 
 been so forcibly taught by words, " that submission to the 
 civil authority is the first duty of a citizen." 
 
 In discharging the honorable trust of addressing you, this 
 day, I have thought it proper not to consume the time jbr 
 which I am to tax your attention, in the relation of historical 
 facts with which you are familiar, nor in caviling encomiums 
 on him who needs not praise, and would despise adulation. — 
 This victory was one obtained by an army of freemen, over 
 the mercenaries of a king ; and this occasion naturally leads 
 to some remarks on the progress of liberal political principles 
 — the effect of our example on other nations — the causes of 
 the decline of other republicks — the methods by which alone 
 our freedom may be preserved unimpaired, and last, on the 
 glorious triumph of the principles of democracy in the late 
 
 *For the facts of the preceding account, the author is indebted to memoir* 
 of Jack-on compiled by a citizen of Massachusetts. 
 
6 
 
 election. These, therefore, are the principal lopicks to which 
 1 ask, to-day, your indulgent attention. 
 
 Not. only on the annals of our Revolution connected with 
 the principles of freedom, but liberty is the beginning, the 
 end, the substance of all our history. It is entwined and em- 
 bodied with all the events that mark our progress — it is writ- 
 ten in characters that can never be effaced on every page of 
 our story — it is interwoven with all that we have been, all 
 that we are, and all that we hope to be. Our forefathers 
 came to this land seeking refuge from oppression. Despised 
 and insulted by the haughty arbiter of the old world, that 
 meek and suffering, but hardy and faithful band brought to 
 inhospitable and savage shores their household goods, their 
 principles, their hopes. They were wafted hither by no pros- 
 perous gales of royal favour : — no lofty patronage protected 
 their humble troop. The same spirit which led them here — 
 which supported them under trials and privations almost in- 
 supportable — which nerved their souls against the attacks of 
 hunger, want and savage enemies, — this same spirit flowed 
 down to their descendants, and became a part of their being. 
 It was the same spirit which in them prompted resistance to 
 unwarrantable assumptions on the part of the parent country, 
 and the renunciation of an allegiance that no longer promised 
 protection. It was the same spirit that throughout their strug- 
 gle nerved their arms and braced their souls, and led them to 
 resolve, to use the words of one of their most able writers,* 
 " that wheresoever, whensoever, and howsoever they might 
 be called to make their exit, they would die freemen"! But 
 let not our selfishness confine the effect of the events of our 
 history, and the consequences of our revolution and its glo- 
 rious termination to ourselves alone. It is a lesson and an 
 example to the world. With the sight before their eyes of a 
 free representative government, men will not long submit to 
 any other ; they will not long consent to be yoked and driven 
 like beasts. This is an age of inquiry and of knowledge. It 
 is impossible that the general advance of information should 
 be checked. It is as much out of the power of tyranny to 
 stop the progress of discoveries in government as of any oth- 
 er discoveries fraught with happiness to human nature. How- 
 ever many a momentous truth may have been, for a time, 
 through dread of persecution, locked up in the bosom of its 
 discoverer, however it may have been mangled and repressed 
 by those who feared its power, however it may have been, in 
 the person of its finder, confined in dungeons and loaded with 
 chains — still truth is great, and must ever, in the end, prevail. 
 The greatest improvements — the most important discoveries 
 have, at first, been viewed with incredulous scorn, or met 
 with grinding persecution by the rulers of the world. The 
 divine Author of our religion was spurned, and insulted, and 
 fiicd the death of a malafactor, but his doctrines are spread 
 
 * Josiah Quincy. 
 
wide over the earth. Galiles was obliged to confess tn the 
 Inquisition that tlie earth did not move, but, to use the words 
 he whispered when rising from his confession, ' it moves nev- 
 ertheless.' The great and good men of our country, — such 
 men as James Otis, Samuel Adams, Jefferson and Henry, 
 were once called rebels and traitors ; but now the leaden 
 cheeks even of the minions of despotism would burn with 
 shame, should their lips utter such blasphemy! And it is a 
 noble reflection to the admirers of free principles, that all the 
 greatest characters which have adorned human nature have 
 arisen, and all the greatest deeds which have added lusture to 
 history have been performed in behalf of liberty. " It is the 
 cause" which animates and inspires men to be great. It was 
 this which, in our country, raised up men to vie with the skil- 
 ful and more practised statesmen of older nations, and to meet, 
 in the field, the veteran warriors of England. It was this 
 which caused genius to start into life in all parts of our land 
 It was this which turned even feminine gentleness into cour- 
 age, and caused woman, who before would shudder if the 
 " breeze of summer visited her too roughly," to dare all things 
 and endure all things for her country. This urged the gal- 
 lant Lafayette to leave the bosom of friends and family, and 
 the allurements of wealth and rank, to unite his fortunes with 
 our destiny, then unpromising, but which gloriously resulted 
 in the advent of 
 
 That hour when a voice had come forth from the West, 
 To the slave bringing hope, to the tyrant alarms, 
 And a lesson long; look'd for was taught the oppress'd, 
 That kings are as dust before freemen in arms. 
 
