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AW 
 
 ORATION, 
 
 PRONOUNCED AT DUDLEY, MXSS, 
 
 'a 
 
 JULY 4, 1820, 
 
 IT BEING THE 
 
 ANJSflVERSARY 
 
 OP 
 
 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 By Rev. JOHN BISBE, im. 
 
 H 
 
 WORCESTER t 
 
 PRIJTTED BY^ENRY ROGEESi 
 
 I820f:' 
 
f: i><?^ 
 
 /jT:.^ 
 
 DoDLtT, July 4, 185"> 
 fiev. John Bisuj 
 
 Deai Sni — We the Subfcrlbers. bein- ^ Con.- 
 
 mittee by the Citizens affembled at Dudley, for the - Nation' 
 
 Independence, hereby return you our unfeigned thai ient Orati 
 
 (teliv«ied this day, and folicit a copy for the pref*. 
 
 We are, with much refpe<a:. 
 Sir, your obedient L 
 DAN 
 
 JAM! ^i^COTT, Jun. 
 « JONAaHAN DAVIS. 
 
 Brookpielb, July 20, 182a 
 
 GBNTLtMEH, 
 
 If this hafty produAion has given you any pleafure, and may coni 
 duce to a corredt appreciation of our rights and bleCBngs, I (hall heartily rejoice, 
 and with the moft fervent dellre for the increafe and continuance of our natiopsil 
 profperity, I fubmit this Addrefs to your difpofal. 
 
 With due confiderations of regard and efteem, 
 
 Yours, 
 
 J0H1« BISBE, J-ju 
 nleflrs. Dan Lamb, 
 
 Jamks Wolcott, Juxb. 
 JoNATBAlf JDAyi8» 
 
t 
 
 AN ORATION. 
 
 Friends and Fellow Citizens, 
 
 CONVENED once more to celebrate the day oa 
 which our nation declared itself free, sovereign and in- 
 dependent, let us recount some of the toils and labours 
 bj which our liberty was achieved, that we may more 
 correctly appreciate its worth and more valorously de- 
 fend its mtegrity. Believing freedom to be the most pre- 
 cious birthright of man, and one for which he should haz- 
 ard all other privileges, our patriotic fathers nobly dared to 
 face the most powerful nation on the globe, and to purchase 
 their rights with the price of their blood. That we may 
 ascertain the justness of their cause and discover the pat- 
 ronizing hand of heaven, a careful consideration of the 
 inalienable inheritance of man will be necessary. When 
 communities were first established by mutual concession, 
 some rights were surrendered to the rulers, that they 
 might preserve the others inviolate. While they made 
 the public weal the only object of their administration, 
 the design of association was effected, and greater happi- 
 ness enjoyed than the savage state could give. As each 
 individual was burthened with less care for personal de- 
 fence and security, more opportunity was given to liberal- 
 ize and expand the mind, refine and polish its powers, and 
 to unfold and cherish the social affections. But when 
 the rulers perverted the powers entrusted to them for the 
 conservation of society, rendering the condition of the 
 people more degrading and less tolerable than the igno- 
 rance and insecurity of the uncivilized state, the law of 
 self-preservation imperiously called on each individual to 
 repel the encroachments of their unhallowed ambition and 
 to prevent a repetition of their aggressioni. If man can- 
 
not securely enjoy more happiness in society tlianin soli- 
 tude, the latter condition is certainly preferable. That 
 our fathers patiently bore indignities unknown in barba- 
 rian life, and those unwarranted by their political com- 
 pact, DO one will question, who is in the least degree ac- 
 quainted with their early history. They were not only 
 deprived of all civil privileges, but the empire of con- 
 science was most daringly invaded. When they found no 
 protection in the government of their native land, they 
 resolved to leave their island home, though endeared by 
 a thousand tender recollections, to seek a clime of liberty 
 and peace, far west, toward the going down of the even- 
 ing star* Uninformed of the dangers thickly scattered 
 over the pathless waters or the continent of their destin- 
 ation, but trusting in the guidance of a preserving provi- 
 dence, they committed themselves to the winds and 
 waves and voyaged to the new world. Although every 
 dark cloud might seem charged with ruin and every shift- 
 ing wind might portend a hurricane, yet the fortitude of 
 their minds continued, and they hailed this wilderness 
 their chosen home. Two hundred years have not yet 
 rolled into the bosom of eternity since they stepped on 
 the Plymouth rock, in the cold and cheeHess month of 
 December, and sat down on the margin of the deep, with 
 a dark and savage wilderness on one hand, and a wide- 
 spread ocean on the other. Stimulated by a desire to 
 transmit unimpaired freedom to their descendants, the 
 labours of clearing the forest, cultivating the soil and 
 forming a government, based on law and administered in 
 justice, were sweetened by the most vivid anticipations 
 of hope. When the landscape began to smile beneath 
 their improving hand and vegetation to put on its most 
 pleasing livery, when equal privileges were participated 
 by each member of the community and general content- 
 ment reigned through the land, how frequently would the 
 aged patriarch exclaim, while his heart glowed with the 
 liveliest gratitude, when my head shall lie low in the dust 
 and the brook murmur along by my grave, my sons will 
 inherit this fair clime and possess heaven's richest gift 
 
