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AN

ORATION

DELI VERED B121-‘ORE TI-IE

MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES

OF '.I‘I~I.'E

CITY OF BOSTON,

JULY 4, 1849.

----«-“ wzm c:r~ma:~*
AMONG arm: murxom, sxmnva THOU ART m:cm:.”--Cowper.

BY WILLIAM W. GREENOUGH.

BOSTON:

1 8 4 9 .
J. H. EASTBURN . . . CITY PRINTER.

CITY OF BOSTON.

In Oommon Oouncil, Jidy 52572, 1.849.

Ji3c2.s-c:la.vc»:I, 'TIT‘1mt the 13}1£L’fl1{S(I)f the City Councxil be presentccl 1:0 Wm. VV.
G1‘O0I)O1:1g'I1, I<3.°sq., f'ort.11c able, eloquent and a,ppropria.te Oramion, delivered by
him bof‘m'e the l\’Iunicip21.1Autlxoritics of the City, at the recent Am1ivcrszury of
the D0c.1m'z1.t.:i011 of t1‘1c]im1epe11dcncc of the United States of A111e1'ica5 zmrxd
that he be requested to furnish in copy of the smne for the press.

lflussczcl by 11I1:1niII1011S vote.

SOI1tI,11',) for coxxcurrcnce.
BENJAMIN SEAVER, P':'0sz'(l(a7zt.

1:37. the Board of Mizg/or and Aldermen, July 6157;, 1849.
LRc>ad. zmd. concu1‘1'cd.
J   
A trucg Copy.

Attest: S. 15‘. MCJCLEARY, City C’/?«;:»r7.:.

--~—~—--“'.rHI~: CHIEF %
AMONG T1-IE NATIONS, SEEING THOU ART :zanEE.”— Cozuper.

0l{A'l‘l0N.

FELLOW CITIZENS:

Moan than threescore years and ten have elapsed
since this republic unfolded before the world the chart
of her liberties. It seems as yesterday that she was

young and Weak, although her frame was that of a

giant. To-day, she ranks among the oldest, most stable,
and most powerful governments of the earth. She
has passed safely through the dangerous paths of her
earlier days, and arrived at the prime of her maturity.
Years have not chilled the warm blood of her youth,
nor diminished the energies of her age. Time has
written no wrinkles on her brow. With a conscious
and a just pride she finds that the foundations of her
government have outlasted all the constitutions of
civilized Europe, save that of Russia. In the lifetime
of these United States, the development of liberal
principles has demanded and obtained concessions
from the ruliiig powers of every country in lLh11*ope

6

with the exception of her greatest military despotism.
Political systems vvithout number have undergone re-
visions and amendments suited to the spirit of the age.
In these changes, the framework of society has either
received its share of improvement, or is now Waiting
the refusion of the elements of order. But the plat-
forln of a constitution erected by our ancestors has
required no further constructions to elevate or support
it. Nothing has beenadded to it, and nothing taken
away. We are no freer than our fathers Were. The
amount of liberty which satisfied them has been found
sufficient for our happiness and prosperity. Is it not
then cause of just gratulation, amid the continuous
revolutions that have overturned the older governments
of the earth, that the freest institutions should have
proved the most secure and successful‘?

This day is not and should never be one of unal-I

loyed jubilee. Its annual recurrence furnishes us
with fit occasion for sober reflection. It is the appro—~
priate season to examine our progress as a nation-—--to
consider the influence of our example---——to extend our
sympathies to other races engaged in the same strug-
gles successfully overcome by us--—-and above all, to

rekindle upon the altars of a common patriotism such

torches as have grown dim or been extinguished amid
party contest or threatened civil disunion.

In examining the history of this country, there is
no fact more striking than its peculiar preparation for

7

an untried system of settlement and organizati«nn.
The hand of Providence seems to have plainly indi-
cated that some great problem was to be worked out
here. Separated from the old world by a wide ocean--—
with a large sea-coast-—--with navigable rivers—---witli
a soil and climate capable of sustaining in plenty and
in health an immense population. The colonization of
the country was appropriate to its character. Nature
had prepared for man a field of wonderful productive
power, and he adapted himself at once to his new
labors. Settled in different portions by people of
different lineage, each section in fit time developed
its own resources. ’.I.‘he population of the various
parts of the country coincides with the natural 8.dVé71l'1-
tages. Hardy, frugal and enterprising at the N orth,
with a sterile soil, and a temperate climate ; impulsive
and luxurious at the South, with a rich soil, and a
tropical climate. ‘ The dictuml of the philosophic
Frenchman, that man is the expression of the soil,
finds here its fullest support. These almost mythical
races, whose" bones whiten the eminences of Western
New York, and are found through the great vallies of
the Ohio and Mississippi to the borders of the Gulf of
Mexico and far westward, have left monuments enough
to indicate the nature of their pursuits. The teeming

A soil of our present agricultural states was improved by

the ancient inhabitants for the same purposes that itis
cultivated now. What then were the centres of popu-

8

lation are now the more densely settled sections’ of
those great Western vallies. Nature has isolated us
for great ends. Beyond the reach of external influ-
ences, to solve the problem of free institutions---to
invent and to apply the only safe formula of civil,
political, and religious liberty, yet exhibited for the
examination and approval of the world. i

