E 458 .1 .C23 — Copy 2 1^ ■^ t THE ^ INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN UNION CONSIDERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ASSUMED RIGHT OF SECESSION. A LETTER TO HON. PETEIl COOPER, NEW YORK. BY NAIIUM CAPEN. BOSTON: A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: ROSS AND TOUSEY. 1862. E 458 .1 .C23 Copy 2 E 458 .1 .C23 miizzzni^imiz: Copy 2 THE INDISSOLU BLE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN UNION, CONSIDERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ASSUMED RIGHT OF SECESSION. A LETTER TO HON. PETER COOPER, NEW YORK. BY NAHUM CAPEN. BOSTON: A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: ROSS AND TOUSEY. 18G2. THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN UNION, CONSIDERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ASSUMED RIGHT OF SECESSION. . A LETTER TO HON. PETER COOPER, NEW YORK. BY NAHUM CAPEN. BOSTON: A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: ROSS AND TOUSEY. 1862. •^ ^>v^ / ^^^hup^ ComeU Umv. 8 F»b 06 New Yokk, May 18, 1861. Dear Sir : I received your esteemed favor, and unite with you in heartfelt sorrow to find our country involved in an unnatural and dis- graceful conflict — a conflict between brethren bound together as we are by every consideration of interest and duty to preserve the integrity of a Union intended never to be broken. This Union has given us peace and prosperity at home, with honor and respect throughout the world. This Union is • worth preserving at any and every cost of life and treasure, not only for the benefits it is calculated to bring to the people of the North, but also for the greater benefits it has secured, and will continue to secure, to our brethren of the South. It is a most lamentable sight to see such a treasure — such a pearl of great price — cast on the uncertain chances of a demoralizing and deso- lating war ; a war that has grown entirely out of false notions of interest, and the long-continued misrepresentations by which our Southern neigh- bors have been persuaded to believe that we of the North were determined to make war upon' an institution, that, in their opinion, we did not under- stand, and could not appreciate, A more fatal error never cohtroUed a gi-eat community. So far from any considerable number of,.the people of the North desiring to interfere with the institutions of the South, they are, as a body, now, and ever have been, determined to secure to them every right which they can claim either legally or equitably under the Constitution of the United States. When tWs fact shall come to be brouglit home to their understandings, they will see at once that there is no cause for quarrel between us. As a nation our interests are mutual. One member cannot suffer with- out an injury to the whole body to which it belongs. With our nation united, we shall remain strong and respected ; with it torn and dissevered, we make a necessity for standing armies, which will eat out our strength, and tempt the world to take advantage of our weak- ness and folly as a nation. I sincerely hope that you will give to our distracted country the benefit of your long and arduous study in the science and philosophy of our government. It is the only government calculated to secure the reward of labor to the hand that earns it. Your compliance with this request will, I trust, diffuse correct knowl- edge, and promote the cause of peace, and will much oblige Your friend, / PETER COOPER. Nahum Capen, Esq. THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN UNION. Mount Ida, Dorchester, Nov. 1, 1861. My dear Sir : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your patriotic letter ; and, if my response has been delayed beyond the ordinary limits of a prompt correspondent, I beg that you will impute the delay rather to my serious hesitation in complying with a request so fraught with considerations of grave difficulty, than to any indifterence to the momentous issues which now agitate, and threaten the very existence of, that beloved Union, which so long has been the subject of your study and deep solicitude. It was my first and natural impulse to refer you to the teach- ings of men distinguished for their talents and learning in public affairs, and who were favorably known to the people as judicious advisers ; but such a course seemed too much like an evasion of duty, to be commendable in a citizen when his country was in danger; and, whether his views were or were not deemed worthy of consideration, their promulgation, it was certain, could effect no possible harm, if it accomplished no good. I am but a stu- dent, deeply impressed with a lively consciousness of my inability to teach the full meaning of the eventful lessons which are daily permitted by an All-wise Providence; and when I communicate opinions upon subjects which involve causes constituting the great machinery of the past and future of humanity, I submit them, Deo juvante^ as simple endeavors to fathom the deep wells of truth, to be counted only as they may be regarded useful aids to re- jection. Besides, but few are ignorant of the difficulty of speak- ing profitably on great topics of general interest within the com- pass of a letter, when their proper statement and elucidation would require a volume. A cursory view, therefore, is all that can be attempted. THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF Conditions of National Growth. Intelligently to discuss the affairs or difficulties of a nation, it is indisjjensably requisite that we should first have clear and dis- tinct views of tJie cotiditions of national groicth. All nations have each their distinctive growth according to general laws, and every nation has its own circle of peculiar influences, or causes, which nuist be carefully traced to their origin and undei-stood in their diversified relations, even to warrant a reasonable hope of success in the application of remedial means for complicated or long-continued derangements. What constitutes a Nation. In speaking of a nation, it is understood that we speak of a people of a common origin, of the same language, of 'similar vieAvs, habits, and tastes, acting under an accepted government of