invaluable liberty. Animated by such cheering pfo^ 
 pects, they unremittingly cultivated the young mind in the 
 love of freedom, and gave their instructions a more com- 
 manding emphasis, by frequently relating the story of 
 their minfortunes. Thus nurtured in the school of cor- 
 rect principles, their children early learned the value of 
 their rights, and therefore determined to defend them, 
 should any power attempt to make them slaves. While 
 vrasting wars were ravaging Europe and turning its most 
 delightful scenes into an Aceldama, halcyon peace dwelt 
 in our American Eden, a land flowing with milk and hon- 
 ey. But in process of time the demands of our parent i 
 land became intolerably burthensome. Although our 
 young men had fought her battles on every land and eve- 
 ry sea ; although our productions were monopolized by her 
 merchants ; although our revenue was punctually paid ; 
 and although many of our laws were made without our 
 concurrence, yet could not the insatiable rapacity of her 
 cabinet be satisfied. And why this subjection to tl^ 
 crown ? It expelled us from the land of our birth, and 
 sent us unprotected and alone into the dark and howling 
 wilderness. It extorted our hard-earned property as a com- 
 pensation for guarding our rights and defending our lives, 
 when the only guard it gave was forgetfulness, and the 
 only defence permission to fly from the iro^ arm of tyran- 
 ny. When insult was added to injury, and human endur- 
 ance was tasked to bear the accumulated load of oppress- 
 ion ; when our petitions, requests and remonstrances were 
 spurned with disdainful contempt, resistance was the only 
 mode of securing our lives, our liberties and our property. 
 But our nation Avas young, unpractised in tpe art of butch- 
 ery, unskilled in marshalling the host, sinking the mine or 
 raising the ravelin ; our enemy was veteran in war, vic- 
 torious in battle and considered invinciblle by the nations 
 of Europe. When such great disparity contradistin- 
 guished the opposing parties, the struggle hiust have been 
 bard and sanguinary on the side of the Americans, and 
 their victory dearly purchased. But they were contend- 
 j*ig in the sacred cause of liberty, and ther<p:fore were ani- 
 
6 
 
 mated with unyielding intrepidity. It would require 
 much time and talent accurately to portray all the event- 
 ful scenes of the revolution, therefore a concise view 
 must be taken. As soon as the British parliament decid- 
 ed on the expediency of declaring war with her American 
 colonies, each patriotic heart burned for the battle, in 
 which freedom would be established, or the sons of liber- 
 ty sleep unconsciously in the grave. Determined to vin- 
 dicate their rights by the sword, and preserve their land 
 from the depredations of hirelings, miscreants and savages, 
 the Americans united from Georgia to Maine, and chose 
 as a watch-word liberty or death. On the 19th of April, 
 1775, the British mercenaries unsluiced the blood of free- 
 men and opened the dreadful tragedy of civil war. This 
 kindled the spirit of resistance into a fiercer flame, gave 
 the hesitating courage and showed that our hardy yeo- 
 manry, engaged in the holy cause of freedom, could van- 
 quish the regent of isles and the mistress of oceans. On 
 this day of perilous magnanimity the fortitude of the pro- 
 vincials was fairly tested and plenary evidence given, that 
 they would heroically contend for the land of their fathers 
 until their privileges should be obtained, or until every 
 sod should become a grave, every mount a sepulchre. — ■ 
 Fearless of the collected might of the British empire, 
 they assembled on the heights of Boston, and besieged 
 the army sent to subjugate and enslave them. Resolved 
 to expel this host of English and German brigands, they 
 fortified a small eminence in Charlestown, from which to 
 bombard their encampment and drive them to their ships. 
 When the seventeenth morning of June disclosed their 
 little entrenchment to the eyes of the enemy, a cannonad- 
 ing commenced from their vessels, but the Americans un- 
 alarmed by the dread roar of artillery, continued to 
 strengthen their works and prepare for the impending 
 storm. To demolish this slightly constructed fort and dis- 
 lodge the provincials from their commanding ground, a 
 detachment is sent from Boston. Soon as they landed on 
 the Charlestown shore, they commence the work of death 
 and desolation. Now, while the eventful conflict is pro- 
 
gressing, let us take a view of the surrounding scene., A- 
 larmed for the fate of their country, the inhabitants are 
 pouring in from all quarters, and from every house-top and 
 elevation which gives a prospect of the bloody field, are 
 anxiously and intensely gazing on the conflicting armies to 
 behold the issue of that terrific day. While the enemy 
 is advancing to the attack in solid columns and in all the 
 pomp of marshal array, breathless expectation hushes 
 each spectator into the deepest silence. Now from the 
 village of Charlestown ascends a fiery pyramid, and Qver 
 the darkened prospect diffuses its baleful light. The 
 British commence the assault, and amid the thunder of 
 their cannon from land and water begin the dreadful 
 storm. Did our countrymen sleep in that day of danger ? 
 Were they unmindful of the liberties inherited from their 
 fathers and entrusted to them for their children ? No, 
 like a volcanic shower they poured down the fire on the 
 foe and swept away the invading host. But superiour 
 in numbers and discipline, they rallied and returned to the 
 charge, impetuous as the mountain torrent ; and resistless 
 as the fiery, tempest of the sky down came the fatal blaze 
 from the fortress of freemen. At each successive retreat 
 the anxious beholders of their country's battle breathed 
 more freely, and felt the inspiring influence of hope. At 
 length thinned by repeated charges and deprived of the 
 counsel and valour of the heroic Warren, who fell in the 
 midst of his glory ; attacked on three sides by the exas- 
 perated remnant of the Bitish troops, the provincials re- 
 tired and left the enemy in possession of the ground. — 
 But this victory was not cheaply purchased, when it cost 
 the lives of one thousand men, and was sealed with the 
 blood of Pitcairn, the author of the Lexington massacre.' 
 This act of chivalrous daring, in which undisciplined farmers 
 fiuccessfully levelled the deadly firelock against the mar- 
 shalled ranks of Britain, roused every latent energy in the 
 American bosom, kindled anew the fire of liberty and 
 made the continent re-echo with determinations of resist- 
 ance. Though the body of Warren slept on the height 
 gf Buinker, his deathless spirit lived in each l\eart and ner- 
 