Yet the idea of liberty had no new elements in it.
It was understood in its physical and political relations
by the G~reel«:s and Romans as it is at the present day.
The lights of antiquity, the philosophers, are full of
definitions of a natural freedom. What is liberty,
said Cicero, but the power of living as you will? The
Romans considered that they had achieved their liberty
when they had ejected their last lazing. In the history
of the middle ages, new applications of power and new
forms of tyranny produced other results. In the rise
an.d progress of the Romish Church, another element
was infused into the idea of liberty, that of toleration,
of religious liberty. From the same church also was
derived the doctrine that it was lawful to kill the sov-—
ereign under certain contingencies. From these things

. a spirit and an influence had grown up which the

time—worn institutions could not safely afford opportu-
nity of expansion. A series of events had prepared
the New World for the experiment, and you have just
heard repeated the first proclamation of the rights and
principles of freedom as understood bymen who had

9

weighed calmly the wide bearings of their positions;
and who were willing to make known to the world

that those who could enunciate such truths were pre-— V

pared, if need be, to withstand the trial of suffering,
or to meet the horrors of war.
As we now contemplate that Declaration of Incle-

pendence, it is difficult fully to comprehend the mag- A

nitude of the step. At the distance of nearly three

quarters of a century, the results have in some respects

been unfolded, but the depths of injustice which imme-
diately produced it can never be accurately sounded.
Those who have never felt the evils of absolute power,

who have no experience of injured rights, who know.

tyranny only by hearsay, cannotrealize or appreciate
the happiness of their social existence. The inheritors
of a great property are slow to perceive the privations
by which it was earned. The quiet of possession is
apt to produce the carelessness and the ease of luxury.
Let no enjoyment of present blessings prevent this

nation from acknowledging the value of its inher- A

itance, or lead it to withhold the avowal of gratitude
to those who built and set in order these pleasant
mansions. '

What then, is that liberty which our fathers trans-
mitted to us‘? What its value? What did our fathers
more than their ancestors to deserve or achieve it?
Was it a plant of slow growth? Or did their hands
fashion into a useful and comely form, new principles

9
no

10.

and new manifestations of power? Were their ideas
valuable only to themselves and to their immediate
posterity? Or were they of general application, and to
be embraced by other races in other lands ‘?
According to the received notions of mankind, liberty
was the power of doing and forbearing, according to
the will. In a social state, man was to be bound only
by laws made for the common utility. As a closer

examination is made, it is found. that, in the progress ,

of history, the signification of the term became so
widely extended as to compel the addition of other
phrases, in order to characterize particularly, the va-
rious sorts of freedom, of which the germis contained
in the one Word, liberty. There is a natural, a civil, a
political, and a religious liberty. Under these again,
there is freedom of conscience, and freedom of the
press, implying the power of independent thought and
of unchecked utterance. All these phrases were sim-
ple, had been thoroughly discussed, and were well un-

derstood. They had been introduced into the formation .

of various political institutions, but uniformly with ill
success. There was wanting a practical idea, which
should unite the different kinds of freedom safely and
durably under one government. This new principle

and new element was furnished by the colonies of .

North America.
It is obvious that this development could not have
taken place without some previous preparation. There

11

was something in the condition of the time which fit-
ted it for the reception of the new truths promulgated
in the Declaration of Independence. Certain steps had
been taken to prepare the Colonies for a united gov-
ernment. In 1744, Grovernor Shirley had planned the
expedition to Louisbourg. He invited the other colo-
nies to share in the dangers and in the expense; they
acceded ,: and the joint worliing was successful. Ten
years after, in 1754, a convention of seven colonies
was held at Albany, for the purpose of holding a con-
ference with the Indian tribes of the Six Nations.
Among the delegates, came Franklin. In the recesses
of his mind, a great scheme had been brooding for
years, and he now seizecl the opportunity to propose

it. He boldly advocated the union of the colonies, un-
der a general system, each colony retaining its own

peculiar constitution. Without giving further details
of the plan. here, it is only necessary to say, that, after
discussion, it was rejected by the convention, because
one section of the delegates thought that it gave too
much power to the representatives of the King, and
the other section contended that it gave too much
power to the representatives of the people. It is to
be noted here, that the day that Franklin signed the
project of union in Albany, was big with events for
North America. On the same day, the 4th of July, Col;
Washington capitulated at Fort Necessity, and on the
recurrence of the twenty-second anniversary of that day,

12

independence was declared at Philadelphia. Eleven

, years after the Albany Convention, in 1765, nine col-

, onies met and remonstrated through their delegates,

against the obnoxious Stamp Act———a:nd still later, in

A 17 74, eleven colonies met in convention. In the space

of thirty years, the colonies are thus found confederated

W for various purposes -—--- for carrying on a war with the

enemies of England, for a treaty of peace and amity

, with the Indians, and for remonstrance and united

action under the oppressive legislation of the mother

1 country. The performance of the functions, belonging

“to the powers of a general government, was delegated

to the nearest approach to such a government as the
nature of things would at the time admit, viz., to a
convention in which each colony bound itself by its
delegates, to respect the decisions of the whole body.
Thus, the idea of union was not new in 17 76, but from
"peculiar circumstances, it received force and a new di-
rection. In the assertion of rights and principles, there
came forth a great truth. Simple, yet comprehensive,
 pronounced that zfize powers of govemzmem‘ are clerzfzwccl
from the consent of Me govemzecl. This was the key-stone
of the union. This was the idea of germination and
progress. This was applicable to all times and all 1121-»
tions. This was the spell that called up the new re-

public. Having successfully developed this great idea, I

having proved its practicability, having framed insti-
tutions under it, and having prospered by their exten-

13

sion, no power upon earth could delay or prevent its
further application.

