3ennott, A. A.

An. Oration, ... it being the 51st Anniversary of|^i'j_»
Amerioan Independence. a

Janandaigua, 1627 .

"I give tke/e Books
far the fn^mSHg cf a, CoUigt J«- ihif Cc/wgf"

ORATION,

DBLIVERED AT AVON, JUI.Y 4TB, 1827,

IT BEING THE

FIFTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY

AMERICAN INDEFENDENCE.

BY A. A. BENNETT, Esq.

CANANDAIGUA:
PRINTED BT BEUtS, HOKSE AHD WASP.
1827.

[COPY.]
To A. A. Bennett, Esq.
Dear Sir —
WE the undersigned, Committee of Arrangement, for the celebra
tion, kc. having been highly pleased with your address delivered at the Brick
Church, request a copy for the Press.
CHABIiES LITTLE, \
WM. t. HOSMER, I
CHANDLER PEARSON, ^ Committee.
GEORGE HOSMER, |
EDWARD WATEROUS.J
Avon, July 4, 1827.

To Charles Little, and othei s, \
Committee. Ifc.
Gentlemen —
IF publishing my short Address, delivered this morning, will gratify
my friends, or in any manner subserve the cause of virtue among my neigh
bors, I will not withhold Hfirom tbe Press. Yours, resp^ptfuUy,
A. A. BENNETT.
Avon, Jaly 4, 1827.

ORATION.

My Friends and JVeighbors :
Fifty winters have covered our hills with
snows, and fifty summers have crowned our fields with
harvests, since a venerable band of our fathers assem
bled in solemn Congress at Philadelphia. The wrongs
of our mother country had driven them to desperation.
Time had been, when, for oppression, they had raised
the imploring hand of supplication ; for iridigniiy and
cruelty, they had returned calm expostulation and me
morial ; for wanton outrage, they had raised the voice
of dignified remonstrance. Time had now come,
when forbearance was no longer a virtue. The enemy
had beleaguered our shores — the sword was unsheath
ed in the land — the blood of our citizens moistened
our hills, and empurpled our streams. This august
body of men sat in awful conclave — the fate of an em
pire rested upon them. They sat as the guardians of
the western world. Liberty invoked their aid — pos
terity preferred its claim — palsied age and helpless in
fancy stretched out their supplicating hands for pro
tection! In this momentous conjuncture, when many
faces gathered paleness: from their dread responsibility,
silence was broken with this declaration :
" We, therefore, the representatives of the United
" States of America, in general congress assembled,
" appealing to the Supreme Judge ofthe world for the

" rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by
" the authority of the good people of these colonies,
" solemnly publish and declare. That these united col-
" onies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND
"INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are ab-
" solved from all allegiance to the British crown, and
" that all political connexion between them and the
" state of Great-Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dis-
" solved ; and that as free and independent states, they
" have full power to levy war, conclude peace, con-
" tract aUiances, establish commerce, and to do all
" other acts and things which independent states may
" of right do. And for the support of this declaration,
" with a firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mu-
" tually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes,
" and our sacred honor."
So spake the fathers of a great people, whose future
seed should be " so many as the stars of the sky in
multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea-shore,
innumerable." Let us, their posterity, catch the spirit
of their patriotism, and celebrate this anniversary as
worthy sons of so noble an ancestry.
Although the scenes of the revolution, and the sub
jects connected with them, are themes upon which the
oiator's tongue never tires, and the poet's fancy de
lights to dwell ; yet, because they have been so well
described, and so frequentjy repeated, we leave them
for the present, to spend a thought upon some of the
advantages nf our most excellent institutions. And
here, should your speaker omit some of the most obvi
ous blessings of a free government, and present you
with those more remote, it is not because the former