ved each arm for battle. But long was the struggle for 
 the attainment of our independence, and so various the as- 
 pect of fortune, that the most patriotic trembled for the 
 issue, and wept over their wives and their children, while 
 there remained a possibility of their being slaves. Ac- 
 customed to the unrestrained enjoyment of rational liber- 
 ty, they were resolved to reap their privileges amid the 
 iron harvests of death, and consecrate the trophies of 
 their victories for memorials to their latest descendants. 
 After the British evacuated Boston and repaired to New- 
 York, our aifairs began to wear a gloomy appearance, al- 
 though our armies were led on by the Fabian prudence 
 and the cool and collected valour of a Washington. De- 
 feated on Long-Island ; driven from the city of New- 
 York ; dispossessed of forts Washington and Lee ; com- 
 pelled to retire from the White Plains and through the 
 Jersies beyond the Delaware ; lessened by sickness, de- 
 sertion and despair ; unprotected from the cold winter 
 and unfurnished with adequate means of subsistence, even 
 in that day of darkness and calamity could the brave 
 band of patriots, *' turning on their insulting foe and ming- 
 ling their blood with the melting lava of the cannon's 
 mouth, foretel them of Trenton, Germantown and jMon- 
 mouth." The winter of '76 was the darkest season of 
 the revolution, every effort being requisite to prevent 
 complete despondency in the American army, and keep 
 up theleast semblance of opposition. While Congress, 
 unable to supply them with ammunition or clothing, 
 was devising means for their relief, they were retreating 
 before a powerful army and tracing their marches with 
 the blood that flowed from their feet. Could any but 
 freemen, fighting for their dearest rights aitd all they held 
 sacred under heaven, endure such complicated misfor- 
 tunes, privations and toils without yielding to abject ser- 
 vitude, or sinking under the influence of black despair. — 
 But the brilliant success at Trenton and Princeton reani- 
 mated the expiring flame and showed that the tide of bat- 
 tle might yet turn in our favour. Without considering all 
 the great battles jji which our countrymen were engaged 
 
9 
 
 trom Saratoga to Yorktown, or remarking on aft the 
 fluctuating fortunes of our nation from the commence- 
 ment of hostilities to the conclusion of peace, let us exam- 
 ine the character and conduct of our leaders, and contrast 
 them with those of other nations and times, that we may 
 learn their superiority and venerate their virtues. In al- 
 most every people demagogues have arisen, enticing the 
 desperate and the ignorant to renounce their allegiance 
 to tneir legitimate rulers, when they have assiduously en- 
 deavoured to administer justice with impartiality and to 
 fulfil every duty of their station with unimpeachable fidel- 
 ity. In no few cases htive the pretended advocates of the 
 people's rights, after gaining a few advantages and securing 
 some small favours to the degraded and debased multitude, 
 been exalted to office, and forgotten the hand by which 
 they rose. How frequently have men of sterling talents 
 been appointed to the command of armies, and turned their 
 swords against the liberty of their own country. But Wash- 
 ington seemed exempt from human imperfections, and the 
 most distinguished patriotick hero of this or any age. The 
 page of ancient history is continually blackened with the 
 perfidiousness of rulers and the corrupting influence of pow- 
 er so that the heart of man, constitutionally attached to 
 liberty, seemed indisposed to trust in the care of another 
 so invaluable a possession. Yet in America's unprotect- 
 ed infancy, with no friendly alliance to sustain, no invin- 
 cible phalanx to lead, our Washington stepped forth and 
 served his country eight years, without any compensation, 
 but the satisfaction of procuring our liberty and inde- 
 pendence. It is truly gratifying that we can hail some 
 congenial spirits, and call over their names with admira* 
 tion and gladness. The Bruce of Bannockburn,^ the Tell 
 of the Swiss mountains and the Vasa of Delcarlia, associ- 
 ated with Washington, shall live in everlasting remem- 
 brance and constitute the rallying word of each injured 
 and oppressed people. WKen our revolution began, 
 mankind generally appeared contented with their 
 slavery and their cnains, unconcerned for the fate of their 
 children, and inattentive to their owij. Almost every 
 