 This induced the greatest bard of modern times, whose un- 
 timely fate the friends of liberty mourn, to devote his ener- 
 gies to the redemption of the land which had enriched his 
 song, and which his song had hallowed. It was this which 
 animated the lips of Demosthenes with that power and vehe- 
 mence that have made him the wonder and the despair of all 
 succeeding orators— this which gave its eloquent persuasion 
 to the honied tongue of Cicero. It was this that made Chatham 
 seem more than human when, at the time of our struggle, he 
 dared to say in the British Parliament— "But were I an Amer- 
 ican as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was lan- 
 ded in my soil, I never would lay down my arms — no never! 1 
 This gave to Fox his matchless ardour and energy, which sur- 
 prised into a momentary space of human feeling " the^ wire- 
 drawn puppets, the deaf and dumb things of a Court." Let 
 men have motives to urge them on, and almost any thing is 
 within their reach. And what motive can be greater than the 
 desire to obtain; for without this nothing is desirable. And as 
 there always have, so there always will spring up great men, 
 in trying times, to exert their might in the cause of human be- 
 ings. And it is not fancy, but must ever be fact 
 
8 
 
 That " freedom's battle once begun, 
 Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, 
 Though baffled oft, is ever won!" 
 
 With our example before them, the nations of the old world, 
 who have long been oppressed by detestable priestcraft and 
 dreary despotism, will feel their power and learn to use it. 
 But it is said that the ignorant and half brutalized population 
 of Eiirope are not fit to govern themselves. Aye — and what 
 renders them unfit? Is it an excuse for the tyranny that 
 keeps them down, that it has already besotted them in ignor- 
 ance and slavish fear? Well is it for the Despot to say to 
 his harassed and broken-hearted subjects — " I have trampled 
 ' you under my feet — I have crushed your spirits — I have 
 ' locked you up in darkness and ignorance till you are unable 
 ' to exercise the privileges of men, and therefore I will con- 
 ' tinue to oppress you — I will load you with more grievous 
 'burdens — I will bind you with heavier chains!" — No — God 
 forbid that, because men, by a long course of slavery, have 
 become almost unfit for the purposes of self-government, the 
 inference should be drawn that they must ever continue slaves! 
 The advocates of despotick governments delight in quoting 
 examples of popular misrule. They talk of treasuries rifled 
 and granaries plundered by a populace — but what do they say 
 of extortion that beggars, and monopolies that starve? They 
 speak with abhorrence of the tumultuous disorder and the ir- 
 regular license of a multitude — but in the same breath you 
 hear them flattering the mighty authors of systematic violence 
 and organized rapine and bloodshed, palliated in their eyes, 
 by the glance of wealth and pomp of butt. Cruelty or out- 
 rage which they can in any way connect with democracy, to 
 their delicate nerves is terrible indeed, — but the grinding op- 
 pression of an aristocracy, the oceans of blood-shed by des- 
 pots; — murders in form of law, proscriptions, imposts, confis- 
 cations and wanton inflictions and base cruelty — all these are 
 nothing! It is nothing to them that so many noble spirits, 
 whose only crime was to long for freedom, have been immur- 
 ed in dungeons to pine away their lives in loathsome decay — 
 that the energies of whole nations have been repressed, (like 
 those of Ireland at the present day) — that whole countries 
 have been depopulated by the misery that follows the invaders 
 march — that whole unoffending communities have been put to 
 the sword by the eager ambition of despots! The fate of so 
 many honest industrious poor, who struggle, in vain, to over- 
 come undeserved but remediless misery — the woe of beings 
 brutalized with slavery, and kept in ignorant vassalage lest 
 they should learn to use their strength — the human mind de- 
 graded, " cabin'd, cribb'd, confined" — opinion persecuted — 
 conscience insulted — the blaze of faggots gathered round in- 
 nocence — the massacres of women and children — the suffer- 
 