are to be overlooked ; neither is it to alfect singularity ;
but, to avoid the path so frequently trod by others.
The first thing I mention, as a fruit ofthe revolution,
is an impetus given to the national industry and enter
prise. If one thing, more than any other, gives stabil
ity, strength, prosperity and happiness to a people, it
is national industry. But, the monarchical and aristo
cratical governments ofthe world hold out but miserable
inducements to this virtue. There, the tenures of prop
erty are such, that those who work the soil are not its
owners. There, Industry, with a despairinai: eye, be
holds the fruits of her toil squandered upon the pageant
ry and lust of a pampered nobility ; and, while sagacity
contrives, authority commands, aod poverty urges to
action ; Industry droops, and the finger of the arts is
palsied under the withering influence of hereditary
power. Not so in this favorejl land : The fee simple of
our soil, held and enjoyed, and transmitted to their sons
by the yeomanry of our country, furnishes a permanent
motive to industry : and do not the facts of our recent
history exemplify the truth of these remarks ? Why
has the solitude of the forest so suddenly been trans
formed into cultivated fields, where flocks feed, and
harvests wave ? — because we are a nation of freemen.
Why have hamlets, villages and cities sprung up, as if
by enchantment, in the interior ofthe country ? Yea,
and " the wilderness and the solitary place become glad,
and the desert rejoiced and blossomed like the rose" ? —
Because we are iree. Why has our own state, put
forth all her mighty energies, to devise, and carry
forward, and complete a grand scheme of internal
commerce, rivalling in its extent, and the suddenness
of its prosecution, every work ofthe kind in Europe ? —
Because we are free.

Let me add, that many of our labor saving machihes,
and the grand art of navigating by steam, are proud
monuments to American enterprise. Such is the in
spiration of freedom, that in war our armies have
covered themselves with glory — our navy have won
imperisliable laurels of renown — in peace, agriculture
has triumphed over the asperities of nature ; the arts
have clothed us in the richest fabrics, reared palaces
for men, and temples to God. Commerce has spread
her whigs to every gale, whitened every sea, and wafted
home the fruits of every shore !
Another benefit of our admirable institution of gov
ernment, is an expansion of mind, by means of a
general diffusion of letters. The art of printing, is
acknowledged on all hands, to be a principal means of
enlightening the mass of mankind : this art has been
known in Europe for centuries. It forms then, a curi
ous speculation for the political philosopher, why the
great mass of men in the Eastern hemisphere, are still
chained down in the dungeon of ignorance and degra
dation ! A solution of this problem, I apprehend, may
be found in the defects of their civil institutions.
Where the destinies of a nation ai*e wielded by arbi
trary power : where the will of one man, or of a favored
few, is the law of civil conduct ; ignorance, in the mul
titude, is essential for the safety of the monarch, and
for the enforcement of obedience to his arbitrary will.
Hence it arises, under such a government, that by the
policy of the monarch, all the sources of information,
all the avenues to intellectual light are shut up, and
strongly barred and guarded by the watchful jealousy
of law. Public meetings, for the interchange of
opinions are prohibited ; freedom of debate is suppres-

sed ; the liberty of the press is cloven down, and the
flaming sword of royalty, is set to guard the tree of
knowledge from the common people, lest they eat and
live. For living illustrations of this fact, I need not cite
you to the trembling vassals of eastern despots; to the
ignorant and degraded subjects of an Algerine Bey, a
Tripolitan Bashaw, or a Califf of Bagdat: No, I will
point you to the great body of commonalty, which
composes the nations of modern Europe. These are
my proofs, that ignorance is the prop of a tyrant's
throne. — Let their rulers boast of their wise polity ; of
their imperial dominions ; of their national aggran
dizement; they but glory in their shame, since the
governed are but semi-barbarians. Letters they know
not ; the light of science has never pierce d the veil
which covers their minds ; intellectual ai^ moral truth
has never chased from them the gloom jfcdHgnorance
•^superstition. From this dark picture, open your eyes upon our be
loved country ; mark the progressive improvement in
all the departments of science, and the arts ; admire
our grand system of common schools, the rapid increase
and endowment of academies, colleges and seminaries
of teaming. Here, our little ones are taught to lisp
the language of the books : here, our sons and daugh
ters regale at the fountain of knowledge, pluck the
flowers and quaff the streams of Arcadia, and invoke
the inspiration ofthe muses: Here, in a word, from
our law-making power, the great patron and fountain
of science, issue streams, which water the remotest
cottage in the land, and gla4den the city of God.
I have said, that the art of printing was a great
means of disseminating knowledge through the world.