10 
 
 effort for freedom was palsied, and the dead silence of 
 despotism pervaded the earth. The ancient republicks 
 had fallen, the ashes of Greece and Rome were scatter- 
 ed by the winds and liberty seemed to have forsaken all 
 her beloved retreats. It is true, that "on the islands of 
 the Adriatic, the mountains of Biscay, and the rocks of 
 Uri, the spirit of liberty had indeed successfully sought a 
 refuge ^ but driven at last from all that could delight her 
 pn earth, she had already flapped her wings on the gla- 
 ciers of Switzerland, and was taking her flight towards 
 heaven : the American people rose — they burst their 
 fetters- — they hurled them at their oppressors — they 
 shouted they were free. The sound broke across the 
 Atlantick — it shook the fog — wrapt Island of Britain, and 
 re-echoed along the Alps. The ascending spirit heard 
 it, she recognized in it the voice of her elect, and hold- 
 ing her course westward, she rejoicing saw her incense 
 rise from a thousand altars. Her presence assured our 
 triumph." Interwoven with the tenderest remembranc- 
 es is the love of our native land, and Avhen its rulers 
 render it happy and enlightened, our heart's blood shall 
 be freely poured out in its defence. There is an inde- 
 scribable spell v/hich attaches us to the home of our fath- 
 ers, unobliterated by time or distance. While this 
 omor patrioi warms our bosoms with enthusiastick love 
 of freedom, no invading foe can set foot on our sacred soil, 
 or seize our brethren on the realm of waters. Our coun- 
 try will become the asylum of the oppressed and the home 
 of the free from all nations under heaven, and our name 
 be heard in distant climes with emotions of joy. 
 
 Let us now consider our present condition, and compare 
 it with what it would have been had we continued colon- 
 ies of the British empire. 
 
 We are the only republick on the face of the earth — 
 the only free and independent land on which the sun 
 shines, Switzerland has fallen before the Gallic thunder 
 storm and the tornado that roared through her mountains 
 and tempested her lakes, has left her in the dreariness 
 and solitude of night Poland has sunk beneath the sa- 
 
11 
 
 bre of the unsparing Muscovite ; and her ruined towns, 
 and her partitioned provinces, are no longer delineated on 
 
 ! the map of Republicks ; for Kosciusko has fallen, and 
 Suvvarrow has triumphed. Genoa, Venice and Holland, 
 are crushed m the dust, their greatness departed and 
 their republican inflexibility almost forgotten. Indeed, 
 every portion of the globe, with the exception of these 
 American States, exhibits the desolating march of tyran- 
 ny and despotism. Where Demosthenes thundered his 
 invectives against an invading Philip, and roused his 
 countrymen to repel the encroachments of the aspiring 
 Macedonian, the slave of a slave exercises his capricious 
 rule, and scourges the people with an iron rod of oppres- 
 sion. Where Cicero charmed a listening Senate, detect- 
 
 fCd the conspiracy of Cataline, and obtained the title of 
 Father of his Country, the poor degraded inhabitants 
 look with astonishment at the massy towers and temples, 
 
 •and suppose them reared by beings of a different race. 
 Should we look through each empire on the face of the 
 globe and carefully investigate the rights of man, we 
 
 . should find him groaning in servitude and chains, and anx- 
 iously striving for liberty. Behold the poor Russian, 
 sold with the earth he cultivates, and transported from 
 
 . province to province at the Avill of his unfeeling master. 
 See the husband and wife, the parent and child separat- 
 ed when the military call is made, and on the least inti- 
 mation of opposition, sent into the Siberian desert, the 
 
 .inhospitable and arctic region of frost. Observe the holy 
 alliance against the liberty of the press extending its 
 execrable influence from the Baltic to the Pyrenees, and 
 leaguing together the oppressors and desolators of Eu- 
 
 , rope. And what v/ould have been our situation had we 
 remained a part of the British Kingdom ? To answer this 
 
 . question, we w^ill take a short view of the present state 
 of Ireland. Denied the enjoyment of civil emoluments, 
 unless at the price of their faith ; sentenced to perpetu- 
 al bondage and ignorance, and then punished with merci- 
 less severity for the perpetration of crimes which grew 
 
 -out of the condition to which they are subjected, they are 
 
12 
 
 a demoralized, an enslaved, a ruined people. It may ber 
 silent in that devoted countrj, but it will be the silence 
 ordeath,orthat deceptive calm Avhich precedes the earth- 
 quake ^d the volcanic storm. From this representation 
 ^ve may learn the degree ofliberty we should have pos- 
 sessed, had not our fathers forced our enslavers to retire 
 at the point of the sword and the bayonet. We never 
 should have had peace, until every tree of our forests 
 had become a gibbet, and every spot of earth a Tyburn. 
 Would our condition have been better than that of Eng- 
 land? See her starving peasantry rising in countless thou- 
 sands, demanding redress, but receiving death. See her 
 best sons expiring on the scaffold for a heroick vindica- 
 tion of their rights. See her fettered press teeming with 
 fulsome panegyrick of kingly usurpation and lauding to 
 the stars the butchers of the human race. See her pre- 
 tended representatives yielding up rights to procure 
 places and pensions. From the nature of her hereditary 
 government, see her ideot king succeeded by a voluptuary 
 and a debauchee. The English need not complain of Sax- 
 on or Norman servitude, Avhen th^ir present state is so 
 desperate, so wretched. But that we may form a cor- 
 rect estimate of our happiness, shall we look at France, 
 and examine the prospect exhibited there ! From the wild- 
 est storm of revolution in which the blood was scarce- 
 ly dry on the sabre, before the tocsin sounded again for 
 massacre, she has sunk into the calm of tyranny, into the 
 starless mid-night of despotism. Although her Bastile is 
 demolished and her guillotine is unemployed, yet are her 
 liberties destroyed and her rights trampled in the dust.— 
 And from the desolating reign of Clovis, who drank from 
 the skulls of his slaughtered enemies, to the present hour, 
 she has been an agitated, a tumultuous nation. Indeed in 
 what portion of the globe shall we find more rational ei> 
 joyment thanm these American States; the favoured 
 i^^Qofthe brave, the virtuous and the free ? What clime 
 f^ i ! ^"^^ ^" harmonious agreement of liberty and 
 law ? And where does' such peace between rulers and 
 subjects exist ? Wc have se^n our patriotic leaders, with- 
 