9 
 
 ings of martyrs — all these, to them, are nothing! — Shew m« 
 one act of cruelty or injustice by mobs, and I will shew you 
 an hundred by tyrants! And which is the more excusable — the 
 uprising of human beings, with countenances savage with 
 want, and eyes hollow and glaring with woe, to procure the 
 necessaries of life — aye, or if you choose it, to drink the blood 
 of their oppressors, or the regular march of a standing army 
 in the employ of a tyrant — paid for murder, and proceeding 
 on their bloody track to burn cities, to ravage countries, and 
 to butcher alike young and old, male and female? Long 
 enough have the despots of Europe kept their subjects in ig- 
 norance in order to preseve their own sway. Long enough 
 have they lorded it over the consciences and birthrights of 
 men. The divine right of Kings, which they have altered in- 
 to the milder term legitimacy, will not do. "The right divine 
 of Kings to govern wrong" is not a maxim for this bold, busy 
 and inquiring age. There is a spirit abroad too dangerous 
 to be trifled with. Its outbreakings have already been seen 
 in various parts of the earth. If the masters of the old world 
 yield to its progress, it may reform abuses gradually, as the 
 waterdash wears the marble, and they may hide in obscurity 
 their imbecility and their shame. But let them form them- 
 selves into alliances, and by combinations endeavor to preserve 
 their sway, and u the overstrung nations will arm in madness." 
 Let them endeavor to breast and stop the tide of improve- 
 ment which is rushing onward, and it will sweep them away 
 in its mighty torrent. The murmurings of the storm are al- 
 ready heard in the forest — the sighings of the gusts of wind, 
 and the groans of the laboring trees — if they prostrate them- 
 selves before the coming tempest, it may pass them untouch- 
 ed, unhurt; but woe to them who endeaver to brave it, for the 
 angel of death will ride on its rushing wings. Reverses may 
 ensue in the cause of freedom; hope delayed may sicken the 
 souls of patriots, the exertions of heroes and martyrs may be, 
 for a while, in vain — brave hearts may spill their best blood 
 on the points of mercenary bayonets, but the cause of human 
 nature and of God must triumph! I say the cause of God, 
 for the Almighty has not placed the longing after freedom any- 
 more than the longing after immortality in our bosoms, that 
 it should only, forever, be a source of disappointment and 
 despair! Our history must inspire all. And it is curious to 
 reflect that our forefathers, despised and insulted by the po- 
 tentates of the old world, brought that here with them which 
 shall react, nay, is reacting on their persecutors with tremen- 
 dous energy. They came here " to plant the tree of life, to 
 plant fair freedom's tree," which has grown up so large and 
 beautiful, and will overshadow all the earth — the tree, which 
 shall prove to the free of all nations a shelter and protection, 
 but to tyrants and oppressors will be more deadly than the 
 
10 
 
 Upas, which hlasts and withers all who approach it. History 
 has heen resorted to, and it has been discovered that all Re- 
 publicks have been shortlived. But it would not be difficult, 
 did time permit, to show that the cause of their dissolution was 
 not that they were in any degree Republicks, but that they 
 were not purely so. The accumulation of vast estates, and 
 the springing up of a wealthy, haughty and domineering aris- 
 tocracy have always been the first causes of the evils that 
 have followed. Here, the estate which the successful schemer 
 or careful economist accumulates is divided and dissipated at 
 his death in many directions, and the stream which, if suffer- 
 ed to increase, might carry ruin and devastation in its progress, 
 being broken and dispersed into various channels, spreads 
 over a wide surface, health and fertility. And it might seem 
 that the frequent recurrence of our elections must protect us 
 from all danger. Without doubt, this is one great source of 
 safety — for, even in Great Britain, it was said by one of those* 
 who, in the House of Commons, most uniformly and strenu- 
 ously resisted the insidious encroachments of Sir Robert Wal- 
 pole — " modern history, I believe, will inform us that some 
 very dangerous attempts upon our liberty have been disap- 
 pointed, not so much from the virtue of many in this house, 
 as from the apprehension they may have had of an approach- 
 ing election." Still, aristocracy is that from which we have 
 most to fear. Let me not be misconceived. In the remarks 
 which follow I wish not to be understood as intimating that 
 there is, in our country, any party, the individuals of which 
 are all aristocratical in manners, conduct and habits, nor that 
 there is any party exempt from such individuals. I am speak- 
 ing of political opinions and their tendency. And I do think 
 that there is a body of men in the community whose political 
 opinions aim and tend towards aristocracy — that is, to place 
 power in the hands of aJfew, and take it from its only safe de- 
 pository, the great mass of the people. 
 
 The principles of aristocracy is the one which is most di- 
 rectly and inveterately at war with that of democracy. This 
 is the subtle enemy which has been the ruin of all former Re- 
 publicks. Nothing can be more active, more insidious or 
 more fatal. Nothing is less apt to alarm in its first advances, 
 but nothing is more tremendous in its final results. It is ever 
 on the alert, watching all occasions, and improving all oppor- 
 tunities — it is vigilant, and never slumbers — it is restless and 
 ever in motion— it has the eyes of Argus, and the hands of 
 Briarens. It is busy in many Protean shapes, and dis- 
 guises itself in various perplexing forms. It is sometimes so 
 impalpable that the keenest vision can scarcely discover it, 
 and often so intangible that when we grasp at it we have a 
 shadow; and it is still carrying on, elsewhere, its work of des- 
 truction. It assumes, by ingenious construction, powers 
 
 * Sir John St. Aubin. 
 