Before passing to the effects of this idea upon Eu-
rope, the results, as manifested in other parts of the
new world, demand notice. There were some points
of resemblance in all the colonies-— their geographi-
cal position, their separation from the governing power,
their governments framed upon the will of their foun-
ders. It was impossible to prevent a trial of the new
system in the various settlements of France, of Spain,
and of other nations upon the western continent. It
could not, then, be considered that the power of build-
ing up was as necessary as that of tearing down. The
perfection of a government based upon the new prin-
ciple, must depend upon the intelligence of the gov-
erned ; and upon their fitness for the institutions
which they created. Under the sympathies of our
citizens great numbers of theoretic constitutions were
framed. Mexico and South America furnished their
quota of finely wrought paper constructions. All
true definitions of liberty, all just practical appli-
cations were scattered to the winds. Political lib-
erty gmust be based upon personal freedom, and
personal, freedom is worth nothing without a moral,
religious, and intellectual culture. It must always
be borne in mind, that the highest degree of civiliza-
tion developes the greatest capacity for the enjoyment
of liberty, and a low state of national intelligence

14

and morality prevents the power of a right use of
freedom. History is full of examples of this princi-
ple. In tracing the progress of theconquering repub--

, lic, new instances of its truth will continually arise.

Why do I call this the conquering republic? Is
there not something of disgrace attaching to the
phrase corzgmering? Does itnot imply possessions ac-
quired by brute force? Does it not convey the idea
of the subjection of the weaker by the stronger pow-
er? Do we not understand by a conquering republic,
a nation whose warlike tastes have grown by what
they have efed upon, whose youth are trained to arms,
whose visions are of plunder, whose riches and terri-

tory are increased by rapine and violence, and whose
strength and progress depend upon the successful cul-
tivation of the arts of war? By the military skill and

valor of its army, this nation has just passed bril-
liantly through a war, which has added an immense
territory and untold wealth to its already, gigantic
possessions. The rulers of Europe would, even now,
see here a people akin to the ancient republics of
Greece and Rome---—a people with an insuppressi-
ble thirst for conquest. Our ruin and decay, like
that of the ancient exemplars, are predicted from the
consuming fire of warlike passions. Yes! this is the
conquering republic! We accept the title 1 But its
future conquests shall be conquests of peace. It has
conquered andwill conquer, by the force of the great

15

1 ideas which are the basis of its constitution; in the

peaceful and steady development of its vast resources ;
in ‘ the invincible system of framing governments on
the intelligence of the governed, by educating, civil-
izing and perfecting the repositories of all power, the
people. It is true, that such a system is at war witl1
the old institutions of Europe and Asia. It is, this
day, sapping their foundations. In the progress, on the
other side of the Atlantic, of the great doctrines orig»-
inated here, are now to be traced the footsteps of the
conqueror. Yet a partial understanding of the obli-
gations of liberty will not make the people of Europe
victorious and free. ~ Battles must yet be fought in
the great arenas of opinionand of morals, no less than
in those of mere physical power. ~

If there are any who doubt“‘°the connection between
North American liberty and European revolution, let
them open a page in the history of France. it In the
great city of Paris, on the 25thof June, 1791, was
witnessed a wonderful spectacle.~ On: theevening of
that day, there entered the capital of France, sur-
rounded by an armed» and infuriated populace, the
royal family, arrested at Varennes by order of the
National Assembly. Theunfortunate Louis XVI. was
returning in lhumiliationaranda bondage, to a city and a
people transmitted as a property,byhis ancestors. As

the carriages approached the Tuileries amid the eXecra- .

tions of the tumultuous mob,.there~rode“forward to

16

meet the escort, at the head of a brilliant suite, a young
man upon a white charger, the commander of the N a-
tional Guard, at that time the real head of the nation.
Simple and unostentatious in his habits, the sincerity
of his republicanism had attracted the confidence of
all parties in the State. Still young, his services in
either hemisphere, had purchased for him the e2;peri~
ence and the weight of age. Through him had the
electric fire of freedom been communicated to the in-
habitants of his native country. The friend and com-
panion of Washington, he had unflinchingly borne his
part in the arduous labors of the war of American in-»«
dependence, and had been an active participant in i.ts
triumphant termination. His return to France had
imparted to its political stagnation new ideas of prac-
tical value. To the long borne oppression of the peo-
ple, to the Utopian projects of the philosophers, and to
the strong will of the determined reformers, his brilliant
success seemed to have given form and coherency. The
universal sympathy which accompanies bold enterpris-
es, admiration for the results which he had assisted to
produce, these gave to his opinions and his plans an
interest and a weight suited to the emergencies of the
country, and to the designs of the republican party. A
mighty harvest was to be gathered. It had grown to its
full maturity under every obstacle which could impede
its progress. The gross T ignorance of centuries, the
dim perceptions of a twilight knowledge, the useless

17

theorems of philosophers, the unbending formulae of
the Church ----these storms and calms of the moral
and intellectual heavens had delayed its growth, and
affected the soundness of its roots. But the reaper
and his sickle were come. The harvesting was beguii
in hope and ended in despair. From that harvest field,
Europe is still gleaning.