13 
 
 out claiming the regal purple or assuming the laurelled 
 diadem, at the end of eight years' service, in which they 
 had hazarded their lives and their fortunes, melting into 
 tears at the idea of separation and mingling with their 
 countrymen to enjoy the happiness their toils had pur- 
 chased. We have seen a constitution formed and carried 
 into effect by Washington and the disciples of his school, 
 and the most unexampled prosperity has marked its oper- 
 ation. Agriculture has flourished, commerce been patron- 
 ized, arts and manufactures encouraged, science fostered 
 and general improvement zealously promoted. We be- 
 hold the cultivator of the soil, the merchant,the mechanic, 
 the philosopher and the statesman blending in equal so- 
 ciety, mutually receiving and impartmg knowledge and 
 binding the community in the strongest bonds of union. — 
 We see each little cottage, as it sends up its blue smoke 
 into the clear sky, the abode of smiling peace, plenty and 
 contentment. But not only on the land are such scenes 
 of felicity. Our sails whiten every gea and carry our pro- 
 ductions to every accessible degree of latitude. And for 
 our satisfaction \m us remember, we have had the secona 
 war of the revolution, and incontestably shown that . we 
 are not degenerate children of illustrious ancestors. Our 
 forests have descended to the deep, and on the rolling 
 ocean thundered our liberty and independence. We 
 have wrested the trident from the regent of waters and 
 rescued our brethren from slavery and banishment. On 
 the land our brave troops displayed the invincibility of 
 freemen, and taught their invaders that they were not 
 hirelings and homeless outcasts. But lest our freedom 
 should become anarchy or despotism, we will consider 
 the means of its preservation and transmission to the latest 
 ages. No elective government can long be supported, if 
 the people are ignorant, and consequently exposed to the 
 arts and stratagems of designing demagogues. One great 
 reason of our tranquillity under the oppression of the 
 house of Hanover mij^ht be found in the unenlio:htened 
 state of the people, and mthe attendant credulity and ob- 
 s^uiousness to the mandates of power. Could science 
 
14 
 
 have diffused its cheeringlight and disseminated correct in- 
 formation ift this land, the injuries and insults of England 
 would not have been borne with passive submission, nor 
 would our fathers have spent so many years uselessly re- 
 monstrating with a government, whose ear was adamant. 
 Intelugence is the life of liberty; and without it no 
 people can long be free. But when schools are estab- 
 lished in every part of the land ; when the histories of 
 fallen republicks are laid open for inspection; when the 
 causes of their rise and prosperity are fairly developed 
 and the means of their ruin accurately portrayed, instruc- 
 tion is furnished to direct a discerning publick, and show 
 the comparative happiness of the people. Had the co- 
 lonies of *75 possessed more knowledge, our rights had 
 sooner been obtained, nor would the American soil have 
 been crimsoned with blood eight years. In consideration 
 of this momentous truth, let us endeavor to instruct the 
 youth of these states in the principles of freedom, and 
 teach them, that while their fathers' bones are bleaching 
 on a thousand hills and their graves are on the fields of 
 Saratoga and the heights of Bunker #id Guilford, they 
 are enjoying the rights their lives purchased, and that 
 they can never be preserved by ignorance. Should a 
 constitution drawn from our model be adopted in Turkey 
 or China, the condition of the people would not be bet- 
 tered. Could this produce a political renovation ? Could 
 this rekindle the fire of freedom, or cause Greece to rise 
 from the ashes of her temples and altars ? Could this 
 mantle the cheek with a glow of generous indignation or 
 brace the heart with Spartan fortitude ? " No : slavery 
 would there still hug her chains ; the Arab would still 
 watch for plunder behind the fallen towers of Palmyra ; 
 and the barbarous inhabitant of Romelia would step 
 heedlessly over the fragments of the Areopagus and the 
 prostrate columns of the Parthenon." Learning must 
 always precede liberty, to render its vindicators rational, 
 or its influence durable. When rude and untaught na- 
 tions throw off the yoke of slavery, they are in danger of 
 beconj^jng ungovernably licentious, or ot sinking into the 
 
15 
 
 dead silence of despotism. Hence the necessity of ins« 
 telligence to every people attempting to be free. 
 