11 
 
 which the constitution never gave. It would make the repre- 
 sentative independent of his constituents, and attempts in va- 
 rious ways to inculcate the impression that there are some 
 who have a kind of indefeasible right to office from circum- 
 stances independent of real merit or fitness therefor, and a 
 right to continue in office, however alarming the manner in 
 which they obtain it. It is even endeavoring, now boldly and 
 with virulence and threats, and now silently, secretly and in- 
 sidiously, to gain its darling objects. It is never more danger- 
 ous than when it drugs its toes with opiates — to lull them into 
 a pleasing confidence and security — to persuade them that all 
 goes on prosperously, and that he who sees danger in any 
 proceeding is a disturber of the public quiet and a discontent- 
 ed brawler, whose mouth, for the sake of the general harmony, 
 should be shut. It strives to give a healthful appearance to 
 the wounds it inflicts, but 
 
 " It will but skin and film the ulcerous part, 
 While ibul corruption mining all beneath, 
 Infects unseen." 
 
 It endeavors to keep out of view its machinations, and to di- 
 vert attention from the real danger by raising false alarms, or 
 by dazzling the beholder by some splendid scheme, some bold 
 fancy, some visionary theory, some specious yet delusive plan. 
 In this, it is like one who should pretend to be actuated by 
 friendly motives, and should treacherously lead a consumptive 
 patient abroad in the deceptive eve of summer, when all is 
 cool and fragrant and grateful to the sense, and bid him ad- 
 mire the calm stillness and beauty of the scene, and tell him 
 to gaze on the stars shedding down their beams from the blue 
 canopy above, and to listen to the breeze sighing through the 
 foliage of the forest, and to view it cresping the silver surface 
 of the lake, and bid him do all this to prevent him from rec- 
 ollecting that the damps of disease were descending with the 
 dew — that the air, which seemed bahnly and sweetly to kiss 
 his cheek, contained infection in its touch, and that, with ev- 
 ery breath, he was drinking in the noxious vapours of decay 
 and death. 
 
 The only condition on which liberty is granted to man is 
 that of perpetual vigilance. This subtle spirit of oppression 
 must be met in its first approaches — it must be guarded against 
 with ever anxious care. Man cannot procure any thing of 
 importance unless by striving for it, nor can he retain any 
 thing worth having, unless by guarding it. The husbandman, 
 before he can expect the earth to yield its increase, must pre- 
 pare it by his toil; and, after his stores are gathered, his care 
 is still necessary to preserve them. The accumulator of 
 property, when he has amassed wealth, if he would not lose all 
 the fruits of his labour and anxiety, must still be ever on the 
 alert lest it vanish, and all his fond hopes be prostrated. No 
 
12 
 
 other blessing can we expect to enjoy long without activity and 
 care on our part, and why should we expect that liberty, the 
 greatest of blessings, can be retained without either? Why 
 should we imagine that, because we now have liberty, we 
 must always possess it, however supine we may be ? It* free- 
 dom is worth fighting for, it is worth preserving. Let us nev- 
 er listen to the voice which would calm all our apprehensions, 
 and lull us into slumbers of security — into a quiet, which might 
 be repose indeed, but would soon be the leaden sleep of des- 
 potism. 
 
 To prevent the people from punishing a disregard of their 
 will manifested by them to whom it ought to be a guide, we 
 sometimes have heard such sort of expostulations as these — 
 " It makes no difference to you who is in office — the govern- 
 ' ment goes on well — why make a disturbance ? No, let us sit 
 1 down in quiet ease and indifference. True, the will of the 
 ' people has been, in some measure, slighted by their represen- 
 tatives, but we had better bear a little wrong than produce 
 1 any discord, or raise the voice of discontent. True, the 
 ' spirit of the constitution has been, in some degree, violated, 
 ' but contested elections occur so often that they leave us no 
 ' peace — they are a continual source of confusion, and they 
 ' may result, at last, in violence and blood-shed." How base 
 is his spirit — how grovelling his mind, who can reason thus! 
 As well might the mariner, bound on a voyage of profit to a 
 distant land, pray for the dull dead calm when the sail would 
 hang lazily against the mast, and the sluggish atmosphere lay 
 like lead on the surface of the water, and deprecate the com- 
 ing of the breeze in craven fear, lest the breeze might swell in- 
 to the tempest! Such was not the reasoning of our fathers 
 when they resisted the first pretentions of England to unwar- 
 ranted powers. Theirs' was not the rising up of slaves under 
 the encroachments of their task-masters, but that of freemen 
 " snuffing from far the tainted gale of tyranny." Such 
 were not the sentiments of one of the most eloquent advocates 
 of liberty across the water* His words were, on the subject 
 of the famous Middlesex election, "The Constitution at this 
 moment stands violated. If the breach in the constitution be 
 effectually repaired, the people will of themselves return to a 
 state of tranquillity; if not, may discord prevail forever!" Such 
 is not the language of freemen, at any time, for well they 
 know that every precedent, gained on the part of oppressors, 
 is, to those oppressors, " a tower of strength" — that it is made 
 a pretence for new claims and renders easier the way to fresh 
 usurpations. 
 