their own. In speaking of a nation, we speak of a people inhabiting a particular territory, who, fi-om high motives of convenience or protection, interest or advancement, have agreed to act together. Such an organization of society is ultimate in its character. It proclaims its own boundaries, defines its own prerogatives, and establishes its own government. Although its origin and growth seem to be made up of accidental, unconnected, and dissimilar elements, or causes, yet a more extended inquiry will discover the beautiful truth that all nations emanate from the bosom of society according to great and unchangeable laws. As the vari- ous faculties make up tlie mind, or the man, so A'^arious men, or classes of men, make up the nation. The aggregate stands as a distinct part of creation, an element in the chemistry of civiliza- tion, and is to be counted a fiict in history, and may be regarded by itself, or viewed in the successive and varied combinations devel- o])ed by its progress. The sources of its diversity are the sources of its completeness and power; and such an organization has its distinct mission, and draws its nutriment from the events and changes of the physical and mental worlds as systematically and naturally as plants and trees draw nutrition from the earth. Nations not formed by Chance. A nation is no accident. Tlie growth of a nation does not happen by chance. Tlie character of a nation is left to no uncer- tainty. The continuance of a nation does not depend ujion liu- man wisdom. The age of a nation is not appointed by man. It is not within the jirovince of man to give existence to a nation, either by edict or by legislation, lie is only a lunnble agent in the hands of his Creator to aid in the great ])rocess of its develop- ment, lie can ncitlier make nor debtroy, and yet by his mcujjs THE AilEEICAN UNION. 7 failures are caused and successes demonstrated. Men, and asso- ciations of men, succeed only as they become discoverers of great truths, and faithfully apply them in practice. Subdivisions of Society and Self-Government. A nation is a combined system of public action, where the gen- eral good is paramount to special interests, and, like all other sys- tems, is dependent upon its own peculiar means of self-])rotection and outward advancement. As it is made up of multitudes of intelligent beings, of varying races, grades, and conditions of men, the mode of practical develojiment and cooperation often becomes complicated, and duty a difficult problem. The subdivisions of society are seen to be an obvious necessity. In no other way can human agency be made available; and hence the great variety of modifications to be found under difterent and under the same forms of government. Self-government is the highest form. "It was to obtain and preserve this inestimable blessing," as you remarked in a speech at a public meeting more than twenty years ago, "that the good and great have struggled with every form of opposition in every age of the world." Its very terms assert the highest duty and j-esponsibility. They not only imply the neces- sity of self-knowledge and a capacity of self-control, but a com- prehensive knowledge of wants and the best means of supplying them. It claims the highest condition of aggregated ability, and the sources of control in all its parts, separately and together. Every man, family, town, county, state, and section becomes a part. Every class, whether as a race or representing a particular cause, or interest, becomes a part ; and it is to the conflicts of these parts that we are to look for the developments of princi])le and for the means of adjusting differences. It is the legitimate function of each part first to assert itself, itself only, and then to pass to the next and higher jirocess of action and duty — that of combination, or union of parts. Upon this princijile the republic is based; and, as its great power and strength come from its subdivisions of ter- ritory, population, interests, and duties, the nicest system of adjustment becomes of vital im])ortance. Neglect of any part to itself, or of any parts to one another; any permitted inequality, any injustice Avhatever, whether directly designed or indirectly permitted, would not only introduce elements of discord and cause positive deramgement, but render national unity utterly impossible. "As in organic beings," says Niebuhr, "the most perfect life is that which animates the greatest vaiiety of members, so, among States, that is the most pei-iect in which a number of institutions, originally distinct, being organized each after its kind into centres of national life, form a comjilete whole." But, as the foundations of a rei)ublic are to be found in the immutable princijiles of jus- tice, practically secured by the subdivisions of society, so the superstructure is to be found in the THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF Great Principle of Union. Union represents a great principle, inasmuch as it is a creative necessity. It results fi-ora the nature of things.; It is the phys- iology of active and combined existence. Parts have a separate growth, a separate function, that they may be preserved in their integrity, as it is by the perfection of the parts that the perfect whole is accomplished. The human body, in its highest perfection and beauty, depends upon the completeness of its parts. The same is true of all animals, and of all organized matter. Without union, production and progress would be impossible in every de- partment of nature. Without union completed by the perfection of parts, the ])henomena of nature would cease, and cause and effect would be disjoined, — indeed, in time the world would be- come a blank. The farmer avouM be lost for the want of a soil and a seed time ; the botanist and florist could have no standard of classification, nor vocabulary of beauty ; the inventor would be stopped in his discoveries, and the mechanic in his labors ; the mariner would lose his chart and look upon a pointless compass ; the surgeon would have no occasion for anatomical subjects, and the physician no health or unity of function to preserve ; the attorney would be ])aralyzed by the isolations of his