3. ^ ,-^^

J -7

p7» '¦^ • "^ ¦

> ?

P '

3 9002 06126 4512 m^.,

">'a'-^'

5* *

.'.^'.Ci-^'.

¦-'' '¦" ^. *• "-.- . ih PmA§,
• ,~ -41- , >p'' '" ' Ll'i' * ^4"

Van Feuvel, Jacob ixdriun
.ja Oration, delivered at O^^aensbaryi, J.i., ... IBZl , gffisl

OgdensburciTi ,t .X . , 16L7 .

;P3Wr^r •¦>¦,, "-7 :; '^h'P'> ^' -- ^ ^ '

-- " .: ' -^ p^^p"^'Sk^"pr:¥)^4^^
'fi. .fc * . ,.p,.rj . ...1
'¦S t-
' Y^LU'WIMimEIESflirY-

1

ORATION,
By j. a. VANDEN HEUVEL, Esci.

AN

ORATION,

DELIVERED AT

OGDENSBURGH, NEW-YORK,

FOUKTH OF JUJ.Y 1827,

CELEBRATION OF THE FIFTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY

^mrrtcatt Kn^ejientcnce.

By J. A. VANDEN HEUVEL, Esq.

PUBLISHED BY THE COMMITTEE OF -ARRANGEMENTS.

OGDENSBURGH, PRINTED:
NEW-YOKK KE-PRINTED BY J. SEYMOUR, JOHN-STREET.
1827.

ORATION.

FELLOW-CITIZENS :
It has been the custom of all nations to celebrate the periodical
return of the happy epochs of their history, with demonstrations of
joy and triumph. The spirit of patriotism is refreshed when the
inhabitants of a common country, leaving their .homes and occupa-
¦ tions, and laying aside aU causes of difference, all distinctions of sect
or party, unite in recalling together the moments of their country's
glory. With similar feelings we hail the return of this proud day ;
a day which raised this country from a state of colonial subjection
and oppression, to the rank of an independenf state, destined to hold
an important station among the powers of the earth ; and with hearts
warmed with patriotic ardour, and minds deeply impressed with
the greatness of the occasion, we meet as nTembers of one family,
to congratulate eaoh other on' this auspicious event, to look back
on the circumstances attending it, and' to consecrate anew in our
hearts those principles of civil liberty to which it owed its birth.
The actors in this eventful drama have left this mortal scene:
another generation has succeeded ; but their actions, and the mo
tives and principles of their conduct, are engraven -by the pen of his
tory, on monuments more durable than brass or marble. Impartial
posterity will not hesitate to do ample justice to the uprightness of
their cause, to the purity of their intentions, to assert with them,
that it was an urgent necessity that constrained them to separate
from the parent state ;. that a long train of abuses and usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to reduce
them under an absolute despotism : it was their right, as it vras their
duty, to throw offsuch government, and to provide new guards for
their future safety.
. Let me, my friends and fellow-citizens, awalien in your minds the
recollection of a few~ facts in the history of your country, to illus
trate this remark.
Three hun^dred, years since,, this extensive western continent,
now covered vi'ith populous states, advancing with rapid march to

a comparison with the ancient world; in all the comforts and e^
joyments with which art and science crown the exertions of man J
was first disclosed^o the astonished eyes of the rest of the globe.
The excitement which this event^gave to the mind of man, was felt
in every direction on the continent of Europe. To its inhabitants,
cramped within a small part of the habitable earth", oppressed
by the domination of ancient systems, which held in subjection the
intellect of a great part of society, the opening of a new world pre
sented a boundless theatre for the efforts of ambition and enterprise,
with objects of pursuit suitable to the desires of all.
The infiuence of this great event materially contributed to the
revival of letters in Europe, which was succeeded by a general
advancement in the arts and sciences, and a developement of the
great principles of civil liberty, which the ponderous appendages of
the feudal system, and the darkness of superstition had hid from the
view. - The effect of the great struggle which ensued between the
rights of man and ancient abuses, was no where more visible than
in the land of your ancestors. A fermentation commenced there,
¦which for more than half a century, set at war the people and the
throne. The civil atd religious rights of mankind were maintained
with inflexible ardonr ; and authority, unwilling to slacken its reins,
a convulsion followed which brought a mon^ch to the block.
It was at an early period of these civil troubles, that a number of
families in England, sorely oppressed by the denial of those religious
privileges which they valued dearer than life, and desirous to with
draw from that scene of contention, which the tyranny set over
them was gradually covering with darker and darker shades, retired
to Holland ; a country at that time the foremost in the defence of
the Protestant liberties of Europe, and the asylum of the oppressed
of all natioris, there to remain while the storm of persecution
lasted. Several years they resided in that country ; but despair-
. ing at length of any change at home favourable to religious tole
ration, they came to the solemn resolution to cross the wide ocean
to the newly discovered world, to establish there, in the depths of
its forests,' a foundation for their civil and religious liberties, far
beyond any human control. They accordingly returned to Eng-
land to prepare for the enterprise ; and having fitted out a vessel,
embarked from Plymouth on the 6th September, 1620. Such an
undertaking to those who resolved on it, must have been of thB most
appalling nature. The improvements in the science of navigation

and ship building, render a voyage acrbss the ocean now of slight ,
moment ; but vessels at that period were greatly inferior in comfort.
and speed to those of the present day. The ocean was then but
rarely crossed ; by none but the boldest and most resolute ; men,
who, with souls cased in adamant, launched forth upon it, to en
gage in scene's of distant enterprise in other portions of the new
world. Valiant soldiers and hardy seamen alone were seen upon
its broad waters. Commerce had not then begun to send forth
even the man of ordinary business, the merchant to traverse it. But
who composed the little band of pilgrims, who for the protection of
their rights and liberties ventured on the perilous voyage ? Not.
alone men in the prime of life, with constitutions hardened to
fatigue, and minds enured to struggle with difficulty, -but' mothers
and their children, clinging to their husbands and fathers, com
posed) two-thirds of the whole company, which amounted to 101
souls. They left the comforts of a world grown old in civilization
and improvement ^ they bid farewell to their native land, now glanc
ing upon them to revive in their memory the fond recollection of
#the scenes of their childhood and riper age, gloomy as they had
been rendered by the oppressions from which they fled, still delight
ful ito dwell upon ; not as on their former departure for a short and
temporary period, but to build themselves up a country in a distant
hemisphere, which was to be their home and habitation for ever.
The voyage of these pilgrims, says the historian, was a boister
ous passage of more than two months. Twice they returned, from.
the leakiness of the small ship in which they embarked, which they
were obliged finally to abandon. Their fears and anxieties during
the various perils of the voyage, the sickness with which many of
them must have been oppressed,. unaccustomed to the sea, and of
the most delicate sex and feeble infancy, may be partially conceived;
but it is scarcely possible foi' us duly to measure the gloom of their
sensations, at contemplating under these circumstances the pros-j
peet before them. When from the deck of their little vessel, they
looked forward to behold the place of their last refuge and asylum
looming above the horizon, it was not to them a promised land flow-j
ing with milk and honey, but a land of thorns and briars. The whole'
continent of America, except the small settlement in Virginia, made /
a fe'nr, years previously by Capt. Smith, near 1000 miles distant, was'
still an entire wilderness, overgrown with forests vegetating in railk
luxiiriance, and inhabited only by wild animals or barbarous tribes
of men, who, from the frightful narratives constantly brought home

