AN

ORATION:

DELIVERED BEFORE
THE CITIZENS OF "BOSTON;

ON THE

FIFTY EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY

OF

AM E RIGAN I N DEPE N DE NOE .

BY EDWARD G. PRESCOTT,

BOSTON:
75.10!-IN H. EASTBURN, CITY PRINTER.

~ u fi d I H I O I 1 I O u V 0 n O O Inn
0 O D I l Q O Q n O I I fl I I V I h up

CITY OF BOSTON.

IN Common Couwcrn, JULY’ 4, 1833.
Ordered, '.'I."1mttl1e Mayor and Alderman be 1'eq11<=:s'1;m:I topx'c2s;cr1tt:]m t11m1kz:~: of mu Gin,’
Council, to Emvmn G. Pnmscom, ]E1:s1q1;1i1'c3, fiyw the clnquunt and spiritml O1~zu.iun, d<..:1ivm'm'1
by him, at t.hcn'r~1'eq11est, upon the A11niversmry of Azxwfloun Irx(I«;~.po1‘1<:‘1cm<:ce, and m mquctat.
copy for the press.
Sent up for Concurrencc,
JOHN P. I3IG«I3}LC3W, I’ra.wid¢:m‘,.

In Board of .z.‘Zldm~:m.(m, .)’u<Zy 4, 1833.
Rand and Goncurmd.

CIIARLEES WELLS, Jim;/or.
A trnrm c:or*£‘—-A'r'1“m_'x',

£5. F. MOCLEARY, City 0167*}:

ORATION.

FELLOW CITIZENS,

Ir is good for us to dedicate a day occasionally
to the recollection of the past ;-—---to assemble togeth-
er and turn back the leaves of history and time ;-—---~--
to rest ourselves beneath the shadow of the Tree
which our fathers planted, and ponder upon the deeds
of those whose ashes are gathered at its root. Short
as are the records of our Country, every page is
filled with events involving the most momentous
consequences; consequences directly affecting even
the existence of those who had originally received
our land as the imrnediate grant of Heaven-waciting
upon, and influencing our own character and pros-
pects--—-and exerting a sway over the different Gov»-
ernments of the World, at once unanticipated and
irresistible.

The occasion calls upon us to study the brief an-
nals of ourtland, not alone that we may gather from
them fresh offerings to our National Pride, but that
we may also impress upon our recollections those

4

lessons of national humility which so many of its
pages are but too well adapted to teach. It indeed‘
well becomes us to gather yearly around the menu»
merits of past times, and deepen and freshen the in-«»
scriptions traced there-----to come up to the altar of
the Most High-God, and place upon it our tribute of
gratitude for the care which carried our fathers
through times in which human foresight and human
strength might not have availed ; but we have per»
formed but half of our duty if we stop there ; a great
object in commemorating the past, is to incite the
present and the future; and by rendering ourselves
familiar with the circumstances under which the pe-
culiar character of our people and of our institutions
was formed, we give the surest pledge, that in our
day the high dignity to which they have attained
shall not be tarnished. A

Permit me then to call your attention to the state
of our country, particularly of New England, before
the arrival of the first white settlers, and to its situa-
tion during the subsequent half century as contrasted
with that of the present time.

Before the year 1620, it is well known to you
that settlements had been made by Europeans in
Canada, Virginia, Newfoundland and New Nether»-
lands. But New-England was as yet unexplored.
Her sod had never been pressed, save by the foot of
the Red Man. The deep forests which towered

5

above our mountains, and which spread over and
shaded the spots where our cities and towns new
cluster, were the limitless territory of the savage;
where nature had made a small clearing, or their
own untrained skill had laid open a little space, the
rude Wigwam marked the settlement of some tribe,
and the smoke curled over their peaceful habitations :
about them roamed fearlessly the wild animals which
theGreat Spirit had given for their sustenance; around
and above were the old forests, which had never yet
echoed to the blow of the woodcutter’s axe ; by their
sides spread their small patches of indian corn, with
its yellow head ready for the harvest, and bowing
beneath each breath of the summer breeze--and
stretched out before them, lay the measureless ocean,
upon whose bosom the wild fowl were sporting, and
whose surface nothing larger had ever spotted, than
the rude canoe, over whose side the still ruder fish-
erman bent as he dropped his line into the depths be-—
low.