 The reflections which have preceded, lead us to remark on 
 the causes which affected, and the circumstances attending 
 the late election. We have reason to rejoice, my friends, in 
 
 Lord Chatham 
 
13 
 
 the assurance which the result gives us, that the sentinels of 
 American liberty do not sleep upon their posts, and that the 
 American people are vigilant and active — keen to discover 
 the first symptoms of violations of their rights, and quick to 
 punish aberrations from duty in their agents. It is well known 
 to you that, in the election preceding the late one, Gen. Jack- 
 son had more of the electoral votes than either 'of the other 
 candidates, and that Mr. Adams was elected by the House of 
 Representatives. Mr. Adams was elected by the votes of the 
 Representatives of States, the people of which preferred Gen. 
 Jackson to him. And no honest man can deny that these 
 representatives must have been aware of that fact. Neither 
 can any one doubt that these representatives were influenced 
 by him, who, after the election, accepted the first office in the 
 gift of the President. Was there nothing alarming to republi- 
 cans in all this? — And here let us pause, for a moment, to 
 consider one of the charges which have been preferred against 
 him whom the people of this republick have pronounced 
 worthy of their highest honors. If his temper were, as has, 
 by some, been represented, ferocious and ungovernable; his 
 disposition that of a military despot — if he held of no impor- 
 tance the constitution of his country, and disregarded all the 
 dictates of patriotism and the salutary restraints of law — if his 
 desire were only to gain power by any methods and all means 
 — if his nature were so hasty and irritable — his anger so tre- 
 mendous and raging — when — when, I say, would these have 
 been so likely to have manifested themselves, as when the 
 will of the people, clearly understood and believed, was set at 
 defiance, and John Quincy Adams placed in the presidential 
 chair, by management and intrigue over him! This was an 
 occasion when even a mild man might have been pardoned 
 some excitement, and the most prudent man some excess of 
 feeling. Then, if ever, would the aspiring military chief have 
 rallied his followers around him, and pointed them to the sta- 
 tion of which he might have represented himself as unjustly 
 deprived. Then, if ever, would the disappointed ambitious 
 soldier have called together his partizans, and have told them; 
 " The spirit of the constitution has been violated; I have 
 " been corruptly and wrongfully cheated of those honors 
 "which the American people would have bestowed. Corrup- 
 " tion has crept in among our rulers and dwells in our high 
 " places, and there is need of a vigor stronger than law. Let 
 " us take the constitution, and law into our own hands, and 
 " see that they are no longer insulted." What, on this occa- 
 sion, were the demonstrations of his anger — where was the 
 rage of disappointed ambition — where his agonies of phrenzi- 
 ed passion — where his threats — where the volcanic eruptions 
 of fury from a bosom big with schemes of revenge and des- 
 truction ? Where were his curses — where his invocations of 
 " war pestilence and famine" on those who had basely disre- 
 
14 
 
 garded his claims? Never was there any occasion when the 
 passions of a man, at all irritable, would have been more like- 
 ly to burst forth. How, then, was he, that distinguished and 
 great man, whom the slanderers and hired scribblers of the 
 present day have denounced as the most savage of monsters 
 and ferocious of tyrants? He was calm and unmoved. Nei- 
 ther by word or deed did he manifest the least chagrin or re- 
 sentment. He preserved the serenity of a philosopher, and 
 the dignity of a Roman. Soon after the election, he was 
 seen in the thronged halls of festivity, followed by the regards 
 of all--" the observed of all observers" — and from his bearing 
 no one could have supposed that any thing had occurred cal- 
 culated to ruffle his spirit. And, with grace and ease that a 
 courtier might envy, the illustrious farmer of Tennesse went 
 up to his successful competitor, and, extending to him his 
 hand, congratulated him on his election. Shame on you, ye 
 defainers — ye who assassin-like attack the reputation of him 
 who is your benefactor — where is your shame, when you ac- 
 cuse this man of violence, and ferocity, and ungoverned pas- 
 sions! It is enough to make one blush lor his country to re- 
 flect on these attacks! It is enough to make one regret that 
 he possesses the same nature with those who are base enough 
 to join in the " common cry of curs!" When we consider 
 the circumstances under which the present administration 
 came into power, and their course since, we cease to wonder 
 that the republican party, as a party, have been opposed to it 
 throughout the United States. Nor is it astonishing that an 
 administration getting into place against the will of the people 
 and commencing their course with the doctrine that a repre- 
 sentative ought not to be " palsied by the will of his constitu- 
 ents," should have received the support of that party whose 
 seditious and unprincipled course during the last war had 
 nearly ruined the country — whose constant aim seemed to be 
 to embarrass our government and bring disgrace upon our 
 land, and who as many of them probably grieved at Jackson's 
 triumph at New-Orleans, now, also regret his recent victory. 
 Will any one be so hardy as to deny that, in this State, the fed- 
 eralists, as a body, have been the supporters of the present ad- 
 ministration, and the republicans, as a party, opposed to it? 
 No one, at least, can deny that the administration party, here, 
 is composed of a large majority of federalists, united with a 
 few who have been separated from the body of republicans. 
 Yet have they assumed the name of the republican party! 
 How do they obtain their right to this title? Do they acquire 
 their republican character from their larger constituent part — 
 their majority, who have always been federalists? Certainly 
 not. Do they acquire their republican character from then- 
 smaller constituent part — their minority, composed of a few 
 who formerly acted with the republican party, and who are 
 so deeply imbued with the quintessence of republicanism 
 