 For the purpose of impressing on our minds the ii»pop* 
 tance of remembering the chivalrous deeds of Washington, 
 Greene and Wayne, and of stamping on our hearts the im- 
 perishable principles of justice, were the festivities of thig 
 day instituted, and may they be celebrated with higher 
 relish and loftier strains of eloquence to our nation's latest 
 day. May the return of this anniversary be hailed with 
 joyful acclamations of triumph and songs of patriotic glad- 
 ness. For be it remembered, the preservation of our 
 liberty depends on our unanimity and decision, on our 
 knowledge and prudence. That man can never enjoy 
 domestic felicity, who is unceasingly complaining of the 
 miseries of his home ; neither can that man be happy, 
 who is continually execrating the land of his birth and 
 loading the rulers of his nation with the most opprobrious 
 epithets. But when our government is the freest on the 
 face of the earth ; when our land is the happiest that the 
 sun visits ; when our rights are purchased with our fa- 
 thers' lives, it is the blackest ingratitude to despise such 
 great and inestimable blessings ; and when we con- 
 temn such privileges we ought to be slaves. When- 
 ever we violate the sacred obligation of defending 
 the freedom of our country, our fathers' blood cries from 
 the ground and reproaches us with treachery and coward- 
 ice. That our republic may not be added to the long 
 catalogue of ruined states, its name bandied about the earth' 
 in derision and SQorn^be united, be Americans, be men. As 
 you value your own happiness ; as you venerate the 
 memory of Washington ; as you revere the virtues, the 
 patriotism and the fearlessness of Warren, Montgomery 
 and Mercer, I entreat you to be firm, enlightened and 
 free, and you shall exhibit an appearance, the wonder and 
 the delight of the universe. Meet every invader at the 
 water's edge, and preserve this land, consecrated to free* 
 dom, from the grasp of European Vandals. Render ev- 
 ery pass ThermopylcB, every plain a Marathon and every 
 promontory an Actium in defending the rights of man and 
 
16 
 
 repelling the aggressions of lawless power. You have 
 passed through a red sea to obtain possession of this west- 
 ern Canaan ; persevere in the good way you have begun, 
 and you will continue the admiration of the world. Let 
 not some future pilgrim of liberty straying over this con- 
 tinent say, here stood the metropolis of the American re- 
 publick and these walls, crumbling into the Potomac, are 
 its only remains. Here stood their capitol, which onc« 
 resounded with the loftiest peals of eloquence and whis- 
 pered with the softest notes of enchanting oratory. — 
 What a motionless silence, what an overawing stillness 
 reigns arcfund ! Where are those multitudes which enliv- 
 ened this city and gave animation to the scene : Alas ! in 
 an evil hour the invader came ; disunited their councils ; 
 deranged their plans ; clove down their liberties ; bound 
 them in chains ana carried them into captivity. O my 
 countrymen, may this be a fancy-piece and may no after 
 day realize this lamentable catastrophe. Having in full 
 view the fate of ancient confederacies, and perceiving 
 them dissolved by the influence of foreign gold, like wax 
 before the summer sun, let us not add a new victim to 
 kingly rapacity, and quench the last lamp of liberty on 
 the globe. Remember the Amphictyonic council could 
 not ensure the sovereignty of Greece, although its delib- 
 erations were marked with prudence and its decisions 
 stamped with wisdom. No government can long remain, 
 unless the people are virtuous and enlightened. When 
 the key of knowledge is taken away and the history of 
 our emancipation obliterated, we shall become slave?, 
 abject and submissive as the Turks. Ye aged patriots, 
 v/ho fought with Washington in the bloody field; recount 
 your battles and depict the horros of the fight, that the 
 youthful bosom may catch the flame and glow with equal 
 love for freedom. 
 
 May the story of our settlement, independence and con- 
 sequent improvement be told, read and remembered 
 from one end of the continent to the other ; keep alive a 
 spirit of watchfulness and nerve each heart for the day 
 of danger. Let us frequently recur to the legacy of our 
 
17 
 
 political father, and considering his " words fitly spoken, 
 as apples of gold in pictures of silver", store them up in 
 bur memories, as the most invaluable lessons of prudence 
 'and as the dying blessing of our departed Hero. May no 
 geographical distinctions disunite the people of this land, or 
 cause enmities or heart burnings among those who are en- 
 deared by so many interesting relations. Physically 
 connected by intersecting rivers, chains of mountains and 
 iextensive bays, may we be one in spirit and constitute a 
 great and powerful nation. May the terms eastern and 
 western, northern and southern be erased from our polit- 
 ical dictionary, and that of American^ adopted in their 
 place, make each bosom throb with unutterable gratitude. 
 Let not agricultural, commercial and manufacturing inter- 
 ests become bitter rivals, when their individual advantage 
 consists in their amicable agreement and generous emula- 
 tion. Consider that trade can never flourish Without a 
 scientific cultivation of the earth, and that commerce en- 
 tourages the husbandman, by incr^sing the price of his 
 "productions and supplying him with the elegancies of life. 
 Manufactures lessen our dependence on other nations and 
 sharpen the inventive faculties of native genius. When 
 each of these great interests can move in its proper sphere 
 and receive its just proportion of encouragement from 
 government and influential individuals, a firm foundation 
 will be laid for social happiness and national prosperity. 
 Agriculture endears man to the land of his birth and ren- 
 ders him a true patriot in all his feelings. Commerce 
 enlarges the understanding, polishes the manners and 
 eradicates local prejudices. Manufactures give scope to 
 invention, facilitate the enjoyments of society and abridge 
 the labours of many an occupation. Were we ail ag- 
 riculturalists, we should soon revert to the savage state ; 
 the last ray of civilization would expire and all knowledge 
 of foreign nations would be destroyed. Were we all mer- 
 chants or manufacturers, we should have no country, 
 and the story of our revolution, if remembered at all, 
 would appear like a dream of romantic folly. Hence the 
 propriety of listening to the Founder of our state, and 
 3 
 