It is true that they had made no progress in any

of the arts of civilization; and that the same Provi- _

deuce which furnished them with their soil and with
their seed, afforded them the shell and the bone with
which to frame their natural implements both for
agricultural purposes and for the chace. But they
did not miss advantages of which they had never
known, and having no one but themselves with whom

6

to compare each other, they moved in the full inde-
pendence of the belief that they were fulfilling the
highest destinies of humanity. If their means were
few, so too were their Wants : the earth, the ocean
and the air, freely contributed to the supply of their
physical necessities: their Wigwams sheltered those
whom they loved from the inclemency of the north-
ern climate—-——-their council fires were kindled, when
the sages of their tribes gathered round them in grave
discussions; and the chaoe, While it afforded them
their simple pleasures, was the business of their
lives; and at the same time that it supplied their
wants, it hardened their sinews for the toils of the
battle field. To them a successful hunting expedi-

r » tion was a matter of triumphant rejoicing; and when

they returned victorious from a war with some other
tribe,their mothers,wiVes and children, and their old
men came out to meet them and return with them in
triumph to their homes. It has often been said that
they were treacherous and deceitful--—-how far such
vices were engrafted upon them by the Whites who
came among them We at this time can not know, but
there is little reason to doubt that natural faults and
vices would spring up luxuriantly side by side with

natural virtues, in a soil from which there was no

hand to Weed them. Their pursuits however, were

simple, and their amusements innocent; and ihey
rested firmly upon thebelief that beyond the grave "

7

there were spreading avvay yet broader hunting
grounds and cooler forests and purer lakes, Where
their fathers were Waiting for them.

Such was the character of the natives of our
country, and such was its former situation.

During this period a religious persecution was go-
ing on in England under King James, such as has
rarely disgraced the history of any country. A small
band of Puritans as they were termed, in the hope
of enjoying freedom of conscience, had “already re-e
moved from their homes to Holland; but not being
satisfied with that place, they determined to come to
America. Having obtained a grant of lands from the
Virginia Company, they prepared themselves for the
voyage, but it was not until after many hardships,
and the loss of one of their vessels, that having at
last placed every thing on board the May Flower,

the little band of pilgrims, numbering in all, including

their females and children, but one hundred and one,

on the sixth day of September, .1620, sailed from
their native land, which so many of them were des-~
tined never more to revisit. A t A t

It is well known that it was the original intention
of the Pilgrims to land at the mouth of the Hudson,
and within their grant of lands from the Virginia Com»
pany. But a series of storms, first ;and afterwards the-
treachery of their captain, drove them, as far north
as the harbor of Cape Cod. Although they had left

8

England on the sixth of September, it was not until
the eleventh -day of November that they were enabled
to drop their anchor, and it was on the twentieth of
the same month, according to their historian, that
“ pleased withthe situation of the place, after calling
on Heaven for guidance, part of the company landed
and selected a site for a village on a high ground
facing the bay.” it

On that eventful morning, suppose that a small
group of savages were gathered upon the heights
which commanded the sea-shore. They look around
them, but there is no track of the deer upon the un-
sunned snows. Above--mbut the branches of the deep
forest have closed their wild roof there for ages.—---
They turn to the ocean, and far away upon its path»-
less waste, a small speck is rising as it were from its

utmost visible limits. What may it mean? They 

and their fathers before them have looked out upon
those waters from that very spot for a thousand years,
yet no object has ever dotted their calm extent, larger
than their own slight canoes. Onward it comes, in»-
creasing in size as it sweeps over its untracked course,
spreading its white wings to the breeze as it were
some giant bird. Is it the Great Spirit coming to
visit his Red children P My hearers, that little ves-
sel landed on the rock at Plymouth the fathers of

New England.

9

During the first half century after the landing, the
Colony continued to increase. It is true that With»
in the first year, one half of those brave hearts who
had ventured over in the May Flower, had found
graves in the vvilderness; but the hand of oppression
was not stayed in Europe, and many emigrants for
the sake of conscience, and a few perhaps, in the
hope of gain, came over to New England. From
this time as the population gradually increased, new
settlements were made in different places, as the
fertility of the soil or other circumstances offered fa-
cilities and temptations. Many of the villages in our
own neighborhood, and intthe vicinity of Plymouth
were settled-~——-a Colony was established at Rhode
Island,and the stream of emigration was flowing along
the fertile banks of the Connecticut.