Terrible as were the crimes of the first Frencli revo-
lution, its lessons have not been without permanent
value to the whole human race. As it is a truth of
science, that the globe itself reveals, at every phase
of its existence, the mystery of its former conditions,
so every step in the progress of revolution disclosed,
that the new could not be constructed without draw-
ing from the old 5 that a clisorg.a1iized society could
not be remodelled without a portion of its former ina-
chinery; that new laws and a new administration must
have much reference to ancient customs and land-
rnarlrs ; and that the new possession of liberty was
dependent for preservation upon many safeguarcls
which, in its first adoption, had been rejected as use-
less. The awful sequel of the French experiment
made the deepest impression upon all friends of liberty.
It was seen that more preparation than France had been
able to aflbrd, was necessary to retain and enjoy, af-
ter force of arms had acquired, popular freedom. The
crudest notions of liberty, scattered broadcast amoiig

an irreligious and uneducated people, could not fail to
3

18

produce disorder and license. For the security of life
and property, a law of force, exacting obedience from
all classes, became the supreme law of the land. The
immediate result of the flrst revolution was a govern-
ment resting on bayonets——-and such also was the ter-
mination of the second revolution. The three days of
July, l880, brought in with the new government tl1e
same law of force, founded on distrust of the capac-
ities of citizens. But from both these revolutions,
France gained immeasurably. Property was more
equally distributed; no classes enjoyed peculiar privi-
leges; all citizens bore lit proportion of the burdens of
the state. Neither of the revolutions, however, seem
to have taught her the true foundation of successful
republican institutions. If she has learned that the
establishment of a government should depend upon
the consent of the governed, she has also to learn that
its duration and prosperity depend upon a deep sense
of order and a respect for the law throughout the
Whole population, upon a system of education, suited
to all classes of the community, and above all, upon a
pervading conviction of the duties imposed by moral-
ity and religion. To the third French revolution, now
in process of accomplishment, the same general prin-
ciples will apply. IfpF1'ance was prepared for free in-
stitutions, they vvill stand. If she was not prepared,
the last experiment will end, as those tried before, in

a military despotism. In faith and hope, but with fear  

and trembling, We await the result.

19

The direct effects of the American and of the first
French revolutions were not confined to France. En g-
land has reaped more substantial benefits from the pro-
gress of just ideas than any country of the old world.
Since the revolution of 1688, sufiicient civil, political,
and religious freedom had existed to secure to the great
majority of the population a large proportion of their
natural rights. Many improvements in the political
system had been made without any intervention of
arms. It was not incumbent upon other colonies of
Great Britain to attempt resistance to her laws, as her
Whole colonial policy had been altered, from experi-
ence of the errors through which she had lost the most
valuable of her possessions beyond the seas. No fur-
ther extension of freedom was purchased by the effu-
sion of blood. But through public discussion, by the
will of the people, expressed through their represen-
tatives in Parliament, and by the wise moderation of
the House of Lords, constitutional changes have been
effected, which have materially increased the privileges
of Englishmen. To their civil liberties, little or no
addition could be made. But the repeal of the Test
and Corporation acts, Catholic emancipation, and the

passage of the Reform Bill, have largely extended‘  

political and religious liberty. What other changes
may be necessary will be unfolded by time. From
what the World knows of her character and resources,
it seems probable that further improvements will not
depend upon violent catastrophes.

20

In the other countries of Europe, liberty made small
progress in changes of government until that wonder-
ful year of revolutions, 1848. Among the great body
of reformers, scattered over the continent, much dis-
cussion had taken place upon the diflerent forms of
institutions as suited to the happiness and Welfare of
nations. The investigations of political economy had
proved the rottenness of financial systems based upon
enormous National debts, and fettered commercial re--
lations. Among all thinking men, there was a mani-
fest disbelief in the duration of existing governments.
The discoveries of science, the more speedy methods
of intercomniunication a'fforded by the steamboat, the
rail car, and the electric telegraph, the progress of
civilization, the united action of large classes in favor
of temperance, prison discipline, and other moral re-~
forms, increased attention to the claims of education,
all clearly indicated that the systems of government
under which men lived, could alone undergo no change.
Nor were such expectations disappointed. Within the
space of V a brief year, the predicted political earth~
quake shook Europe to its foundations. England,
thanks to her free institutions, was beyond the reach
of the movement. Sweden, Denmark, Holland and
the Netherlands, constitutional monarchies, into the
government of which the popular will entered, received
but little disturbance. « Russia, that despotism which
overshadows a large portion of two continents, and has

21

a foothold on a third, could receive no impressions
from without. The vibrations of the movement were
first felt in Italy. Rome, once the mistress of the
world, the city of ancient civilization, and for more
than a thousand years the seat of the papal hierarchy,
from whence had been fulminated the terrors of the
church against all reforms, moral, political orgreligious,
was the appropriate centre of the new order of things.
The sincere and zealous occupant of the chair of St_
Peter, Pius IX, led the great movement. But the
elements of freedom, once loosed, were too mighty
to be controlled by mortal hand. The destruc-
tive forces then extended to France, and were after-
wards communicated in irregular succession to Ger--
many, Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, Naples, Sicily, North-
ern Italy, and Hungary.