15
by voyagers to the new world of the cruelty of its inhabitants, must
have been viewed with intense dread and alarm. The settlement
in Virginia, from the many abortive attempts made to effect it, the
entire destruction of one colony by famine and the inroads of the
savages, and the severe distresses those which succeeded it en
dured, so far from being a subject of encouragement, could only
have tended more fully to damp their spirits.
They arrived on the bleak and barren coast of this inhospitable
wilderness, in the most inclement season of the year, on the 25th
JDecember, in a district which now forms part of the state of Mas
sachusetts. Yet, under these most cheerless circumstances, they a
few weeks after, in a country covered with snow and ice, com
menced the laying out of a town and the erection of houses, and
formed their able-bodied men into a military company to defend
themselves against the savages. They agreed upon a number of
laws for their civil and military government, and named the place
of their settlement " Plymouth," in honour of the port from which
they had sailed.
Such was the first colony formed in New England. These were
the earliest struggles of your ancestors, to establish in the new
world, a foundation for their civil and religious liberties.
The heroic fortitude, undaunted resolution, and persevering ener
gy which distinguished their conduct, are unparalleled in the history-
of the world. The thirst of power, the love of money, or the ardour
of curiosity, have led men to endure every form of danger and dis
tress ; to traverse land and water on distant enterprises, to dive into
the depths of mines, to scale lofty mountains, to scorch under the
line, or winter amid polar ice ; but history does not present an in
stance of such self-devotion for principle alone, as was exemplified
in the conduct of the first settlers of New England. That spirit of
ardent piety, of reliance on the protection of that Providence, for
the worship of whom they had encountered the perils they endured,
could alone have supported them throughout. To the surprise of
these colonists, the news carried back to England of their settle
ment soon spread about, and its successful progress led others to
join them, equally anxious td^ escape from civil and religious op
pression. The continued troubles in that country accelerated emi
gration. Three other colonies were soon formed around them ; '
Massachusetts Bay, Hartford, and New Haven. Other parts of the
United States were settled on the same principles of civil and reli
gious liberty. I have spoken particularly of the first settlement of

New England, because that part of the early history of the Anieri
can colonies, is necessarily of more interest to you. In course of
time, these various settlements grew up into large and flourishing
colonies, containing after tBe lapse of a century and a half, three
millions of inhabitants. •
And now, fellow-citizens, in regard to the rights and wrongs of
these colonies, in the struggle which in future times was to separate
them from the land from which they sprung, we are presented on
the pages of history with this remarkable fact ; that from the first
location made by any of the subjects of Great Britain on the conti
nent throughout the successive stages of colonization, all their set»
elements, with a single exception, were effected solely by individual
enterprise. Except in the state of Georgia, whose settlement was
0:f very modern date, the crown of England granted in no case a
single shilling to fit out an enterprise, to build ships, or provide re
sources for it. And not only were the first settlements made with
out her aid, but in the subsequent growth of these colonies, through
out all their dangers and difficulties, it was in no solitary instance
extended to them. After clearing the wilderness, and planting
towns and villages, which might have promised the colonists some
hope of comfort, their quiet was constantly molested, their lives and
property endangered by the native savages, who hung upon their
settlements with the burning brand in one hand, and the tomahawk
in the other. The Indian wars into which ^they were led, were of
frequent occurrence, and attended with heavy expenses, which these
exiles from their native land, founders amidst accumulated hard
ships of a new state, were obliged to endure without the slighest
assistance from the mother country. And yet, in all the wars of
Great Britain, though arising from causes in which they had no
concern, they were incessantly involved, and were forced to wage
them at their own expense. In some of these wars, the colonies were
made the theatre of contention, from the mutual desire of the
European powers to seize each other's possessions in America, in
v^hich they sufiered more than any other part of the British domin
ions ; yet in the arrangements for the peace which followed, they
were not in the slightest manner suffered to have a voice.
The utter indifference which the colonists experienced from
Great Britain, was exchanged in half a century for a manifestation
¦ gf feelings towards them more flattering to their pride, but not
more liberal or kind. Their increasing growth and flourishing con
dition, and more than all, the commercial spirit which began to
a,rise among them, attracted the notice solely, because it alarmed

8 , - '
the mercantile jealousy of the mother country. " The fisheries'*
shipping, and foreign West India trade of the colonies had scarcely
become perceptible, before the British rperchants caught and sound
ed the alarm ; and as soon as the colonists, in the progress of
wealth and population, undertook to manufacture for their own
consumption a few articles of the first necessity, such as hats and
paper, a clamour was raised by the manufacturers in England, and
the power of the British government was exerted to remove the
cause of the complaint. The increase of emigration even became
a cause of alarm, and measures were early taken to prevent it."
In a short time these feelings received an entire developement. —
Her mercantile jealousy, desirous to monopolize the trade of her
colonies, led to the acts of navigation of 1651 and 1 660, wliich
obliged them to export all their productions to her own markets in
her own vessels — acts which fully accomplished hSr desires — con
verting them into mere instruments for. her aggrandizement, and
which have in consequence b^h nefTered to remain with their op

pressive weight on the colonie^in ner possession.
The conduct of Great Britain to her North American posses
sions, in thus cramping their industry and checking their trade,
it can scarcely be believed was quietly borne by colonists who
had but lately fled from oppression at home. It invaded the
whole course of their sentiments — struck a blow at the funda-
1 mental principles of their new policy. Although from the cir-
\ cumstances of their emigration, they felt themselves in some
manner connected ¦n'ith the mother country, they never fi-om the
moment of their first settlement entertained any other idea, but
j that they were so far an independent state, that none but their own
j legislatiires had a right to pass any laws affecting themselves ; in
variably denying the power of the King and Parliament to interfere
, with their internal policy. They proceeded to treat with the natives,
j to erect towns and villages, and to cultivate the lands without the
I slightest reference to Great Britain. We have seen that no assist
ance of any kind was afforded to them by the mother country ; but
\ it is not l^ss true, that the colonial records do not show a single in-
' stance in which the founders of this new state would consent to
apply to her for aid. They also considered themselves fully entitled
1 to establish Wuh't form of civil polity they pleased, and in a short
{ time founded governments in all the colonies, on the principle of
popular representation. The historians of the colonies, both Brit-
{ ish and American, relate abundant facts in proof of this'statement.
I ^^On their, first landing at Plymouth, the colonists proceeded to