As early as 1642, there were no less than fifty
villages and towns planted, and forty churches had
already been erected. Threre was in all directions a
healthy process of increase going on. Where yester-
day there existed a stillness which had never
been broken save by the guarded step of the savage,
or the note of the bird, or the falling of the leaf, or
the rustling of the wild beast--to day presents the
gathering ltrarnltet; and the interminable forests echo
to the busy voices of the settlers, and the spire ‘rises
above the house of God. The interchange of com-
rnoclitiesarnong each other was as frequent as the

IO

nature of their situation would permit; and though it
was but seldom that a ship from the mother country
was anchored at their rude Wharves, yet its arrival
wasialvvays a source of rejoicing and an addition of
strength to the Colonists. Oppression certainly was
growing stronger every hour at home, hat that very
cause drove out hundreds of new settlers, with all
necessary supplies, in return for which were sent
hack to their friends in Europe, rich cargoes of the
native produce of New England.

Although the growth of the country at this time
was rapid, the colonists were indebted for it rather
to the oppressions exercised at home, than to any
inducements which they could offer here. Their
possessions were no longer held in peace. Causes of
excitement and animosity had sprung up between
them and the natives, and powerful bands of savages
were hovering around ‘them greedy for blood.-—-—
Wherever there Wasa settlement too weak to pro-
tect itself, and far from assistance, the keen scent of
the Indian discovered it; and though at night its in-
habitants retired happy in the present, and contented
with their future prospects,the midnight yellof the foe
was sure to awaken them, and the first beams of the
morning fell on the smoking scenes of desolation and
carnage, ’ A y t

A degree of stern determination must necessaril
temper the character of any one, perpetually exposed

11

to suchscenes. But to obtain anything like a defin-
ite ideaof the effect produced upon our ancestors,
we must call to mind who they were, and What causes
subjected them to these perils. The dangers of the
ocean,the inhospitality of the Wilderness,the outrages
of the savage,vvere slight evils in their vievv,cornpared
with those they had already suffered, and from vvhich
these offered them an alternative. There lay before
them perhaps, a death from pestilence, from famine,
or of torture, but its power could reach no further
than to destroy the body. While behind them, in
the land they had left, a moral contamination invaded
the atmosphere, which they believed would carry
corruptiorr down into the depths of the soul. Having
once resolved that a higher interest than any of ear-th
was at stake, they determined at all risks to guard it,
and wherever they might plant their altars, were
prepared to stand around them vvith the Bible in one
hand, and the sword in the other, and save them, or
”_p@1"lSl“l..

As they were literally martyrs for the “faith which
was in them,” of course their form of Govern-

vment exhibited the strictest union between church

and state. Their clergy ranked among their magis-
trates, and education Went hand in hand with relig-
ion. Men is of such a stamp, who had little to lose
and every thing to gain in a temporal point of view,
were not very likely to yield to foreign dictation.--»

12

Religious freedom almost necessarily implies civil

liberty; and after they had once freed their minds
from the bondage of task masters, all future steps
were comparatively easy. Accordingly wherever
‘there is a record of a spirited resistance, or a total
disregard of the oppressive mandates which issued
from the throne, it will be found to have either been
confined to this section of the country, or at least
that it bore a conspicuous part in the opposition. It
is this same spirit which guided the pens of the sign-~
ers of our Declaration of Independence; which car-
ried onr fathers through the war of the Revolution ;
vvl1icl1 has rendered forever memorable the day which
we now commemorate ; and which even at this time
still lingers around the walls of our Legislation, and
hallows with a bright glory the name of New Eng»
land.

While, however, our ancestors were harassed by
the Indians on one side, and by the repeated oppres-
sions of the crown on the other, the remaining col-~
onies were subjected to similar grievances which
were gradually preparing the way for our secession
from the mother country. Maryland, the Carolinas,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were subject to what
was called Proprietary Governments. Disputes h0VV";'
ever, had early arisen between the Proprietors and
the settlers, in consequence of which many had in»
sisted upon resigning their charters back into the

13

possession of the crown, as even‘ the least of the two
evils. The colonists every where considered them-
selves entitled to the rights of Englishmen, which
were denied them; the mother country from mere
jealousy,restricted their commerce to her own domin—
ions ; prohibited their manufactures, and discouraged
all intercourse between them in the hope of” checking
their growth. Not satisfied with the submission
yielded to all this, although the colonies had aided in
driving the French from the country, the Parliament
of Great Britain claimed the right of taxing them,
and attempted its exercise. Here however, they
were met by the conclusive argument that taxation
and representation should go together, and that they
had neither vote nor Voice in the imposition of their
own taxas. The laws which the colonists had made
for their government, were declared null in England,
and their magistrates remoVed——--till at last the fire
which had long been kindling in silence, burst out,
and overrun America.