18 
 
 of heeding his pathetic injunctions to be united in feel- 
 ino-s, interest and wishes, that our prosperity may be com- 
 mensurate with our existence. Against our union, every 
 insidious and every open attack will be made by the pow- 
 ers of Europe and our native demagogues, that they may 
 divide the spoils and exult in our ruin. Already have 
 attempts been made to set up territorial distinctions and 
 to alienate the affections of particular districts from the 
 cause of our common country. Already have the pre- 
 dictions of Washington on this subject been lamentably 
 verified. But remember "you have, in a common cause 
 fought and triumphed together. The independence and 
 liberty you possess are the work of joint councils, and 
 joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings and successes." 
 Kecollect when your fathers were few, inexperienced in 
 the dangers of the field, menaced with destruction on ev- 
 ery side and fearful of the all-important issue, they would 
 not have gone forth to the battle and earned your inde- 
 pendence with their lives, had they known you would 
 nave despised this blood-bought inheritance and dismem- 
 bered this union of freemen. I conjure you by the tears 
 and prayers of the sainted patriots who fought and fell, 
 to preserve your union unbroken, as the palladium of 
 your political safety, the ark of your peace and happi- 
 ness. Should those canonized heroes look down from the 
 sapphire world of beatitwde, and behold their children 
 engaged in bitter contention, or murdering each other in 
 civil war, would not their bosoms heave with unutterable 
 agony and their eyes fill with tears, such as angels weep ? 
 Shall it be triumphantly said in the cabinets of Kings that 
 rcpublicks are of ephemeral duration, and that there is 
 not virtue enough in any people to preserve them from 
 the vortex of anarchy or the abyss oi despotism ? Forbid 
 it my countrymen, and frown indignantly on every attempt 
 to rend a pillar from your temple of freedom, or quench 
 the fire burning on its consecrated altar. Guard against 
 the predominating influence of topical subjects, being 
 mindful that government must be supported by mutual 
 concessipn an4 a compromise of conflicting interests.— 
 
19 
 
 That the people may readily obey the laws and honour 
 their rulers, they must be acquainted with their rights 
 and thoroughly versed in the principles of their constitu- 
 tion. Hence the necessity of promoting schools, not on- 
 ly to teach the rudiments of science, but to explain the 
 imperishable rights of man ; display the unequalled ex- 
 cellence of our institutions ; unfold the history of this 
 and all other republicks and train up the susceptible 
 mind in the love of order and good government. The 
 Grecians early taught their sons the history of their 
 country and thereby kindled an affection for their native 
 land which "grew with their growth and strengthened 
 with their strength"; and if we wish for Spartan forti- 
 tude or Macedonian invincibility, let us follow their noble 
 example, that after times may speak of the unconquera- 
 ble Americans and talk of their strong attachment to the 
 home of their fathers and their enthusiastic love of lib- 
 erty. And may a reforming spirit go forth and redeem 
 us from the disgrace of slavery. May no African be per- 
 mitted to breathe in those States, who is held in involun- 
 tary bondage. While we claim an exemption from the 
 horrors of the elder continents, shall our national glory 
 be eclipsed and the purity of our fame soiled by the 
 black stigma of the south and the west ? <Shall domestic 
 slavery be encouraged, extended and perpetuated, while 
 national vassalage is deprecated ? No, my countrymen ; 
 rise in the majesty of justice and forbid it. Cause that 
 every virtuous and brave man who comes to us over the 
 flood may inhale the air of freedom and enjoy all the 
 rights and immunities which the God of nature bestows 
 without fear and without danger. The eyes of all na- 
 tions are upon you, and the oppressed and the injured of 
 all climes are looking to the new continent for a home, 
 Condlict with wisdom and prudence, and in such a firm 
 and energetic manner, that all but the good may fear to 
 emigrate to this land of equity and justice. Our politi- 
 cal hemisphere is blackened with no rising tempest, for 
 heaven-descended peace has planted her olive on every 
 mountain and inevery vale, and hushed the clangour of bat- 
 
20 
 
 tie in the music of national happiness and domestick felicity. 
 Ample opportunity is now furnished for examining our 
 internal resources, improving the state of society and 
 binding our confederation together in the strongest liga* 
 ments of brotherhood. All the knowledge and experi- 
 ence of ancient legislators and statesmen with all the ad- 
 ditions of modern times enlighten our path and point out 
 the dangers and hopes of a free people. Possessing a 
 portion of the globe peculiarly favourable for the experi- 
 ment, may this last republick exhibit more indissoluble 
 union, more regard for principle and greater advances in 
 knowledge and virtv£ than any elder state, whose monu- 
 ments have crumbled in the dust and whose name lives 
 only in remembrance. May we hallow every battle- 
 field, as the altar of liberty, on which were immolated 
 the invincible defenders of justice, and while pondering 
 on the inflexible firmness of their souls, resolve rather 
 to sleep with them in the dust, than to prove treacherous 
 to their memories, by tarnishing their fame or surren- 
 dering one advantage their valour has purchased. May 
 we frequently revisit the monuments of our victories, and 
 kindle mto animation or sadden into tears at each auspic- 
 ious or disastrous event that the surrounding objects call 
 to recollection. 
 