9
elect their own Governor, and who was for some years afler annu
ally elected by the people, although the colony was established
under a Royal Patent. Fourteen years after, a House of Deputies
arose in Massachusetts, by the mere force of popular sentiment,
¦without any authority from the government of Great Britain. In
1635, when a rumor reached the colonies that it was contemplated
in England to unite them under a general government, the Magis
trates and Clergy of Plymouth declared, that " if such a govern
ment was sent, the colony ought not to accept it, but defend her
lawful possessions."
In 1643, the four New England colonies, without applying to the
government of Great Britain for approbation, united into a con
federacy for mutual offence and defence, called the United Colonies
of New England ; which on its own authority, levied imposts,
raised military forces, and made treaties with the Indians, and with
the colonies belonging to other European nations. In 1 648, this
confederacy sent to Canada, a proposal that there should be per
petual peace between the colonies, even though the motlier country
teas at war with France.
In 1652, Massachusetts established of its own authority a mint,
and issued silver coin, on one side of which was marked that year, j
as " the era of Independence."* On the reverse a tree, the usual '
symbol of Liberty. For thirty years afterwards it continued to
issue silver coin, and on every piece was impressed that date, and
not the year in which it was struck.
Having experienced great distress during the civil wars in England,
from the general interruption of commerce ; on the ascendancy of
the republican part^ some of their friends in the mother country
wrote to the Governor and Council of Massachusetts, advising them
to apply to parliament for aid,'assuring them of success, &c. They
took the subject into consideration, and returned an answer in
these simple but expressive terms — '' We decline the motion, on
the ground that if we should put ourselves under the protection
of parliament, we should be subject to all such laws as they
should make ; or at least such as they should impose on us."
In 1692,' Massachusetts passed an express law, solemnly denying
the competency of Parliament to impose any tax tfjpon them, with
out the consent of their Legislature.

* These are the words of the historians.

10
The same spirit of independence existed in the Southern Colony
established in Virginia; Fourteen years after it was founded, a
House of Burgesses came into existence, though neither the King
nor Council had given any powers or directions for it. During the
troubles in England, Virginia, who favoured the royal authority, re
sisted the squadron sent over by Cromwell to subdue it, and sub
mitted at length only on the following terms : 1 . That the people
of Virginia shall be subject to the Commonwealth of England, not
as a conquered country, but as a country submittmg by her own
voluntary act, and shall enjoy the same privileges and freedom as
the free people of England. 2. That they shall have a free trade as
the people of England to all places and with all nations. 3. That
they shall be free from all taxes, customs and impositions whatso
ever, and none shall be imposed on them without the consent of their
General Assembly.
By the terms of this capitulation, Virginia appears to have been
fully awake to' the effects of the navigation acts upon her trade.
Massachusetts was early alive to the subject, and resisted the en
forcement of them, as long as resistance was effectual. The officer
sent from England to collect the customs at Boston, was recalled
upon his representation that he was in danger of being punished
. with death, by virtue of an ancient law, as a subverter of the con
stitution. When taxed with disobedience, the General Court did
not hesitate to allege that the acts of navigation were an invasion of
the rights and privileges of the subjects of his majesty in that
colony — they being not represented in Parliament*.
We thus perceiye that the doctrine of Independence, which was
formally announced to the world by the colonists on the 4th of July,
1776, was not the sudden oflfspring of the peculiar events of that
period, but had existed in their minds from the first plantation of

* 111 the sketch I have given of the pertinacity with which the colonies re
sisted the dominion of Parliament over them, I have traced no new ground. 
Writers of the first reputation, English and American, have dwelt upon it, and
furnished abundant testimonies on the subject. Doctor Ramsay, whose colo
nial history is remarkable for its moderate and philosophical tone, asserts that
there was always a large party in New-England .who considered that they had
a natural right to independence. It was in view of this fact, that Lord
Mansfield, in 177G, expressed himself before Parliament in these words—
"The bad consequences of planting Northern Colonies were early predicted.

11
¦ their settlements, and manifested in every mode short of a total re
jection of the dominion of Great Britain. They brought the germ
of it with them when they left the shores of the mother country—*
nurtured and watered it with aflTectionate and devoted attachment,
during their progress from infancy to maturity. Their feebleness
long rendered resistance to the claims of the parent state hopeless ;
but the nursling plant was to " grow with their growth and
strengthen with their strength." The period would at length arrive
when it would be suffered to expand in the open air — to strike deep
roots in the earth — to afford, under its wide spreading branches,
protection and shade, and to raise its towering top for the admira
tion of mankind.
In invariably asserting their right to legislate for thetpselves,
and resisting the authority of the British Parliament over them,
the conduct of the colonists will stand for ever justified on the
pages of history.
The colonial system of modern times, by which the interest of
the parent country is the paramount object, to which that of the
colonies is secondary and subservient — a system that converts
them into mere satellites to revolve round her Imperial Orb, to add
increased splendour and magnificence to her political system — is
not less an absurdity in the eye of reason than contrary to the uni
form previous practice of the world.
When some of the inhabitants of a state, from the overgrowth
of its population, or from causes of dissatisfaction, choose to mi
grate and settle on the unappropriated parts of the earth at their
ovm charge, it is in the order of nature that they are to form dis
tinct and independent communities. They will naturally maintain
intercourse with the ancient state ; and if, in the feebleness of their
infancy, they require protection, and prefer to ask it of the mother
country, they are in justice bound to afford an equivalent for this

Devarrant, in the last century, forosaw that whenever America found herself
of sufficient strength to contend with the mother country, she would endea
vour to form herself into a separate and independent state. This has been
the constant object of New-England almostfrom her earliest infancy."
The facts I have stated 1 have taken immediately from " Holmes' American
Annals," and Walsh's Appeal from the Judgments of Great Britain," princi
pally from the last, where many other testimonies are collected on the subject,
placed in an irresistible point of view.