These were some of the causes which led to our
Revolution, and though at the time they weresour-—
ces of much sorrow and anxiety, it is well for us and
for the world that they have existed. The political
whirlwind in its passage over our land, laid open
many hidden sources of wealth.’ Treasures, both
mental and physical were demanded by the times,

t and they were rendered when called for. Talents

14

which had hitherto been confined to a small circle of
friends, and which would have remained buried in
obscurity, were elicited by these circumstances as
the spark. follows the blow of the steel. As states-
men, we soon had a Jay and a Jefferson ; ~—-—in the
field we had a Knox and a Green -—-—the patriotisnr
of a "Patrick Henry, of 21 Lee and of a John Adams
thundered in strains of eloquence equal to any which
had ever echoed Within the Walls of Parliament. A
host of other leaders, with minds ripe for counsel,
and hearts which never quailed, sprung up; and last;
of all, and to crown all, one who united in himself the
best qualities of every other,and yet who but for these
times might have lived and died an unknown planter,
was needed---— and was fozmd--—-WAs1~1INe'roN.

The scenes to which I have already alluded had
drawn the attention of the civilized World ; but the
form of Government chosen by our ancestors was
adapted to attract it much more -—-- their strong 1'e~
ligious tenets, for which they had endured so much ;
and their peculiar situation calling upon them to
band together for their mutual defence, had created
a certain community of interest, and feelinrrs of equal
rights, which forbade for a moment the thought of
a monarchical Government, with its train of differelit
ranks. An’ experiment was destined to be tried
upon our shores. Republics had existed before, but
never upon the same scale vvhich was now contem-—

15

plated. Greece had possessed her small republics,
but among them there was no system of representa-
tion, binding its scattered members into one political
union. Rome had been converted into one, but the
rest of ltaly was in boridageg and wherever such
a scheme of Government had been attempted, the
attempt had hitherto miserably failed.

The enemies of our system, looked back upon
former precedents and predicted our fall. But we
have not fallen. Thank. God! the stripes yet wave,
and the stars are proudly borne on the banner where
our fathers placed them.

The mind requires as much training to enable it to
bear a full degree of liberty, as does the body,
before eiiduririg the greatest extremes of fatigue.
Without it, freedom soon becomes licentiousness, and
the system sickens and dies. In no instance had
this ever been attained before: but the peculiar sit-
uation of our ancestors, had brought them to it. A
republican form of Government did not grow out of
their passions, but was built up with cool and sober
reflection. Education was at that time bestowed
freely upon every body, and religion lent her all
powerful aid in support of our free institutions.

The moment that the restrictions upon our Com-
merce, and the other restraints which had been impos-
ed by the mother country, were removed by the decla-
ration of our Independence,a state of prosperity suc-

16

eeedied, which in every direction has caused a growth
unprecedented in the annals of the world. The forrest
have fallen, and forever. The Red. man has passed
away from among us,and the small remnant of his peo-
ple which yet remains,haVe been swept to the very lim-
its of our land. The beasts of prey have deserted their
caves, and the deer and the beaver are found, but more
and more rarely as each year glides by. In their stead
are the populous cities,pouring forth their thousands of
industrious inhabitants--—-- the extent of the shore and
of the interior of almost the whole of our vast con-
tinent, is teeming with villages where is heard the
hum of a thriving population-——-and our Factories
gather towns around them, almost in a night -»---—- from
our navy yards, proudly float away men of war
which challenge competition with those of any part
of the world-——--—and where ever there is a harbour
in which an anchor has been dropped, there has the
American ensign waved over the decks of our lV.[@1:‘-
chantmen. A

As we have accumulated wealth the beneficial in—-
fluence of our system has been poured into other
channels. The Arts and the Sciences have alike been
fostered. At home, we have an Allston, and abroad
we had a West, and yet have a Leslie and a Newton,
who even in fastidious Europe rank among the mast-»
ers, in the art of painting—-«our own young towns-
man Greenough, is already wielding the chisel of

17

ChElt‘1tl‘_y9 :;ttt;1  rztpittly striding to the highest honors
ate it settlptew. As at novelist, We have furnished 21
Cooper, second only to the Great nmgieiett, Whose
Voee, ales! is new eiteht in death, ettd whose wand
is htoheat~----}{t‘t*ieg is uhmzrttehed in his bright
tJ&.LLiL't"3('3‘R‘.'; titttfl es poets We have at Bt‘y€;tt.‘tt, 21 t3’e1'cival,
 551)l’E1:gtt6, em} at host of other some of song, whose
tyres have t'uattg across the wzttete, end Whose names
are deethless.