At the short period of time since these events have
elapsed, and while the great struggle is in part in pro»
gress, it would not befit this occasion to attempt con»
jecture upon the precise issue of events. It may well
be left to that Great Power who “ rides on the whirl-
wind and directs the storm.” His Providence will
bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness. So
closely allied are perfect truth and perfect freedom,
that none may despair of the final result.

To an American, the scene can never be without
striking points of ‘interest. Resting, as were the more
powerful governments of Europe upon the arm of

22

military power, with a system of fortifications perfected
by science, with armies disconnected by pursuits from
the great body of the people, with officers strongly
attached to the existing order of things, with a state
patronage tending to strengthen the central power, it
is surprising with what ease revolutions were accom-
plished. In one great city, the dregs of a Faubourg
overturned the monarchy. In another, the unruly
students of a university demolished in a few days the
self-styled succession of the Caesars. In a third, the
tumultuous outbreak of a small portion of the popula--
tion obtained the amplest concessions. Immeasurable
must have been the weakness which dissolved, like a
mist, before such manifestations of popular displeasure.

It has already been shown thatthe success of free
institutions depends upon a proper knowledge of the
signification of Liberty; Freedom is a specious phrase,
and often not rightly understood. As an untried
blessingjit is believed to be whatever desire or caprice
dictates. It assumes the color of the popular want
untrammelled bylany restrictions. To an ignorant or
demoralized community, freedom. implies license. EX»
cesses are committed and defended under its shadow.
Where. order and justice have been administered by
the strong hand of power, liberty is a forbidden word,
suggestive of attacks upon property, of rapine and
anarchy. It is hard to close the eye of the victim of
tyranny to the bright vision of personal freedom. It

23

would be cruel indeed to tell him that freedom is no
blessing Without the capacity to rightly enjoy it 5 that
he has no right to grasp it at once as a rich possession.
No wonder that he kindles at the thought of breaking
all former ties——-—

Nor guides, nor rules his sovereign choice control,

His body independent as his sonl——-

Loosed to the world’s wide rang~e—-enjoined no aim,

l3’.resc1'il)e(l no duty, and assigned no name;

Nature’s unbounded son, he stands alone,

His heart nnbiasscd, and his mind his own.
When this feeling animates the mass, the result is
revolution. Whatever may be the issue—~—--vvhether the
votary of liberty may be Worthy of; or prove recreant
to, his high calling, the lesson is never without value
for future guidance and warning. In all themanifold
forms in which this restless spirit displays itself, it
must never be forgotten that the face of Ifretedom, like
that of truth, is not the less fair for all the counterfeit
visors that have been put upon it.

But fears have arisen in the minds of timid observers
from other causes. It is a law marking the growth of
nations, that great men, as it were by the hand of
Providence, are raised at once to meet great emer-
gencies. The most attractive points of history are
composed of the biographies of such governing minds.
While lesserevents escape the memory of the school-
boy, he never forgets the exploits of such heroes as
Alexander, Caesar, Cromwell, Napoleon or Washing-

24

ton. Although the destinies of these men were ful-
filled in widely different spheres, the impression of

their characters and their deeds is strongly defined.

upon the history of their country and their age. So
deep seated is the feeling among mankind, that a great
man is inseparable from a great movement, that the
success of new undertakings is always predicated upon
the development of new talent. In the huge revolu-
tionary upheavings of continental Europe, the eye of
the observer has yet in vain sought for the controlling
power indicating the men of might, by whose agency
the commotion should be stilled. Such despondency
forgets that the raven went ‘to and fro ’ from the
ark, beforethe dove ‘found rest for the sole of her
foot.’ The deluge is too recent———-the waters of anarchy
are still on the face of Europe. When the hour of
subsidence approaches, great men will surely indicate
it by their appearance, and by their recognized sway.

is Let no lover of liberty fear on this account. New

talent has already been brought into action. The

great problemwill not be solved without the advent

of a newOromwell, Napoleon or Washington. Order

will be resumed, though its day may be distant. For-

tunate will it be for the human race, if the new insti-

tutions shall rise and endure under the wisdom and

foresight of a second Washington!

Failure is also predicted from the want of skill
adequate tosecure the results of a revolution in the

25

construction of a suitable constitution. After the first
tumultuary movement has ejected the possessors of
power, a revolution is not considered to have been
accomplished until a new constitution has been framed.
The new order of things requires a new writing of the
laws. The people, having recently learned the advan-
tages of power, with no experience of their wants be-
yond that afforded by the infringements of the abolished
tyranny, meet together and establish theoretic institu-
tions. Without knowledge or gradual preparation in
the law-makers, what marvel if the new code is proved
to be unsuited to the habits and necessities of the citi-
zens. If this should occur, the experiment of the
revolution is said to have failed. But though a paper
constitution may stand but a day, its results are not
utterly lost, when its laws are inoperative. It is so
much added to the general fund of wisdom for future
service. Constitution-making is comparatively a harm-
less operation. That a free constitution does not
necessarily establish freedom may be shown from the
present political systems of Austria and Prussia. A
revolution does not therefore imply entirely new insti-
tutions. Modifications and alterations may be all the
required changes. No surer test of the finished work
can be found than the fact that its restraints, limita-
tions and concessions are based upon a knowledge

i which secures a successful trial. Let no country

newly freebe disheartened because its new construc-
4

26 

tions are not permanently useful. Improvements may
be made as experience is acquired. In the end, success
will be found. Nevertheless, a perfect constitution is
the most wonderful machine yet contrived by the in-a
genuity of man.