12
assistance. But allegiance and protection are reciprocal ; where
the latter is not given, the former cannot be rightfiilly asked. The
colonies, when grown to maturity, and able to take care of them
selves, founded and fostered as they were by their own labour and
industry, have a natural right to be their own rulers, and to disclaim
dependence on any extraneous power whatever. On this principle,
the colonies, in the early ages of the world went forth to people the
earth. When an ancient state spread around it, its scions, each in
its turn, became a distinct and separate community. In the ac
count given in holy scripture of the migration of the first families
from the stock of Abraham, we no where find they paid tribute or
acknowledged dependence on the patriarchal stock. If perpetual
allegiance to the parent state is agreeable to the designs of Provi
dence, in what manner can we account for the division of the
world, as at present, into so many various and independent
communities ? The colonies of ancient Greece were formed on
the same principles, and their early history bears a very striking
resemblance to that of the colonies of North America.
" They were undertaken (says a distinguished writer) by private
individuals, with no authority from^ the government, and as they
were generally directed towards distant and transmarine settlements,
they retained but a slight connection with their original countries.
The parent state, indeed, considered the colony as a child at all
times entitled to great favour and assistance, and owing, in return,
much gratitude and respect ; but, moreover, considered it as an
emancipated child over whom no direct authority or jurisdiction was
claimed. The colony settled its own form of government — elected
its own magistrates — and made peace or war with its neighbours as
an independent state, which had no occasion to wait for the appro
bation or consent of the parent city. The colonists indeed remem
bered the land of their fathers with filial affection and respect ; they
retained a predilection for its customs and laws, as well as its reli
gion and language. In war, they generally followed the fortunes of
the metropolis, as allies upon equal terms ; but as they were perfectly
independent, as they received no protection from her, and often
equalled her in resources, they always refused to come forward as aux
iliaries when unfair terms were proposed. Thus the Sicilian colonies
refused to admit an Athenian army into their territories for the pur
pose of resting on an expedition ; and in the Persian war, the
Republic of Syracuse, when entreated by the Lacedemonians to
aid the common cause, refused, unless their Chief Magistrate was

IS
intrusted with the command of the united forces of the Com
monwealth. During the dissentions between the different states
of Greece, Corinth attempted to exact from one of her own colo
nies the usual mark of filial attachment — its aid to her cause. —
The colonists resisted. She endeavoured to obtain it by force.
They appealed ^Athens, and formed instead, an alliance with that
Republic." The modern doctrine of the implicit allegiance of a colony to
the mother country is the creature of mere arbitrary assumption. —
On the discovery of America, the ecclesiastical power of Rome
first asserted a claim to the whole continent, as the property of the
Church, of which it was the head. Though populated by extensive
nations, their right to their native soil was deemed a nullity ; and,
by a singular course of reasoning, the head of the Christian Church
construed his oflice to civilize and convert the heathen, as convey
ing the right to violate their property. This pretension was too
monopolizing to be long regarded by the powers of Europe, who
felt a strong desire to share in the tempting spoils of the new world,
and sought for some ground on which they also might found a claim
to portions of its territory. A tacit understanding soon arose
among them that each nation should possess an exclusive right to
that part which had been first visited by its ships, on which prin
ciple their adverse claims were afterwards settled. A principle,
however, not less absurd than the doctrine assumed by the authori
ties of Rome.
As Providence designed the earth for the use of all mankind,
the actual appropriation and occupation of hitherto vacant parts,
in fulfilling its designs, alone gives a title to property in the soil.—
All nations possess an equal right to spread their superabundant
population over the unsettled parts of the earth, and to acquire a
first claim to it by actual possession. If the mere fact of flrst dis
covery is sufficient to establish a title to a country, an adventurous
commercial nation might have been enabled to assert a claim to
the whole of the new hemisphere, without setting foot upon it, to
the exclusion of all other powers. But the American continent wag
not an Mw-inhabited country. It was peopled by various nations
who may have been there from the earliest ages. They were in
general in the first stages of society, but had made some advances
in improvement ; they cultivated some of their native productions,
and made their own fabrics for clothing and domestic uses. They
were barbarous in their manners ; but equally so were the ancient

14 .
Gauls, Celts, Saxons, and Britons on the other continent, from
whom most of the present nations of Enrope derive as well their
origin, as their title to the countries they possess. In some parts
of America, as in Mexico and Pferu, they were a civilized people.
They lived in houses of stone ; had edifices of magnificent struc
ture, roads, canals, and bridges of ingenious workmanship ; and
possessed costly articles made from the precious metals with which
their country abounded. Did the mere discovery of these nations
give to any European power a right to divest them of their terri
torial possessions ? Visioqary, however, as the claim was, there
was none, at first, to question it ; for all the states of Europe were
equally interested in maintaining it. When, in after times, the rise
and progress of the European colonies began to form a topic of
history, the writers of Spain and Portugal, sensible of the futility
of the ground these states assumed, adopted a new basis on which
to build their claim to their possessions in the New World. The
first expeditions to South America and Mexico, planned by indi-
vidiials, under grants from the Spanish crown, were all of a mili
tary nature ; and the territory entered upon was wrested from its
possessors by force of arms. The right to the country by con
quest — admitted by the previous custom of the world as a valid
ground of territorial acquisition — was then uniformly laid down as
the basis on which the claim of the sovereigns of Spain and Por
tugal to their American possessions, rested.
In the settlement of North America, the crown of Great Britian
obtained a right to the soil neither by conquest, nor by purchase
from the natives. She invariably rested her claim solely on the fact
of her being the first discoverer. In nd instance, indeed, even took
formal possession of it by the erection of forts, or other modes of
actual occupation. The rightful owners in North America, at the
commencement, were Carver, and his little band, who settled on
the rock of Plymouth ; Smith, and his associates, on James' River ;
WiUiam Penn, and his followers, on the Delaware ; and those other
individuals in other places, who established, at their own expense,
settlements on the Continent, after having purchased of the natives
the soil on which they located. Slender, however, as was the claim
of Great Britain to North America, she soon began to exercise
ownership over it by dividing it into two provinces, and issuing
patents to individuals and companies for portions of it. The co
lonization under these patents gave her the colour of sovereignty
ever the settlements, but the colonists appear to have considered it