Still however the pet1'iothes no little reason to
tremble for our prospects. It is idle for me to cry
out eotttixtuelly “peeee, petteeg when there is no
peace.” The Qvetltfs off theee htttet times give but
too much reeeoh fot the hehef that the seeds of de-
eay have been tt1t'e2ttty hbetftthy scattered, and that
't11ro11glo1 om’ tttegleet they have not been eradicated.
Out Cout1t1'y pteeente :31 situtttiott hitherto 11np2u'rellel—
led ztttaortgg men. We ere sut"tetm;;:§;, not like the nations
of EL"lI'Opt3, from it tteht which howe US to the earth
tmder out Vttttl et’t"orte to ttissettztrge it, but from at state
of prossperity wmeh ie pet'1mpe even worse. The
great bond of uxtion, the feelitlg of common interest
which has hitherto led us to act together for the com-
mon good hue been severed, and dissappointed poli-~
tieiz-ms; have been but too ready to tehe advantage of
this state ofaffhirs. Tl11'eets have Been openly made
by El portion of our Southern brethI'e11,tand their state

flag has been unfurled, that it might fleet over that
(D
.1

18

of the Union. Our C0‘m1t1‘_Vl1:-BIS loeen shom of its
glory. lt is a tttelzmcholy fact, that at last there
have been found men who were Willing to set their
own private advancement in the scales, against the
public weal ; and the armed heel of Treason has rung
upon the very floor of our Capitol.

At home, thahl; Heaven I we have not gone to such
an extent, yet even here, in New England there are
a.l_>uses creeping in whieli may eventuailtly htitmble US
to the duet. Qlll“ ltigloteet p1*iVil€:ge t.m(ler our C()l'1-
M.ll‘.‘L1tlO1"l if?» that of tzcfguztl 1‘€‘.pl‘G;‘:‘.(?!1"ltEttl()l'l; ott1'Ii.rst duty
is to guard this hy a resolution to elect only lit men
to office-———--our ne§3;leet here  operxting a door Wlt1ic;l1
hereafter we may strive in Vain to close.

The pastyea1* has f u1'1l1iela‘1ed a 1~et1"1arl<;able and m<:>m'n--
ful coincIitlenee.~—-At the very moment when the
breath of faction vvae shaking the proud fabric: of our
Country to its haee ; He, the last 3Wsigr1c:l1' of the deed
which secured to tie its possessioxi,---died. The fixet
notes of the trumpet, Wl'lLl.Cl1 was to maxelmall the op-
ponents of the Union, echoed over the new made
grztve of Charles Camvoll of C211‘]‘0lt()l’.l. Full of years,
respected, honored, loved, he Went calmly down to

his tomb, hel'o1'e the “evil day:=; had come.”

“ —-—-tlxc-. night, «low that falls, tlmn,':l'1 in sxilmtvo it wt~op:vs,
.‘4hn.lI l*n‘ih;ztre.n with vr»rdu1'¢:', the gr:tvn whm-ea he sl¢-.r~p,« 5
And the tenor that we .~mml, tho’ in mm-r.-t. it ‘rolle,

.‘*'»ha11 long Items his nmn'mr_\' g1'N“*T) in our souls.”

19

At this time when our political horizon was dark:  

ened ; and the clouds were gathering thickly around

,4 1!

the stars of our Country—-—-—-here, in Nert:' iii:.7§Iii 

    

which the question had been so Oliittlftjlii a;;;e.., *'w:11:,
any good come out of N:1zareth?”, one 

mighty enougli to roll them back at his voice. ‘ii/Vltrit::fi
the banded leaders of the nullification party had ar-
rayed their forces in Co1igt'ess, Daniel Webster step-
ped forward,to use his own eloquent language. “to the
front rank, vvhere the blowsfell fastestand tihickest.”

Thank God 1 his manly arguments found a re-
sponse in every part of our Continent; and the ex-
ecutive of our nation acted promptly and fearlessly
in accordance with them. The opposition sunk
beneath his blovvs---forever; and it now remains
alone for history to record its acts-—-subjects at once
of suffering and disgrace.

To us however they may Well teach an important
lesson. We are not alone inhabitants of a particular
state, but Citizens of the whole Confederacy. Private
or sectional interest must yield to the public good.
‘Personal feelings must never enter into competition
with the Common Weal; and if we would not dis-
grace the memory of the past-—-«destroy the hopes
and prospects of the present----~or if We wish that those
who are to come after us as they rise, should “call us
hlessed”»—-«we must be ready at all times, at whatever

S30

expense of t.1'cms1:a1'a:-., of blmod, or ot’Ii£'<3:, to m.i.Iy round
and preserve inviolable, time. “A zxrk M our Cfovezmmj’
the repositoly of our safety-mour Glmwiouss UNION»