A new plea has recently been set up by the sup-
porters of arbitrary power in Europe. It is said that
the wars of 1848 and "49 are merely wars of language
and of race. This position excludes all higher ques-
tions of principle, and is intended to prevent sympathy
and interference on the part of free countries. This is
the plea of Russia. This would conceal the fact that
the settlement of each «national question now at issue
is an affair of much consequence to the whole civilized
world. The causes of the great conflict now in pro-
gress lie far beneath language or race. It is not a
struggle to decide which of two parties in each state
shall be uppermost. Such may have been its appear-
ance at the beginning; but the real motive powers
are now visible. The free people of England and
of France may well watch with interest and anxiety
for the results of each battle-field. The struggle is
between the people and arbitrary power. A few years
will decide whether the western barriers of despotism

shall be the Rhine and the North Sea, or whether the ~
arm of freedom shall drive back the myrmidons of

tyranny to the frozen regions of the North.
In all this war of principles, we, too, on this side of

-» a.‘  J;R‘.v'§'vCf»:”r§.7:1(o\¢‘;Sv:—m—_€€‘_:>/‘}»< ,:.;.:.,:.;:.: .:...;_: 2  -, - A ~

27

the Atlantic, have a direct interest. If the experiment
of free institutions had been unsuccessful here, it
would have deferred for a long period the strivings
after liberty which have already found practical
results in other quarters of the world. The example
and the influence of the United States have quietly
produced great effects, of which the causes were not
clearly perceptible. For the failure of other revolu-y
tions, declaredly based upon our model, we are in no
degree responsible. The painter of a glorious picture
whose merits are admitted by the world is never held
accountable for the bad drawing or wretched coloring
of any imitator however ambitious. No one claims
that our institutions are perfect. It is suflficient for
all useful purposes, that under their protecting powers
every blessing can be enjoyed that is needful for the
happiness of man in this lower world. As every suc-
cessful essay is a direct incitement to human nature
to go and do likewise, the position of this country is
especially traceable in the revolutions of Europe.
Every new constitution borrows to a greater or less
extent from our own, according to the tastes of legis-
lators. The great ideas, which, in a good sense, con-
stitute this the conquering republic, transfuse them-
selves into every popular movement. That no gov-
ernment may exist without the consent of the governed
has proved a fearful principle when brought into
collision with another principle, consecrated by the

28

tacit consent of a thousand years, the divine right of
kings, the doctrine of absolute sovereignty. Who
can doubt which of the two will ultimately come forth
superior from the conflict? The strife is no longer
equal. It is a struggle between a human fallacy,
and a superhuman truth.

The commercial relations established between_ this
country and Europe suggest other considerations of
importance. Our prosperity is intimately connected
with the success of free institutions abroad. With
governments constructed for the greatest good of the
greatest number, industry will flourish, restrictions
will be removed, and free intercourse will be allowed.
If Central Europe overcomes absolutism, the system
now foreshadowed, will open new channels to our en-
terprise, and new markets to our products.

In view of these things, there is no question of the
duties of this republic. Let no undue sympathy, no
improper assumption of another’s quarrel, no provoking
assertion of superiority, no morbid sensitiveness of
false honor, lead us to forget the advice of the foun-
ders of our institutions. Peace with all -—-—- Entangling
alliances with none.

In observing our condition at home, a further reason
is found for the application of the phrase, conquering
republic. It is based upon the opinion that there would
seem to be no just limits to the desire of this repub-
lic to increase its territories. As in the mechanism of

29

the heavens, attraction seems to be solely determined
by the quantity of matter, so it is said, we would make
the tendency to freedom dependent upon the contin-f
ued enlargement of its domain. This is a grave accusa-

tion, and demands sober examination. It involves the

whole question of the successful application of our
system at home. Is the machinery of our constitution
equal to its vast requirements? Is it strong enough to
hold, and large enough to embrace the results of fu-
ture annexation? Has the American nation increased
so fast as to outgrow its political experience? Is it
even now unable to govern or restrain its own huge
physical power?  

In looking back to such events in our history, as
give cause for these general inquiries, the attention is
at once drawn to the last war in which this government
was engaged. To the propriety or good policy of the
Mexican war, it would be foreign to this occasion to
allude. Different parties in the state honestly differed
in relation to it. But the effects of the contest upon
the habits, the aspirations . and the character of this
people are a fit‘ subject of remark. So far as New
England is concerned, our conquest has provoked no
thirst for further acquisition at a similar expense of
suffering and of blood. It has infused no warlike
tastes into the community. N 0 young man, on this
account, has taken up the profession of arms. No
classes have grown rich by its spoils ;' none cry out

30

for subsistence to be gained from rapine and plunder ;
none long for or delight in the excesses of war. This
section of the country is strongly enlisted in uphold-
ing such doctrines of peace as practically develop
the best methods of industry, and a healthful progress
in those arts which constitute the greatness of a na-
tion. The same remarks which apply to New Eng-
land in this connection, are also generally true of other
sections of the United States. There may be portions
of the Union and parties in the several States which
earnestly desire to annex Canada and Cuba, but they
are not coveted at the price of blood and crime.