15
only as Jiominal, exhibiting, as we have seen, in all their actions,
that they felt virtually independent.
To return to a history of the colonies : the last encroachment on
their rights and liberties to which we have referred, was the assump
tion of a right by Parliament to control their trade, by the enact
ment of the navigation laws of 1 65 1 and 1 660. This monopolizing
step, which secured to Great Britain the benefit of all the industry
of her colonies, appeared to be the utmost limit to which she
would venture to extend her piowei- ; and in this state of commer
cial subjection their relations continued for a long time without any
change. The colonies were destined, however, in course of time to wit
ness an attempt at a still further exercise of dominion over them —
an attempt that finally burst the ties that bound them to the parent
state. Though the resources of their country had been made sub
servient to it ; though they had cheerfully contributed aid to carry
on the foreign wars in -which they were involved by it — no contri
bution in the form of a direct tax had yet been drawn from them by
the mother country, without the consent of their legislatures. —
Great Britain having closed the war of '63 with honour and glory
— a youthful monarch risen to the throne, inspiring the brightest
hopes of a triumphant reign ; in the fullness of her prosperity ; in
the intoxication of her pride — formed the rash project of raising a
revenue firom the colonies, by intrenching on a principle which
they regarded as the life blood of their liberties. A proposal hav
ing been made by the ministry to Parliament in 1766, to raise an
additional military force, which was ill received, as imposing a griev
ous burden on the people at the close of an expensive though glo
rious war ; the ministry silenced the murmers of opposition, by
intimating the jplan of raising the necessary supplies by a tax on
the colonies. In pursuance of which, a bill was brought in and
passed, laying a tax on stamps used in the foreign settlements of
Great Britain.
On the arrival of intelUgence of this act in America, the colo
nists were thrown into a state of intense excitement. The idea of
being subjected to the legislation of Parliament, whe^e they were
not represented, they had resisted from the infancy of their settle
ment — and would in no shape, and under no circumstances, toler
ate for a moment. It was the hideous form of Tyranny itself stalk
ing across the Atlantic to destroy, with its pestilential breath, all
that they held dear and sacred. They were resolved to strangle

16
the monster, the moment it touched their shores. The indignation
roused by this act would probably at that time have produced the
Revolution, had the ministry attempted to force it upon the peo
ple. They judged it prudent to repeal it ; but repealed it only in
form. Bent on maintaining the supremacy of Parliament, what
ever might be the result, they connected with the repeal a declara
tory act, asserting its right to bind the colonies in ail cases what
soever — a measure that served only to keep the minds of the people
of America fully awake to the further exercise of the right. Va
rious measures were afterwards adopted to subdue their independ
ent spirit. It was at the commencement of this scheme of Parlia
ment, to bind the colonies like captives to the triumphal car of the
mother country, by controlling them by a foreign legislature with
out their consent, that the friends of civil liberty in England, struck
with the gross injustice of the measure, opposed the head-long
career of the ministry with a display of eloquence, not excelled in
the piost classic periods of Greece and Rome. But the ministry
were driven on by a blind infatuation. No argument could con
vince — no eloquence could persuade them. As few years after,
they again attempted to carry their plans into execution in the colo
nies. They indulged the vain idea, that by disguising the tax, un-
,^er the form of a commercial duty, it would meet with less resist
ance, and in 1775 passed the memorable act imposing a duty on
tea imported into the colonies. The revolution may be said to have
commenced, when information of this act reached America. The
minds bf tjie people that had been irritated and smarting under the
declaratory act, would admit of no parley or accommodation re
specting the measure now announced. The officers of the cus-
tdms sent over to receive the duty were seized — the first vessel that
broiight tea into their ports boarded, and its cargb thrown into
the sea. Associations were formed throughout the country
not to use hereafter the contaminated article. A desperate con
flict was now preparing between the colonies and the mother
country. To subdue -their spirit. Great Britain resorted to the em
ployment of military force. The period had now arrived when the
colonists were obliged to decide between implicit submission to the
will of Great Britain, or determined resistance to her arms. The
serious alternative presented to them they fully weighed. They
knew that her extensive fleets and armies, victorious in every
quarter of the globe, might be employed for their subjugation. But
the feeling that animated the hearts of the people of America re-

17
sponded, that it was better to die freemen, than to live slaves.
" Blandishments," said a distinguished patriot, " will not fascinate
Us, nor will threats of a halter intimidate us ; for under God we are
determinfed that whensoever, wheresoever, or howsoever, we shall
be called to make our exit from the world, we will die Freemen."
i he contest in which they were to be engaged, they knew was
unequal. Their raw undisciplined troops taken from the plough,
With inexperienced ofl[icers and no miUtary estabUshments, were to
array themselves against the veteran soldiers of Europe, who to a
knowledge of the science and discipline of war and a long course
of service, had arrived, flushed with the laurels they had acquired
m the war lately closed between England and France ; but their
love of liberty, and indignation against their oppressors, supplied
the want of tactics. They felt that though their first effort might
be unsuccessful ;• from their numbers, they might return and return
to the encounter, till their invaders were driven from their soil.
The battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill astonished Great Britain.
They astonished the world. In America, they cheered the spirit
of the timid, confirmed the valour of the ardent. An universal
sound of" resistance — resistance," vibrated from New-Hampshire
to Georgia. A concert of action was agreed upon, and a general
Congress of lieputies from the colonies assembled at Philadelphia.
A determined resolution to oppose, at every hazard, the assump
tion of Great Britain, was the leading sentiment of the patriots of
the day.
This assemblage of citizens, in whose hands the destiniesi of the
colonies were placed, were men who to an ardent patriotism united
exalted talents, enlightened minds, and a high degree of wisdom and
prudence. They were not restless, factious and disorganizing spirits,
panting for a revolution " to ride "on the whirlwind and direct the
storm ;" they were pure and virtuous patriots, discarding all selfish
ends, intent only on the good of their country, and marching to.
their object with calm and deliberate reflection. They considered
that they had met on an occasion of great national calamity. Dear
as were the rights of their country, and resolved as they were to
'-maintain them, they were wiUing still to use every effort to effect
a reconciliation with the mother country, on terms honourable to
their own. They left the door of peace open until the hope of it
was entirely extinguished, by the fixed determination of tlie ministry '
of Great Britam, not to listen to accommodation on any condition
short of an absolute recognition of the supremacy of Parliament.