8
I mean by that, where it is connected with a free press.
Tljese United States present the only instance of a
free press, in the full extent of that term, in the known
world. Here, we have no sedition laws ; no govern
ment censors to approve or condemn what is offered
for the press. Here, the people speak boldly to their
rulers through this medium ; reprove their faults, ex
pose their abberations, instruct their ignorance, or
commend their virtue. Through this medium, infor-
raati(Hi of what is passing in the cabinet, in our leg
islative halls, is brought home to every American. No
matter what his condition in life : no matter whether
he rides upon the circles of honor, basks in the beams
of pleaisure, or dwells in a cottage, and makes his bed
of straw ; be he but an American, the genius of liberty
is his guardian angel — the safe guards of freedom are
planted ar«i||in his dwelling. He reviews the conduct
of his rulers, vvho are servants of his own appointing(|.
they hear his voice, from his remote dwelling, and
tremble in their halls of power. To this source is prin
cipally to be attributed the general information res
pecting our government, and our civil rights, which
pervades this community. The most unlearned in our
country know and appreciate their rights, as electors,
as citizens, as men. Even our children are indoctrin
ated into t!ie principles of our constitution and general
laws. But the principles of our government, diffused thro'
a free press, have not been confined within the four
seas. Our papers and books have found their way
across the waters ; enlightened the eyes, and warmed
the hearts of foreign patriots, in various quarters of the
globe. South America has shaken off the chains of a

foreign tyrant, and asserted her standing among the
nations of the earth. ^Greecejias awaken from her
long slumbei^ of civil j»§» and moral death, to invoke
the genius of her former glory, and the spirit of her
ancient warriors ; to break the iron band of the mussel-
men, which has so long enslaved her. England has
recently opened her eyes to her civil rights ; shaken
herself from the dust; and in the face of frowning
Lords and haughty Peers, has effected a change in her
administration, most important to herself, and glorious
in the eyes of freemen. Under her former policy, Ire
land groaned in tears ; the blood of her sons moistened
her green fields ; her Catholics, under the iron hand of
despotism, were shut out from the dawn of hope. Eng
land changes her policy. Ireland feels the renovating
shock; a ray of hope penetrates the gloom of Catholic
degradation ; her sons smile through tears .of joy, and
seize the pledge of final emancipation. Standing where
we now do, may we not look forward to the period,
when the spark, kindled in America, shall spread and
spread, till the whole earth be illuminated by its light.
But I hasten to mention one more benefit derived from
our revolution, viz : Free toleration of religion. This
is guaranteed by the constitution, the great charter of
our liberties. That must be a government of oppres
sion, where the civil arm binds the consciences of men
in their intercourse with God. Yet, strange to tell,
this is done, either directly or ipdirectly, in all the gov
ernments ofthe old world. I allude not to the religion
of Mahomet, which was introduced by the sword, and
is now enforced by despotic decree. I allude not to the
stupid devotion ofthe Hindoo, to the idol Juggernaut,
the Gooroos ; or his ablutions in the Ganges : neither
B

10
to the worship ofthe Lama, by the idolators of Thibet ;
but I allude to polished Eiy-gr^e,^ Italy, France, Spain
and Portugal ; where the autlieiwj^v of the Roman See,
the thunder of the Vatican, the horrors of the Inquisi
tion, bind the consciences of men to iraage worship, and
to the acknowledgment ofthe Pope, as the vicegerent
of God. Yes, and I allude to England, whose great
national establishment of rehgion, alone feels the foster
ing hand of government : which arrogates to itself the
whole orthodoxy ofthe rpalm ; and which points the
arrows of persecution, and directs the energies of gov
ernment, to disfranchise, humble and prostrate other
christians, who differ from them in form ; branding them
with the name of dissenters and heretics. Religion,
with u.«i, is put upon its true basis. Licentiousness
and blasphemy alone ai'i^ restrained by law. On the
boo!^ of God our institutions are founded : Its truths
compose the charter of our rehgion ; but, its particular
exposition is left to the reason and conscience of every
believer. Side by side stand the churches of every de
nomination : No one can say to the other, stand by, for
I am holier than thou. In the same con gregation may
meet Parthian and M^,de, Sythian and Barbarian,
Christian and Jew% to hear the wonderful works of God.
No religious test is requiped ; no penance is enjoined ;
no sensless forms are imposed. Our government leaves
it to the ministers of the cross, to win over revolted man
to the cause of truth, and to the embracement of the
love of God, as revealed in the Gospel of Christ. —
Wonderful indeed is the effect of this toleration ; leav
ing religion to stand on its own intrinsic merits, unaid
ed by the secular arm, it has won its way through the
empire of Satan, shut the mouth of gainsayers, raised