In the success of the constitution of this republic,‘

there is nothing mysterious or wonderful. There has
been great good fortune in its continuous applica-
tion to new states and territories, but no success
has attended it which was not owing to the principles
upon which it was originally based. The plain ex-
planation is to be found in the fact, that in no other
country of the world are the powers of government
so directly derived from the people. The United
States do not consist of a league of independent na-
tions; but in a union of states, constituting one na-
tion. Every citizen has a double duty to perform;
on his shoulders rests a double responsibility 3 for he
is a citizen of the state whose local laws protect him,
and inwhose prosperity his interests are bound up,
and he is also a citizen of the United States, and in-

31

dividually a partaker in the powers and duties of this
relation. The population within a certain territorial
limit, has a community of interest; it becomes a
state by the action of its citizens under the laws of
the general government; it makes such laws for itself
as are needful for the development of its resources,
and are suited to its character. Become a state, the
citizens at once take part in the general plan, and
share in the obligations of the central government,
which also ministers to their wants and affects their
welfare no less than the state government. In this
simple system, are to be found the elements of our
strength and union. No two civilized countries
could have had less community of interest than Lou-—
isiana and Massachusetts. Their inhabitants separated
by more than a thousand miles, and speaking different
tongues; their institutions modelled upon widely
different principles --~----- the one Catholic, its laws ad-
ministered upon the practice of France, two hundred
years ago -~------ the other Protestant, and with laws
based upon English precedents. In the one a warm
climate and rich soil brought to easy maturity the
luxurious productions of the tropics, and the inhab-
itants derived from aexportation and exchange, furni-
ture for their houses, clothing for their bodies, and
nourishment for their minds. In the other, a sterile
soil barely sufficed’ for the sustenance of its own cul-
tivators; and the population obtained its support from

82

the industrial pursuits of all classes, from manufac-
tures and from commerce. For all purposes these two
States were as utterly distinct and uncongenial, as
habits and tastes, language and literature, laws and
religion could well make them. Yet they are now two
concordant members of that great family, into which
both sought admission. They both constructed their
state institutions upon a basis adapted to their wants,
and they both found advantage in the protecting shield
of the general government. Both were willing to
submit to such arrangements as were required for the
general good. So far, then, as a union of most oppo-
site materials, so far as a harmonious action of discor-
dant elements are concerned, the constitution has been
found equal to its vast requirements.

If this question as to past results, admits of a
favorable answer, the next inquiry turns to the future,
and toits unknown or untold demands. In the ad-
vance of the union, the constitution has been able to
keep pace with the necessities developed by new rela-—
tions.‘ In the march onward, the anxious eye may
well look forward and strive to perceive the direction
of the dim way before us. The huge machine has
gone on in safety over the even roads of the sea-board,
it has crossed the rivers, plains and mountains of l the

A interior, and arrived on the border of new lands. It

may ‘well be asked, whether all is safe and in good
order, before entering upon the trackless pathsof a
tempting but untried desert,

33

There is a favorite phrase, of frequent use in popu-
lar addresses -—-- manifest destiny. It is said to be the
manifest destiny of this race to spread over this Whole
continent, carrying with it its laws, institutions and
enterprise. The expression is unfortunate, and re-
quires qualification. In process of time, the whole of
North America may possibly be covered by our pop-
ulation, and may be governed by our laws ; but there
is nothing in the nature of tliiiigs vvhereby this may
be accomplished without our own direct action. Des-
tiny implies a tendency to a fixed end Without the
power of any agent to prevent. On the contrary, the
advantages of this “ republic will not be coveted by
surrounding nations vvitliout having first been made
apparent by the prosperity depending on the intelli-
gence and good conduct of its citizens. Nor is it a part
of our system to seek for the accomplishment of any
fate requiring extension of territory by force of arms.
N o e:a:igenci.cs of our own creation can demand further
annexation by war. If Canada, or the other British
provinces, at some future period, shall desire admission
into our confederacy, this result will be based on pre-
cisely the same principle that has continuously applied

to the formation of each state and territory, within our

own geographical limits. Setting aside all questions
of policy, as improper to be discussed here, there is
nothing in the condition of our northern neighbors

to unfit them for coming as much within the scope
5

34

of our institutions, as Florida, Louisiana, Texas,

or California. There never has been a constitution

or government, which admitted such an indefinite
and unlimited extension of territory or population,
as our own-——nay, more, which so required exten-
sion for success. To this people applies with pen
culiar force, the observation of Humboldt: “ It is
with nations as wi.th nature which knows no pause in
progress and development, and attaches her curse on
all inaction.” There may be emergencies in the future
which will overturn our republic, but the imagination
can with dificulty conceive of any forms of trial more
severe than those through which it has triumphantly
passed. So far, then, as future annexation is con-
cerned, the errors of the past teach that little is to
be feared. It is not from this quarter that danger is
imminent.