18
Again and again, after the drama was opened, did Congress, feeling
still the force of those ancient ties with the mother country, which
had entwined themselves in all the pursuits of life, and the inter
course of society, before the final rupture, appeal to Great Britain.
They addressed the Parliament sometimes in a tone of remon
strance ; Sometimes in a styl^ of earnest solicitation. They addreiss-
ed the people of England, entreating them to use their intercessions
to arrest the mad career of the government. They finally addressed
a mild and respectful petition to the King himself, who they indulg
ed the hope was above fhe influence of those blind passions which
Were hurrying on a ministry and Parliament to the loss of the
brightest jewel m his crown. The petition was presented on the
first September, 1775, by two. gentlemen, selected for the purpose
fr.om.their elevated standing in this country. Three days after they
were informed in these laconic terms, that " no answer would be
given to the petition." This cold and haughty rejection of the
appeal of Congress to the head of the empire, whom they had ad
dressed in the last resort, contributed more fully to fan the flame of
discontent throughout the colonies j to unite them in the firm resolu
tion to maintain their liberties at every hazard, and placed before
them no other resource than to renounce for ever all political con
nection with Great Britain ; to consider themselves no longer as
colonies struggling against a mother country, but as independent
States, defending their liberties against a foreign aggressor. Ac
cordingly, on the 4th of July 1776, the blow was struck, and the
colonies were declared Independant States, absolved from all alle
giance to the British^Crown. Momentous Declaration ! The har
binger to these states of a stream of overflowing prosperity — the
day-spring of the fairest prospects which it has been the destiny of
any nation to witness. The independence declared, was h.owever
yet to be maintained. With equal resolution, with unremitting
energy, while the sky occasionally lowered with fearful omens over
their heads, the patriot soldiers of America met the armies of
England again and again, and after a seven years' conflict,
triumphed — most gloriously triumphed; — a triumph not of arms
alone, but of principle ; the victory of reason and justice, over the
unbending arrogance of power. The war at an end, a new era was
about to commence. The sun of independence that rose above
the horizon, mid dark revolving clouds, now shoots its radiant beams
above them, bright and piercing, along the extended plains of Ame-
-'ca : iUuminates its valUes and gilds its mountain tops ; its happy

19
citizens walk forth to enjoy the cheerful arid renovated aspect of
their country, to breathe the fresh air of liberty, and scent its fra
grance in every passing breeze.
Scarce had the sword been sheathed, than the new empire arisen
in the western world roUed on with an astonishing impetus, in the
career of glory and aggrandizement. ;
Fellow-citizens, let us take a passing glance at the great changes
eiiected in this country, since the close of its struggles for indepen
dence. Its population has increased in a ratio unparalleled in the
history of the world. Vast portions of the country, then an unbro
ken wilderness, have been cleared and cultivated — and filled with
flourishing towns and viUages. The tide of emigration, like an
overpowering flood, breaking down the mounds which restrained it,
has rushed forth, westward, northward, and southward. Not a
portion of the country that has not felt the stirring spirit of enterprise
and improvement brought - into action ; and wherever the wilder
ness has been reclaimed, it has not remained for a length of time
as in other countries, affording only means to gratify the simple
wants of early society — but it has been immediately converted as
if by a magical transformation, into the possession of the comforts
and even the luxuries of a high state of civilization : while roads and
canals, in magnitude and importance, equalling the most expensiv-
Morks of the kind in Europe, have connected the whole by ties of
the closest intimacy.
Science has shed its benign radiance over the country. Elemen
tary education is universal. Seminaries for the higher branches
have arisen around the land, even in the most recently settled re
gions. Its literary character is respected in Europe, and its produc
tions of genius are sought for and read. In the arts, some of thfc
most usefiil mechanical contrivances emanate from the inventive
spirit of your countrymen. By successfully applying steam to navi
gation, this infant country has afforded a greater benefit to mankind
than any one of the most improved nations of Europe, in the same
period : a benefit the ultimate consequences of which, when en
joyed by all parts of the globe, it is difficult fully to estimate. '
The ocean has been equally a scene on which the energy and
talent of your countrymen have been elicited. In thirty years after
these states had closed their struggle with Great Britain, during
which they possessed not even the rudiments of a navy to defend
their shores, we find them summoning their former antagonist to
battle on her favored element, and triumphing in the contest.

20
Fellow-citizens, when you look abroad at the extent of your pros
perity, you have reason to render your devout homage to a kind
.providence, for the choice gifts he has poured upon you. You are
in possession of a country extending through the most temperate
climate^, but approaching so far to a southern and nothern latitude
as to afford you the advantages of both : and you have been permit- .
ted for forty years, with scarce an interruption, to give fuU scope
to your enterprise and industry, in whatever pursuit your inclination
or genius might lead you — and to avail yourselves fully of the abun
dant and varied resources of your country. Look at other portions
of the world : cast your eyes on the continent of Asia — see mil
lions of your fellow creatures there — a large portion of the whole
population — dependent on the scanty supplies which an ill cultiva
ted country affords for an overgrown population ; their minds de
based by the most humiliating superstition and idolatry. View be
nighted Africa, overrun by rude and ignorant tribes of savages,
engaged in constant wars of mutual destruction — and selling each
other to men of the other hemisphere. Turn your eyes next to
Europe — civilized Enrope. See this favored portion of the old
world, with all its advancement in refinement and knowledge, al
most perpetually scourged by the calamities of war. Peace is there
only a breathing time, to sharpen anew the weapons of destruction.
For twenty years it was convulsed to the centre, by internal distur
bances : a million of lives were destroyed by the sword. Famine,
fire, and desolation walked in the train of war. Cities wrapt in
flames, and universal distress from the interruption of commerce,
were visible throughout that continent. During that whole period,
except the short interval of the years 1812 and '13, when you were
called to a temporary contention with Great Britain, you have
known war only by its echoes across fhe Atlantic, or by fhe slight
agitation which the heaving of the troubled waters in the old world
has made along your shores.
- In what manner has your independence as a nation, produced
this happy state of things ? Certainly two circumstances connec
ted with it were efficient agents. Your trade confined to the ports
of the mother country, now became a trade with the world. Your
commercial spirit visible in your colonial state, but restrained
within prescribed limits by her jealous scrutiny, had now an unlimi-
_ted range. Eyery market was open to you. Your enterprising
seamen frequently circumnavigated the globe in their distant voya
ges. This unbounded commerce gave a stimulus to agriculture, '