io 
 
 that " this little leaven Las leavened the win. le lump?"' This 
 cannot be. Is it this minority, themselves, who are the re- 
 publican party? As well might a few stragglers' call them- 
 selves the main body of an army. — But they say to us; " you 
 have left us — we all supported Adams a few years since, and 
 in that spot we are still." There is just as much reason in 
 all this, as there would be in the conduct of a single company, 
 who, in the onward march of an army, have lagged lazily be- 
 hind, and yet should call themselves the army, and the main 
 body deserters? 
 
 It is a fact that there were many — very many, here, who at 
 the election of 1824 did not prefer the candidate who succeed- 
 ed. But, if they did prefer him before that election, it was 
 no reason why they should support him for another, when the 
 very circumstance of his election, and the doctrines avowed 
 by him and his party since, prove him unworthy the support 
 of any republican. Because we have supported a man once, 
 must we ever continue to doit? Can a publick man never 
 become, by his own acts, unworthy of confidence ? Alas! the 
 world has ever been full of melancholy instances of corrup- 
 tion, and of the prostration of genius and of honor at the 
 shrine of power. And it is afflicting to observe that those who 
 have formerly been the advocates and champions of liberty, 
 and afterwards proved treacherous to her cause, have ever 
 been the most suppliant sycophants, the readiest of all, to 
 " cringe and bow and bend the knee," — the loudest in the 
 senseless cry against all improvements as innovations, the most 
 virulent in their abuse and malignity, and the foremost in the 
 pack to hunt down their former associates. But how fallen 
 and how powerless do they appear in- comparison with what 
 they were — their energy, their soul is gone! How different 
 is that Burke who raised his voice in behalf of suffering mil- 
 lions in India, and in behalf of the oppressed every where, and 
 mucked at the " hoary head of inveterate abuse," from him 
 who lived on a pension; raved out his anathemas against lib- 
 erty — adored all villany and injustice which had antiquity to 
 sanction them! How different is that Henry Clay who ex- 
 claimed, that in whatever manner he might learn the will of 
 his constituents, he would always obey it, and who sent forth 
 his elegant and heart-stirring notes in favor of freedom from 
 him whose fatal influence induced the representatives of the 
 people to betray their trust — from the impious madman at 
 Baltimore, and the subdued apologist at Cincinnati ! 
 
 During the late contest, we have been met, in our argu- 
 ments, only by abuse, misrepresentation, and insults and irre- 
 levant replies. We said the spirit of the constitution had been 
 broken, and we were told, that the letter had been obeyed. — 
 We said that the representative had set himself above his con- 
 stituents, and we were told that our party was in favour of a 
 military despotism. We said that the administration came 
 
1(5 
 
 into power against the will of the people, indicated by circum- 
 stances that could not he mistaken, and we were asked wheth- 
 er Mr. Adams was not a " practised statesman" and had not 
 administered the government well. We said that these rep- 
 resentatives who had betrayed their trust had been rewarded 
 for their treachery, and we were told that the machine of gov- 
 ernment was still in motion, — as once, in the British parlia- 
 ment, the fact that the house of commons were still debating 
 in their old forms was adduced by one of the worshippers of 
 pnwer/as an argument of national prosperity. We said that 
 a system of favoritism and patronage, applied for gaining pop- 
 ularity, was expending the money of the people, and we 
 were told that some of the national debt had been paid. — 
 Many boasts have we heard concerning this — which takes 
 place by operation of law. Paying the national debt ! As 
 well might the administration take to themselves the credit 
 that, through their means, we live in a free country, and under a 
 free constitution. As well might they say that through them 
 we have abundant seasons ; that the plant springs, that the 
 fruit ripens — that the shower descends — that the sun shines 
 through their agency alone ! How unfair is their course who 
 resort to such arguments — arguments, which can be only us- 
 ed with an intention to deceive. We have always offered, as 
 the great reasons for opposing Mr. Adams, the means by which 
 he at last obtained his seat — the doctrines of his inaugural 
 address, his assumption of unwarranted power, and the mani- 
 fest attempts of his administration, by patronage, to make 
 themselve popular, and his journeying, dinner-eatings, speech- 
 making, partizan cabinet. How disengenuous and unmanly 
 are the attacks on those of our party who were in favor of 
 Mr. Adams in 1824, accusing them of inconsistency ! How 
 unfounded — how malignant, how base are the virulent asper- 
 sions on the two representatives of the republican party from 
 our State, in Congress, and on a firm republican who was on 
 the Adams electoral ticket at the prior election ! But it 
 might have been expected from a party, the history of whose 
 course is enough to make one mourn the degeneracy of our 
 nature. The same violence has been exhibited, the same 
 methods pursued, the same system of detraction and slander 
 followed, as by those who formerly opposed the great and illus- 
 trious Jefferson. And as they now shrink from all imputations 
 of hostility to that great and good man, and, in their desper- 
 ate eagerness to avoid the accusation, even deny their names 
 — as they, before his death, went on pious pilgrimages to his 
 residence, and now weep tears of shame and contrition over his 
 grave — so will it be hereafter with those who have so indus- 
 triously reviled the Hero of New-Orleans. The States, with- 
 out any exception, which formerly voted for Jefferson have 
 now voted for Jackson, and the States which voted for the 
 first Adams have now voted for the second. What more con- 
 