11
up an innumerable army of christian warriors, of va
rious ranks and denominations, who, when they have
fought the good fight of faith, and finished their cot! se?
will ground their arms at the feet of Jesus, in a b( iter
world, crowned with victory, and covered with glory !
To the free toleration of religion, I attribute much of
the exertions now making, in this fallen world, to re
move the vail of ignorance, and let down to benighted
man the light of the Son of God. Those who have
tasted civil liberty, and with it the sweets of redeeming
grace, pant to impart the same blessing to others. —
They have taken the wings ofthe morning* , and flown
to the uttermost parts of the earth. Ethiopia hath
stretched out her hands, and the Isles have received
the law from their mouth. From the burning sands
of Airica, to the frozen shores of Zembla ; from the
eastern Ganges, to the wilds of America, their sound
hath gone forth into all the world ; the standard of the
cross is erected ; Jews, Pagans and Barbarians, have
gladly received the word of life ; yes, and the savage
sons of our forest, the Creek, the Wiandott and the
Choctaw, have knelt in the house of prayer ; and while
the tears of penitence have Scooped out channels on
their dusky cheeks, the power of the Holy Ghost has
melted their hearts. — From these enlivening prospects,
may we not anticipate the day, w4ien the w orld shall
be evangelized ; and the sons of Zion shout victory !
victory! over the empire of Satan prostrate in the
dust! These are among the blessings we enjoy — this
is my country.
Since our institutions are so valuable ; since the
blessings which we derive from them are so great ;
permit me to spend a thought, upon the means neces-

12
sary, to preserve our liberties, and hand them down to
posterity unimpaired. For, it is a melancholy truth,
and the history of ages confirm it, that all civil institu
tions of men; all governments, have their rise, their
achma, decline and final ruin. Some are like the
sturdy oak — slow in their advance, they breast the
storms of a thousand winters. Others, like the Proph
et's gourd, spring up in a night and perish in a night.
It has been the fate of republics to be of short contin
uance. I ought, however, to say that the machinery
of our government differs from all others heretofore
formed; and the general intelligence of the people is
a basis upon which our liberties may rest, with a firm
hope of their perpetuity. But what is necessary for
their continuance 1
1. Persevering habits of industry, economy and so
briety, among the body of our freemen. Remove
habits of industry from our people-^you sap the very
foundations, and prostrate the strength of the civil su
perstructure. You introduce laxity of morals, licen
tiousness, conspiracy, and finally every vice. The arm
of government is palsied; civil discord, insurrection
and treason succeed ; till our fair fabric of government,
reared by the toil and cemented by the blood of our
fathers, and adorned by the trophies of genius, reels to
its base, and falls in awful ruins ! Let industry be
promoted, licentiousness and wanton pleasure will find
no place ; commercial and social interest w ill bind us
together ; the energies of government will be increased ;
prosperity will crown our gates, and the fair fabric of
our fame shall rise and rise, and stand forever. Nor
is economy to be overlooked. Its opposite, luxury,