21
and general industry. The territory of the old states was not suffi
cient to supply its demands ; you entered your forests and extended
the dominion of mkn over the wilderness.
The separation which your independence accomplished for you
from the theatre of European politics, was another favorable circum
stance arising from it. You were no longer drawn to follow a
mother country in all her foreign wars, in which you had no con
cern, to be merely the prey of European powers, contending who
should be your masters, and obliging you to pay for the expense of
their struggles. Separated by a wide ocean from Europe, you be
came after the independence as little connected from necessity
with it, as with the continent of Asia ; and it became your cardi
nal policy not to enter voluntarily into its wars, but to avoid all en
tangling alliances with any of its contending powers. With this
principle for his polar star, your immortal Washington, who had
conducted your political bark safely through the perils bf the revo
lution, at the helm of state guided it in equal security through the
tempestuous billows which agitated Europe at the commencement
of your existence as a nation.
These two great advantages, an unrestrained commerce and a
separation from the conflicts of Europe, have been the eflicient
agents of your prosperous growth since the revolution. But eSi-
cient not of themselves : made so by the spirit of freedom, that
spirit which led your ancestors to leave their native country to found
a new empire over the Atlantic, and which repressed but not sub
dued during your colonial state, resumed at the revolution its full
and vigorous exercise. It is this spirit, calling into action on the
extended sphere, then opening on the view all the latent talent of
your country, by securing to each individual the entire benefit of the
powers intellectual, moral, or physical, with which nature has en
dowed him, that has created such an universal fermentation — such
an emulous activity in all the pursuits of life, bursting fo^th like a
living spring of fresh and wholesome water, to clothe with new and
vivid- verdure the fields over which it spreads.
That " government derives all its just powers from the consent of
the governed," is a principle which your ancestors invariably cher-
rished as the corner-stone of their liberties ; in accordance with
which, they very early established in the colonies, legislatures
fleeted by the people.
It was the invasion of this cardinal principle that produced the
revolution. It was not the amount of supplies required from them

22
by Great Britain — they had heretofore spent heavy sums in her wars
to support her glory and reputation — but it was the determination,
avowed and persevered in, to bind them without their consent ; to
impose laws on them by a parliament in which they were not re
presented, that roused that spirit which could neither be broken nor
iiushed tp repose ! Admit the principle : Hold them subject to a
legislature in which they had no voice — in which laws the most op
pressive to them might be passed without their knowledge, was in
effect, in the words of the declaration, " reducing them under absoi-
lute despotism," establishing' a government over them in which the
will of the governing power was the sole motive for the law. In
dependence released the colonies from this odious oppression ; but
it would still have afforded little consolation to the people of Ame
rica, if the principle of popular representation had not been fully re
cognised in the revolution, as applicable also to their internal govern
ment. Had it resulted merely in the exchange of the dominion of
the king of England for an independent government in which the
people had no share — had a military leader usurped authority and
trampled on your rights, another revolution would not long after
have followed your separation from Great Britain. The principles
of civil liberty were too thoroughly seated in the minds of the
people, to be forgotten in their future political arrangements. The
Declaration of Independence laid the basis of the superstructure, in
the sentiments it announced ; — " We hold these truths," says this
sacred instrument, " to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien
able rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness." Equal, not in endowments — but equal in their right
to have the full benefit of their endowments, however differing in
kind or degree : — equally entitled to the perfect enjoyment of their
^ife, their liberty, and that share of happiness which the faculties
they possess enable them to obtain. On these broad truths, clear
and pure' as the light of day, the system of government subsequent
ly estabUshed over this country, recognised as a fundamental prin
ciple, the good of the people as its object — the wiUof the people as
its origin. A fabric of civil liberty was erected, in which the voice
of the people is more distinctly acknowledged, than in any form of
government hitherto seen on the face of the globe; The improve
ments made in modern times from the progress of knowledge and
refinement, in limiting the sway of arbitrary goveriimenfe by intro
ducing the people to a share of political power, have given but the

23
mere shadow of liberty compared with the spectacle this country
exhibits. In the governments of Europe, the voice of the people
m elections is almost entirely counteracted by the influence of the
crown, or a powerful aristocracy. The elective franchise is there
a privilege — requiring various qualifications ; is confined within
narrow limits, and even within those limits its rightful exercise is
impeded by the prevalence of corruption. Even in Great Britain,
in whose constitution is embodied more of this principle than in that
of any other European nation, a large portion of the members of
parliament, nominally elected by the people, are virtually appointed
by the ministry. A few decayed villages, where scarce an inhabit
ant is seen, send more members than all the great commercial
towns united. The property-qualification excludes large classes :
the religious tests a still greater number.
Look next on the boasted states of ancient Rome and Greece.
These were Republics ; but how faintly did they understand those
expanded principles of civil liberty unfolded in the declaration of
your independence.
In Rome, the inhabitants were divided into two great classes,
the Patrician and Plebeian, the former of whom, composed of the
most opulent, were alone entitled to the high offices of the state.
The whole history of that country exhibits a continued struggle on
the part of the people at large, to share with the Patricians the
powers of government. A-
Greece, with all the forms of Freedom, was but an ingeni
ously contrived aristocracy, to place the many under subjection to
the few. Those who held the rank of citizens, and were entitled to
vote, were but a small minority of the community. The mass of
the people, comprehending all those who attend to agriculture and
performed the rest of the labour of the country, were in a state of do
mestic servitude, and wholly excluded from any share in the govern
ment. How different the character of Freedom here ! It is a vital prin
ciple passing through all the veins and arteries of the body poUtic,
to their minutest ramifications, infusing that glow of health, that
animated, blooming aspect which our country exhibits. The sov
ereignty resides here absolute in the people, and in all the people ;
pervades and vivifies the entire community. It is literally a self-
government. Such a government was deemed in former times the
dream of fanciful theorists j or a.t least as practicable only in a very
small community, with few objects at home for legislation, and en-