17 
 
 vincing proof can be given that the parties are the same in 
 nature, object, aim, character ? But, it is said, some, who were 
 formerly in the federal ranks, are now enlisted under the Jack- 
 son banner, and on the other hand, some, who were formerly 
 in the democratic ranks, are now among the friends of Ad- 
 ams. And do not the individuals of parties often shift their 
 course ? What does it prove ? Not that the parties have 
 changed, but that those individuals have either changed, or 
 are misled and deceived. The question is not' where are a 
 few individuals, but where is the multitude — not where are the 
 stragglers, but where is the main body. It has been the lot 
 of some individuals of this State to have changed in time» 
 past — passing over later occurrences. Will they pretend that 
 it was Dot they who changed from federalism to democracy, 
 but the party that came round ? When he, who is soon to 
 be honoured with the title of Ex-president, left his old frienda 
 the federalists, accusing them of treachery to their country ,and 
 branding them as traitors — did the party he joined become 
 federal because he had joined it ? Did the party he left be- 
 come republican ? The common sense of every one will fur- 
 nish a reply. Let us never be deluded by names, nor under 
 their iniiuence. We can only judge of men by their actions. 
 The moment they cease to act as becomes republicans, that 
 moment, they cease to belong to the republican party. Fur- 
 ther — are the principles which have been insinuated and open- 
 ly avowed by the supporters of the administration, such as re- 
 publicans can approve ? It has been often said by them that 
 all the men of wealth, the friends of peace and good order, 
 and the respectable part of the community, are with them. — 
 What is this but an intimation that there ought to be privileged 
 orders, and that they ought to have the power of electing the 
 chief-magistrate ? and that the body of the people ought to 
 be deprived of the right of suffrage, not knowing how to use 
 it ? If it means not this, it means not any thing. Is this re- 
 publicanism ? It has been more than intimated that a represen- 
 tative ought not to be " palsied by the will of his constituents," 
 and an administration, getting into place against the will of 
 the people, has endeavored by patronage to secure continu- 
 ance in power. Is this republicanism? Since the late elec- 
 tion, and before the result of the votes of the West was heard, 
 it has been hinted in many of their public prints, that some of 
 the electors chosen by the people to vote for Jackson, would 
 vote for a third candidate — and this result has been openly 
 desired as it was then supposed that this would bring the elec- 
 tion again into the house of representatives, and afford our 
 President and Secretary another opportunity of displaying their 
 " talents at negotiation," and their acquaintance with the in- 
 trigues of foreign courts. Is this republicanism ? The elec- 
 tors of Pennsylvania, chosen by 50,000 majority to vote for the 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Hero of New-Orleans, have been called upon by a journal,! 
 the organ of the administration at the seat of government, to 
 vote tor some other person. Yes, I repeat it, the electors of 
 Pennsylvania have been called upon to betray a sacred trust 
 confided to them by the people of their State, and by 50,000 
 majority ! Is this republicanism ? 
 
 But why answer these questions ? For, once establish 
 nuch principles and our liberty is but a mockery, and to call 
 ourselves freemen — an empty boast ! Why answer these 
 questions ? They are already answered. The people — the 
 people have proclaimed, in a voice of thunder, that this ad- 
 ministration has not and never had their confidence. Never 
 was there a triumph more complete, more overwhelming 
 than has been, at the late election, that of the Hero of New- 
 Orleans ! His triumph did I say ? No ! I mistake — it is 
 the triumph of the republican principles — the triumph of the 
 republican party — the triumph of the people. It is a proud 
 proof to the world that Americans are vigilant, as were their 
 fathers, in the great cause of freedom, that they are not to be 
 deceived by misrepresentation, nor duped by falsehood, nor 
 corrupted by prosperity, nor purchased by power. It has 
 given assurance that the star of liberty, which has arisen here 
 in the west, to which the free of all people gaze with straining 
 and with aching eyes, is not destined to be dimmed by the 
 noxious vapours of decay and corruption, but will shine forev- 
 er with its peaceful, calm, undying lustre. In glorying in 
 this result, we cannot forget that the attention of all nations i9 
 upon us. It remains for us to disprove the doctrine, which 
 Bays: 
 
 "This is the moral of all human tales — 
 'Tis but the same rehearsal of the past — 
 First freedom, and then glory — when that fails, 
 Wealth, vice, corruption — barbarism at last." 
 