 But amid the festivities of this day, let us not forget 
 the American Fairy whose tender bosoms beatwith 
 irrepressible solicitude for the issue of the revolution, 
 in which were engaged fathers and husbands, brothers and 
 sons. Their patriotic exhortations to an intrepid resists 
 ance at Lexington and Charleston shall warm the breasts 
 of their daughters with similar sentiments, and excite 
 them to emulate their virtues and rival their graces. — 
 May it be remembered they have raised the only tri- 
 umphant arch for Washington, and sung the heartiest 
 carmen triumphale for his deliverance from battle and 
 danger. May the lovelines of the female form be only 
 excelled by the purity and sweetness of the soul, and 
 American liberty shall be lasting as the days of the sun. 
 And may we not from year to year meet only to cda> 
 
21 
 
 memorate the day that gave us equal privileges, but mat 
 the empire of justice extend, and this celebration com- 
 prehend many nations. May the spark already kindling 
 in Spain renovate Europe and Asia, and cause them to 
 keep a joyous jubilett to liberty from Cape Fmisterre to 
 the extreme borders of Kamschatka. May the genius bf 
 freedom unfurl her standard on the Andes and unite every 
 South-American in her holy cause. Shades of Monte- 
 zuma, Guatimozin and Roll a, rise from your gory beds 
 and fire the degraded and enslaved inhabitants with man- 
 ly indignation against the savage ferocity and unsparing 
 cruelty of Spanish friendship. Animate the rising spirit ; 
 league with the asserters of justice, fight in their ranks 
 and lead their van. May the Cordilleras sink to the lev- 
 el of the plain, or the Amazon cease to flow into the 
 .ocean, ere this struggle shall eventuate disastrously for 
 man, or rivet another bolt in the chain of tyranny. Hav- 
 ing passed all the perils of revolution and knowing the 
 temple of your liberty is cemented with the richest blood 
 that ever flowed ; enjoying a government where justice 
 and law are equiponderant, and having in lively recollec- 
 tion the stratagems and snares, the perfidy and disunion 
 by which other free states have fallen, you have every 
 inducement to be unanimous, you have every motive to be 
 one people. Met in the house dedicated to God, may 
 you lay aside every prejudice against your southern and 
 western brethren, and then invoke a blessing on your- 
 selves and your children. That the festivities of this 
 day may produce one common feeling, a love for our 
 country and a determination to defend it, keep them with 
 rational conviviality and unrestrained interchange of soul. 
 You are not so darkly barbarous and uninformed that it 
 is necessary to cheat you into happiness. You are enlighlr. 
 ened, and the path of your duty is before you ; and lest 
 you should deviate from the right way of prudence, the 
 ruins of fallen states rise on every steep, and like beacon- 
 lights warn you of the rocks on which they have ship- 
 wrecked. Your fathers, though dead, yet speak in lan- 
 guage impressive and powerful, and from every tomb 
 
22 
 
 hold forth a lamp to wisdom. If there is any portion of 
 earth endeared by ten thousand tender recollections, if 
 there is any place that emphatically claims regard, 
 
 « O, thou (halt find, howe'er thy foofteps roam, 
 That land thy country and that fpot tby borne." 
 
 Encircled with all the comforts and enjoyments, which 
 the bounteous God of nature has bestowed on the most 
 highly favoured portion of the globe ; possessing a gov- 
 ernment of our choice, under the control and direction 
 of the wisest of constitutions, let us unitedly participate 
 and unitedly defend these invaluable privileges, and trans- 
 mit them unimpaired to the latest times. Guarding 
 against the extremes of profusion and parsimony in our 
 publick expenditures, yet patronizing each beneficial im- 
 provement and invention, and cherishing the spirit of har- 
 mony and mutual concession, we shall become a great and 
 powerful people against whom the civiHzed world may 
 unsuccessfully combine. Uninfluenced by the frowns or 
 smiles of foreign nations, let us keep the onward path of 
 right, and prove ourselves to be Ji'ee and independent 
 Americans. May each returning anniversary testify the 
 existence of these feelings, and evince to the transatlantic 
 nations, that as we are separated from them by a vast 
 extent of ocean, so we are unengaged in thoir wars, their 
 policies, or their leagues. The declaration of our free- 
 dom caused the thrones of monarchs to tremble and 
 turned kings pale with dismay. That the influence of our 
 revolution may induce all nations to demand their rights 
 with decision and firmness and to pursue them with zeal and 
 unabating stedfastness, let us not descend from the lofty sta- 
 tion we hold, but act a rational and consistent part, and lib- 
 erty will triumph. May we have the delightful satis- 
 faction of seeing each revolving year adding other nations 
 to the catalogue of republics, and increasing the empire 
 of reason and justice, and may the period be near, when a 
 day of general jubilee shall be celebrated throughout the 
 earth, when all people shall sit down at the festive board, 
 and looking back on the dark ages of guilt and blood, lift 
 up their hearts with ineffable thankfulness to God for the 
 blessings of peace, liberty and happiness.