24
gaged in no foreign relations. Extended further, it was conceived
it would necessarily fall to pieces, from the turbulence of lawless
passions and the artifices of designing men ; that intestine broils
would incessantly agitate the state till the uproar of confusion
would be stilled by the mandate of a successful demagogue, rising
to power on the ruins of freedom.
How wonderfully are the speculations of men in their closets fal
sified ! Here is seen a Republic of twelve millions of inhabitants,
spreading over a territory of great extent, actuated by a spirit of
active, restless enterprise, and engaged in intercourse with all parts
of the earth ; and yet in no part of the world exists a country
where more general tranquillity and order prevail. When has oc
curred any tumultuous assemblage of its people ? — When have
riots arisen, and the houses of eminent citizens been attacked for
their political principles I — ^When have mechanics conspired, in a
disorderly manner, against their employers for an increase of wages?
When has it become necessary to call out a military force to sup
press any disturbance ? — When have any of our public rulers been
assassinated on entering the halls of legislation ?
These things have been witnessed in other countries, the most
modern, even in time of peace.
Fellow-citizens, the fabric of civil Ubefty you have raised is the
admiration of the world. No event, since the discovery of the
American Continent, has produced more extensive effects than the
foundation of this Republic. The light of liberty has beamed
across the Atlantic. The successful example you exhibit of a free
government, has taught men in every country to reflect more on
the rigJits of the people ; and the principle of popular representa
tion is every where gaining ground. The spark you struck out at
the revolution, has kindled a flame over this western hemisphere.
Your brethren in South America, long oppressed by the rigorous
system of their mother country, and by their own superstition, igno
rance, ahd prejudice, have been taught by your example to throw
off their shackles ; and nearly on the whole of that continent, re-
pubUcan governments have ¦ been established after the model of
yours, not only embodying the spirit, but even copying the forms
of your constitutions.
Long may the happy government you possess endure. May
generation after generation enjoy its blessings, and see its benign
influence extend farther among mankind. But amid the cheering
prospect before us, desponding mind? are found who view the long

25
endurance of this Republic with but a trembling hope. The struc
ture appears too magnificent to last. The very love and admira
tion It excites, create a fear that it may not be permanent. At one
moment apprehensions exist that the general government, accu
mulating power, will gradually absorb the states in one consolidated
government. At another period, the chain that binds the states
appears too slender to withstand the shock of collisions, which it is
feared will arise from their mutual jealousy of each other's ascen
dency. It is not my intention to examine what foundation there
exists for these apprehensions. The occasion will not aUow ; but
suffer me to advert for a moment, to the means of preventing these
evils — of perpetuating the liberties of your country. These means
fellow-citizens, lie in your own hands- — in the faithful exercise of
the elective franchise. You are the actual lulers of the country.
The officers of government are but delegates of your power, chosen
by your voice. Directly or indirectly, all authority flows from you ;
from the chief Magistrate of the Union, to the lowest officer in a
state. On you, therefore, rests the responsibility of having the
stations in your government filled by real friends to their country,
audits free institutions, not in word, but in very deed ; men of
upright and honorable views, scorning to sacrifice the interests of
their country to their sinister end's. If such men are chosen by you
to seats in the national or state legislatures, you need fear no en
croachments from the former — no disunion among the latter.
You may sometimes be deceived by appearances ; but the frequgn-
fey of elections enables you to redress the evil, if the remedy is not
too long delayed. When the streams of authority that flow from
your hands become corrupt, they may be purified by new draughts
from the fountain of power. The elective franchise is the palladium
placed in your hands to preserve the liberties of your country. Duly
estimate, then, the importance of the trust. Let it be considered
a sacred charge, and exercised with deliberate, serious reflection.
Examine thoroughly the fitness, in rectitude of purpose as well as
intelligence and experience of candidates, presented forjour choice,
and confide your powers to none but those who are in all these
respects worthy of your confidence — and the Republic is safe!
Trust not too much 'to loud and vfeTiement professions of extreme
regard for you. Let not the poison of flattery seduce you from
your duty. Power, in Vrhatever form, is destined to be the object
of adulation. Where sovereignty resides in one individual, the mo
narch is surtounded by crowds of sycophants, endeavoring to en-

26
twine themselves, by all the arts of insidious cunning, in his affec
tions — to riot in the sunshine of his favor. In like manner, when
political authority emanates from the people, they are liable to be
come objects of the same arts. If in the former case, monarchs
have been told that their government is founded on divine right,
not on the will of, or responsible to their subjects,the echo of this
phrase is heard, when the people are told that they are infalUble ;
that their voice is the voice of God. Listen not to the songs of
thfese charmers. You are but men, though you may be worshiped
as deities by those, who, gratified in their wishes, would seize the
first moment to trample on your Uberties.' The real danger of our
government consists in this, that constituted as you aire, the source
of power, you are, from the imperfection of human nature, liable to
be blinded by designing politicians, enemies to their country. Think,
fellow-citizens, when you proceed to deposit your ballots, of the la
bor- and pains -your ancestors have taken to establish the free insti
tutions of your country, through aff the stages of their colonial
growth, and through ; all the struggles of the revolution. Reflect
on the example your country has set to mankind, and that the eyes
of the wortd are upon you. Here is now tried the greatest politi
cal experiment man has ever witnessed. The cause of civil liberty
is in your hands. You are to decide the all-important question
whether man- is capable of self-government. Guard then with de
voted, with scrupulous attention, the honest and faithful exercise of
the elective franchise.
' If in your day the Republic expires, hfetory wiU designate you as
men who had lost in the excess bf their prosperity, that elevation of
sentiment, that firmness of purpose, that pure love of freedom which
so conspicuously shone in the conduct of your fathers. It will not
point out for the peculiar attention of posterity, that a great com
mercial nation once arose in a short period, on the western shores
of the Atlantic, emulating in aU the improvements of civilized Ufe,
the nations of the old world ; it will not state that you extended
your empire over a vast territory ; it wiU not select, as topics to
dwell upon, your advances in the arts, your inventions, or your
public works : but it will relate, in a tone of deep lamentation, that
here the fabric of Freedom was foundedjby the undaunted Spirit of
- a band of freemeuj whp fled from the oppressions of the old world,
on thebrpad basis of the sovereignty of theipeople ; that it was ce
mented by the blood of patriots animated by the same spirit, through
a long and arduous conffict ; that it rose amid the taunts andincre-

27
dulity of the abettors of ancient systems to a height of magnificence
visible far and wide — becoming a beacon for the hopes of the op
pressed in every region, and raising man in his own moral estima
tion, by proving him neither too wicked nor too weak to govern
himself ; but that in the midst of the gaze of an admiring world,
the edifice suddenly criimbled to pieces from the degeneracy of the
oflfepring of its founders; and like a splendid illusion — like the
bright, but ' baseless fabric of a vision'— it melted into empty air,
and left not a trace behind.

)* / ,•¦ ' P P C' -S >¦ .V . . , ,1
%/»>'( ;-, ,- "i ' . ' , ' ¦»'
^ -i' .> i' f *-">_'"'' ^ <' ' , * >"
'!'jv#4'*^^''' '^'-^ '-P •; ."

^ ,

j^ifX -P >...,

%

. • -/.''••<,r;.*5V^', ,,^... f ,^. * " 't^""*C-i''i' •;

..Jifv

1 ,
^^ .