13
enervates the body, and enfeebles the mind : by it, ar
mies have been wasted and empires destroyed. By
our example, as well as precept, it behooves us to
recommend economy. — Our real wants of foreign com
modities are but few : our own country furnishes most
of the necessaries of life. Why, then, should we
squander our substance to aggrandize other nations '?
But what shall I say of the growing habits of intem
perance in our land 1^-that bane of domestic peace and
national prosperity, which threatens more disaster to
our nation, than the pestilence and the sword ! I would
raise my warning voice— I would come home to the
hearts of fathers — I would ple^d the cause of my coun
try — of our children— of generations yet unborn. —
Avert, O most merciful Father, the evils which threaten
us from this cause, and save us from impending ruin !
2. Another means to perpetuate the blessings of our
free government is, to foster our institutions of learning.
We govern ourselves ; and whether we do it wisely or
ignobly ; to our lasting benefit or irretrievable ruin,
depends much upon our intelligence. Bring home this
intelligence to the common people ; diffuse a knowledge
of our rights and general laws to every hamlet ; place
the means of knowledge within the reach of every
cottager ; and we may defy intrigue within, and force
without. Parents, this is for you — our hopes are upon
the rising generation. To you, is committed a most
iraportant trust ; the keys which open the temple of
fame, and those which unbar the vaults of infamy and
disgrace, are both committed to you ; the destiny of
your children, the fate of our common country, depend
upon their use. I bless the God of my fathers, that my

14
remarks upon this topic, are so little needed by my
respectable auditors : you have outrun my zeal, in your
laudable exertions.
3. I need hardly mention, that our best exertions for
the suppression of vice, ahd the advancement of virtue,
are necessary for our prosperity. " Righteousness ex
alteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."
When vice overspreads a nation, the bonds of the mo
ral and social compact are dissolved. God, who rest-
eth in his high and holy ^lace, in w^hose hands are all
the corners of the earthy frowns destruction upon that
nation ; dissolves their polity, and gives their heritage
to another. At the head of our national vices stands
African slavery— that foul blot upon the page of our
national character, whit^h puts an argument in the
mouths of the enemies of free governments, to impugn
our national virtue. To the honor of our northern and
eastern states be it said, slavery is known but in name.
In this state, the moral sense and public sentiment had
anticipated the enactments of law to banish it forever.
But I am happy to state, that, by a law of 1817, sla
very in this state, from' tfcis glad morning, is forever at
an end. This act of emancipation will reflect as last
ing honor on the policy*%f this great state, as all the
truly noble and magnificent operations that have lately
distinguished us. The blessings of disabused humanity
will fall upon legislatorsand people ; the sweetest feel
ings of the heart will be called into lively exercise, and
the precious boon of freedom, long withheld, will be a
charity " twice blessed"^-blessing the giver as well as
the receiver. At the south, where slavery still exists,
sooner or later, a day of retribution must come. The

15
injured sons of Africa will be avenged. Already have
their tears sprinkled the mercy seat ; their groans have
entered the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth : He will be
avenged of their blood.
In conclusion, let me observe, that religion, above all
things, is indispensable for our present and future pros
perity. By religion, I mean the love of God shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost ; producing in its ef
fects, piety toward God, and ^eal for the good of men ;
not that zeal which is employed in proselyting men to
particular modes of faith, and forms of worship ; not
that party zeal which would establish an ecclesiastical
hierarchy, and trample others in the dust ; but the ev
angelical zeal of the gospel of the Son of God ; which
pants to open the door of hope, and bring the light of
life to fallen man. Religion is the foundation, the
grand key-stone, the superstructure and the ornament,
of all our civil, social, and moral institutions. It har
monizes the jarring passions of men ; it exerts a salu
tary influence in neighborhoods, societies, and whole
communities ; it adorns the bench of justice, and gives
our senators wisdom. Her d^trines display the attri
butes of God, point out the duty of man, lift the veil of
the eternal world, and draw Hiotives of obedience from
heaven and hell. Here, we are taught the malady of
the human heart, and a knowledge of its cure : here,
the mysteries of redemption, thyough the atonement of
an incarnate God, are unfolded ; and here, we learn,
that though death will bury us in the tomb of nature,
and the darkness of oblivion seem to cover us ; yet, we
shall arise from the ashes of the grave, renewed in
spirit, and renovated in the vigor of immortal life ;

16
where freed-men, in Christ, of every tongue, and kin
dred, and people, will hail tbe glad morning of eternal
deliverance, and shout victory ! victory ! to God and
the Lamb forever !