 This is the first specimen of a purely popular represen- 
 tative government. Here the experiment is for the first 
 time fairly on trial, whethor man is fit to govern himself. If 
 it fail here — if the exertion of our great minds, if the strug- 
 gles of our heroes shall have been all in vain — if all the 
 blood which has been spilt shall have been drunk up by the 
 thirsty earth unheeded, if the prayers of the free and faithful 
 throughout the world shall have been all for naught, then may 
 we well exclaim with the poet — " There is no hope for na- 
 tions." 
 
 We have supported Gen. Jackson, not because he has 
 gained a battle, but because, through his whole splendid ca- 
 reer, he has shown himself equal to every thing which he has 
 undertaken : because he has ever displayed patriotism the 
 most pure, sagacity the most unerring, bravery the most he- 
 roick, and a -devotion to republican principles which nothing 
 
 + Tb* National Journal. 
 
19 
 
 could ever diminish or destroy. We have supported him bo- 
 cause we believe that there are abuses to be corrected, and 
 with us, the question is not whether they be great or small, 
 but whether they be abuses. We believe him to be both able 
 and willing to commence the work of reform. We are among 
 those who think honesty, integrity and independence to be 
 better qualifications for the office of Chief-Magistrate than a 
 mere acquaintance with official forms, and a thousand of the 
 evils of " practiced statesmen." From what we know of the 
 character of Gen. Jackson, we believe that he will enter on 
 his office with a firm resolution, a clear head, an honest heart 
 and a sincere desire to obey the behests of the people. We 
 may find ourselves mistaken, for it is but human to err. But 
 this we do know, that any administration which has not for its 
 foundation the confidence of the people, must like the present, 
 speedily fall to the ground, and be scattered abroad in hope- 
 less ruin. 
 
 Democratic Republicans, — You have been engaged in an 
 arduous struggle. You have remained unmoved amid threats 
 and revilings — and fearless amid the din of the conflict — you 
 have held fast your integrity. The deceptive shouts of "New- 
 England man" and " American System" have not been able 
 to delude, nor has the senseless cry of " military chieftain" 
 been able to frighten you from your duty — from your princi* 
 pies. You have been assailed by showers of abuse, and from 
 none more copiously than from those who formerly called 
 themselves your brethren. Your opponents have modestly 
 arrogated to themselves all the talents, all the wealth, all the 
 respectability, and all the religion in community. You may 
 console yourselves by the hope that they will still retain all 
 that religion which is founded on pious prayers for war, famine 
 and pestilence on one's country — all that respectability which 
 arises from slandering aged matrons — all that wealth which 13 
 the pay for prostitution and the price of falsehood, and all 
 such sagacity as is evinced by their calculations on the late 
 presidential election! You may also flatter yourselves that, 
 with a majority of 15,000 of the people of this Republic on 
 your side, you will be able to exist without asking much from 
 the " forbearance" of the mighty and puissant friends and fol- 
 lowers of this " stupendous" administration. You need stand 
 in no great dread lest your opponents should continue the lines 
 which they have heretofore threatened to draw, for should these 
 lines be in danger of becoming obliterated, you may perhaps 
 be willing to assist in stamping them with a more indelible 
 character. 
 
 As I have already remarked, some who were formerly with 
 you are now found with your opponents. But, to such of 
 them as are truly republicans, the alliance is unnatural, and 
 cannot long endure. They have been deceived and misled, and 
 you will soon again,be found together. You have gained a victo- 
 
20 
 
 ry glorious indeed. The Adara9 party, in the IT, States, lies 
 prostrate before you. A tremendous majority of the freemen of 
 the country has overwhelmed them with defeat. The conqueror 
 in war has conquered in peace. You have done your duty 
 nobly. Let no one say that the twenty thousand who have, 
 here, proclaimed their preference for the republican of Ten- 
 nessee, have had no influence on his election. To the hardy 
 sons of New-Hampshire, who have directed their steps across 
 the western mountains, and who remember the birth place of 
 si is, this has not been in vain; and, more than this, 
 there is an clectiick chain which binds together the souls, and 
 connects the energies of the friends of truth and liberty of 
 every region. 
 
 Cut your task is not yet done. Our prospects in the New- 
 England states are far more cheering than were those of the 
 supporters of Jefferson, at the close of the "reign of terror;" but 
 New-England now, as then, remains to be regenerated. It is 
 our pride that the friends ot Jackson and reform are more nu- 
 merous in this, than in any other N. England State. And as 
 New-Hampshire has been the most reluctant to leave the great 
 republican fold, so will she be the first to return to it. Nothing is 
 necessary but that you go on as you have begun — nothing is 
 needed but perseverance, union and energy. Do your du- 
 ty to your party, to yourselves, and to your country, and be 
 assured that the banner of Democracy shall soon, again, 
 float proudly over your Capitol. 
 
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