The next query is of a more general character. It
would imply that the nation has increased so fast as
to outgrow its political experience. This conclusion is
founded upon observations of political institutions
elsewhere, and might be true of this republic if it had
been constructed upon any foreign model. It would
be inferred from this that the causes of our rapid
growth were unsound, and that its results are, there»
fore, unstable. , The history of the past century fur-
nishes fullrrefutation of this ‘point ; its every page
gives proof to the contrary. But there is one fact too

35

remarkable and too weighty in its consequences to be

passed over. The effects of emigration have already
been great, and promise to be momentous. Every
nation of western Europe has contributed to our pop-
ulation. This country has quietly absorbed, and is

continuing to absorb a large amount of foreigners,

who, for the most part, arrive upon our shores without
any wise perception of their duties, and without ade-
quate preparation to appreciate the blessings of free-
dom. These wayfarers from other lands, and their
descendants, now form a large numerical proportion of
the inhabitants of many states of this Union. If the in-
tellectual strength of this people has not kept pace with
its physical growth, it is attributable to this cause
alone. But so far, on examination, no change is found
to have been made in those principles which have hither-
to been successfully applied. A greater field for educa-
tion has imparted renewed activity to those who watch
over the interests of the common schools, colleges and
other seminaries of learning. Within reach of these

influences, the children a of the alien must come; for
provisions for popular culture are to be found in every
State. So far, this country has prospered greatly from

its accessions in foreign population, but there is obvi-
ously a point at which safety ends. l The disturbances
in Europe will continue to send large masses across
the Atlantic. It is a problem for future legislators to
determine, how far this may be allowed to proceed

36

without interference. Aside from this, there is noth-
ing in history to show that our political experience
has not equalled the emergencies to which it has been
applied.

The domestic outbreaks produced by local causes in
former periods of the history of Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, nullification in South Carolina, disputes
of neighboring states in relation to boundaries, the
train of events which separated Texas from Mexico,
the unjustifiable interventionof American citizens in
the Canadian rebellion, the Rhode Island conflict,
Lynch-law, the mobs which at cliiferent times have dis-
graced our larger cities, with other disorders of minor
importance, have given rise to the imputation that this
republic is unable to restrain its own physical power.
It would be strange indeed if any country could go
on for three-quarters of a century, in prosperity and
in adversity, through peace and war, Without occasion
of discontent or tumult in some portion of its citizens.
No polity ever framed has given equal power to all
members of a community. N 0 institutions can make
men perfect. The severest laws, the minutest subdi-
visions of police have been utterly unable to prevent
frequent expressions of popular passion under des-
potic governments. In such cases the laws have been
sustained by a profuse outpouring of blood, and by
filling the prisons with state criminals. How then can
eternal quiet prevail, where no such control is desired

374

or attempted? In this country, no similar disorder
has occurred which has not at once felt the indignant
reproof of the great majority of the citizens. No il-
legal or violent assertions of assumed rights have been
for a moment tolerated. Where the arm of force has
been deemed necessary to sustain the laws, it has al-
ways been found ready. The final result of each in-
stance before mentioned has been favorable to the
general cause of law and order. Instead of suggest-
ing new methods of violence, the issue of each event
has taught a lesson of Warning and avoidance. The
spirit of our institutions does not admit of a meddling
interference in the privileges of our citizens. A good
government is only felt when it restrains for the pub-
lic benefit. The success of this government proves
that it has exercised and can exercise every suitable.
restraint upon its citizens.

Having thus briefly passed in: reviews such facts and
principles in the history of this republic. as have induced
the transmission of its influences to other nations, and
have entitled it, in a good sense, to the appellation of
the conquering republic»----having considered some of its
positions at home, and a few of its relations to foreign
revolutions, there remains to me but one other portion
of the duties of this occasion. T

Citizens of Boston !' the path of your duty lies

clearly defined before you. You have received a

38

birthright of freedom to which no exertions of your
own can make addition. You have also been entrusted
with the institutions whereby it may be preserved.
Continue to support those public foundations which
maintain the intelligence and mental activity of your
population. Let the startling fact that more than one
fourth of your people areforeigners or the children of
foreigners, stimulate you to the necessary extension of
your public schools-~—-—henceforvvarcl the nurseries of an
enlightened freedom. Security of property, respect
for the law, reverence for morality, and confidence
among men, depend in no measurable degree, upon
the future training of your youth. Yet forget not the
claims of the past in the necessities of the present,
The heritage of the good name of your fathers, you
are bound by every sacred obligation to keep alive
and to carefully transmit to your children. Let no
modern ingenuity, let no microscopic vision, let no un-
patriotic envy, detract from the just fame of him whose
virtues found no parallel in the eighteen hundred
years that went before him. Let no fanatical ambition
for impossible perfection, no obscure transcendental
generalities, no unjust comparison with false stand-
ards, attempt to show that his greatness was merely
that of a day, and that he lived but for one genera-

tion I As year after year rolls away, and the count-

less inhabitants of a free confederacy extending from
ocean to ocean, come up to the shrines of their fathers

39

to invoke the memories of the V past, tell me if the
name which will first spontaneously rise on their lips,
so long as virtue is loved and patriotism cherished,
will not be that of the founder of the conqeering
republic, of the peerless Washington!