brief; and when nothing remained to be taught concerning the harmonious union and action of the immortal soul, the vocation of the clergy would cease to be found in the list of human wants. The " eftu- sive source of evidence and truth " would be closed to the phi- losopher, and the sphere of beauty and sublimity to the poet ; the painter would become blind to all combinations of colors, and the musician deaf to all harmonies. Indeed, when we contem- plate the wide world, and the immeasurable world of worlds, in its vast and comprehensive unity, we cannot but exclaim, in the language of the jjoet, — " I cannot g-o WliPre universal Love not smiles around, SuRtaining- all yon orbs, and all their suns ; From seeming Evil still edneinfj Good, And better thence again, and better still, In infinite progression." But this j)rinciple of union so universally marked in the vast scale of creation is to be found in its greatest magnitude in the growth of nations. What is true of the whole creation must be true of nations, which make only a part. Nationality com- prehends the conditions and relations of human activity; and without union, subordinated to sovereignty, national strength and grandeur would be impossible. To illuslnile this it would be easy to cite numerous Examples from IIistouy. But the nnnow limits of a letter necessiirily ]irocludc more than n general allusion to them. Of the anci«>nt Republics of Greece THE AMERICAN UNIOK. 9 and Rome too little is known to enable the student to trace, in profitable detail, the sources of their varying strength or weak- ness, their tendencies to union or to dissolution. Their want, however, of a common standard of principle, of systematic subordination of parts, of practicable A'iews of sovereignty, of suf- ficient diversity for completeness of harmony, and of broad and comprehensive views of individual character and of public duty, will show conclusively, in a general way, the elements of their unions and the causes of their changes and dissolutions. The same unvarying processes are continued duiing all time, but with new progressive elements of power. Respecting the state of Europe for a long period after the fall of the Roman Empire his- tory ofiers but little instruction. " In Italy, more than elsewhere," writes Sismondi, "the principle of life remained in the fragments of the broken colossus : the Italians succumbed as a nation, but the component parts of their grand social union, their cities and towns, the first elements, in some sort, of what forms a nation, arose and defended themselves on their own account; every smaller association of men, which had survived the great one, had the courage to exist for itself, to feel that it had interests to pro- tect, sentiments above fear, and virtues that deserved success." If the Italian Republics were destined only to a temporary growth, it must be remembered that they served as schools of in- struction first within their own limits, until they Avere prepared in various ways to spread civilization over the rest of Europe. In the growth and revolutions of France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, indeed, of all nations that have existed and have been made known by history, we find the same great laws of association leading to strength and grandeur, and of their abrogation when the mission of nationality has ceased, or is in the process of change from a lower to a higher standard. If we turn to the primitive periods of England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, we shall find all the requisite subdivisions of society so important for separate action and training for ultimate and eflicient union. We shall find instructive illustrations showing how strength depends upon diversity, and how various and well timed are tlie sources of na- tional completeness. We shall find the principles which control the great process of colonization, and which give birth and ex- istence to new germs of nationality in distant circles of political organization. We shall be led to consider, in connection, England and America. Although every nation contributes more or less to the means of growth of every other nation, yet, in tracing the origin of the institutions of America, we look more to England than to all other countries. There, nearly a thousand years ago, in the time of Al- fred, in principle, were laid the foundations of the new republic on the American continent. The scale of progress, it must be 10 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF remembered, is infinite ; and when we humbly endeavor to seek out the indistinct sources which give origin to a nation, we find them scattered through long tracts of time, though im])erfectly marked by the pen of history, A comprehensive survey of the past, so far as it is possible by the aids of history, will enable us in some degree to understand the progressive tides of principle which pre- pared and established the A'merican Union, not according to any plan of man, but as ordered by Infinite Wisdom. Even before the period of the Norman conqueror, we shall find it profitable to study the Anglo-Saxon character and institutions, that we may discover the elements of the great principles which were to be moi'e fully developed by the American nation. "In the political system of the Saxon, royal or republican," says a distinguished writer,* "the danger has ever been in excess of either the cen- tripetal force on the one hand, or the centiifugal on the other, "Whatever variations there may have been from time to time, this may, I believe, safely be pronounced the great Saxon character- istic — a habit of local government exercised in a certain subor- dination, 01' rather relation, to a central government. And further, It would not be difficult to discover in such distribution of power in local institutions much of the discipline, the training for more expanded opportunities of government, which has helped onward what appears to be the destiny of the race. Observe how, after the Saxon occupation of Britain, the conquered territory, small comparatively in extent, was divided into several jietty kingdoms, those loosely-compacted kingly commonwealths Avhich were to form the heptarchy ; and again, how each of these Avas parcelled out into those various divisions — the counties, shires, hundreds, tithings, and other ))artitions, the origin of which perplexes the an- tiquarian. The old Saxon sjtirit of local independence and authority animated the local institutions, assemblies, tribunals of various kinds, with an energy that never could have been developed un- der a strongly controlling central power. When the Norman conqueror sought to complete the subjugation of England, by introducing the laws and institutions of his own country, and a rigorous establishment of the feudal system, all this Saxon variety of law, of usage, of manners, and of men, was a perpetual hinder- ance, which it was a part of the Conquest to do away with." "It is curious to observe," says Lord Campbell,t "that notwith- standing the sweeping changes of laws and institutions introduced at the Conquest, the characteristic difference between the French- men and Englishmen, in the management of local afiairs, still ex- ists after the lapse of so many centuries ; and that while with us parish vestries, town councils, and county sessions are the organs of the petty confederated republics into which England is ])arcel!ed out, — in France, whether the form of government be nominally monarchical or rej)ublican, no one can alter the direction of a ♦ ProTcBSOr llonry Kccd, of Pcniisylviinln. See Xiuth Ifeport of the Smithsuniau In- ttitutioD. t Ah quotcj by ProfeBBor Rrcd. THE AMERICAN UNION. 11 road, build a bridge, or open a mine, without the authority of the 'Ministre des Fonts et Chaussees.' In Ireland, there being much more Celtic than Anglo-Saxon blood, no self-reliance is felt, and a disposition prevails to tin-ovv every thing upon the government." "Even with regard to metropolitan influences," says Professor Reed, " how obvious is it that London has never been to England what Paris has been and is to France, whether royal, imjjerial, or republican France." It has been said by Dr. Arnold, that " cen- tralization and active life pervading the whole body are hard to reconcile; he who should do this perfectly would have established a perfect government. * * * It seems to be a law that life cannot long go on in a multitude of minute parts without union, nay, even without something of that very centi'alization which yet, if not well Avatched, is so apt to destroy the parts by absorbing their life into its own ; there must be a heart in the political as in the natu- ral body to supply the extremities continually with fresh blood." This Saxon characteristic of local institutions, taken in connec- tion with their diversities of character and traditional influences, which tlie assimilating processes of many centuries "have only smoothed down, but not altered," affords an instructive view of the elemental foundations of the American Union. These elements were to be prepared and advanced by causes whose processive cycle covered more than a millennial period be- fore they were matured for transmission and development to a newly-discovered continent, whose distant locality, and whose lines of mountains and rivers, were marked out for one people. It was not to be the mission of the Scandinavian navigators, whose early motives were limited to the mere spirit of discovery ; nor of Spain, or of Portugal, whose adventurers sought only to ad- vance Catholicism, or to enlarge and enrich material possessions; nor of France, whose partial and temporary footholds upon the continent sought only extended empire and control. Whatever element was fitted to make a part of the new empire, whenever and wherever generated, was saved, com'bined, advanced, and in- corporated Avith the great encircling process transferred to the western hemisphere. Whatever was discordant or adverse to the germ of republican nationality was rejected and excluded. The period of colonization had not been reached when Columbus lived, but was placed in the seventeenth century — an age charac- terized by high motives of individual thought, vigor, and resjion- sibility, and by conventional developments of princi]>le. The repellent process of diversity was commenced and continued un- der the varied forms of royal, proprietary, and chartered govern- ments, and at the same time constantly guarded by a centralizing spirit, which rather saw means of defence in proscription and ex- clusion, than safety in any consolidated system of control. The 12 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF Protestant element in its diversity severed the church from the trammels of state, and. freedom was given to religion. The an- tipathies between England and France were ever present to exclude all disturbing elements which threatened the peace and. unity of the people, while it was the result of the English revolution of 1688 to harmonize the Dutch colonists with the subjects of the crown, when Holland gave a sovereign to Great Britain.* The plans of Cromwell to connect New England with Jamaica, and of Franklin to link the destiny of Ireland, and of the provinces, and West India Islands with that of America, were rejected by an instinctive wisdom, too far-sighted to be less than providential. Royalty and democracy were poised upon an even balance, and watched with a sleepless vigilance. The elements of diversity and uniformity were guarded in separate divisions, pre]>aratory to ultimate combinations, and from motives of political and religious duty ; and thus, in due time, the colonists were scattered to sub- due and control their new and extended territory. A combination of people, representing different nations, was commenced ; each characterized by peculiar elements, and all uniting the indispensa- ble requisites for a newer and higher political organization, only to be found practicable on a republican basis. The humble though intelligent people, invested with no power above their confidence in God and love of freedom, were prepared to banish themselves from their native liomes, where progress had become impossible by accumulations of conservative opinion, to a vast and distant land, — fresh from the hands of the Deity, — where only barbarism reigned in solitary ferocity and unproductiveness, that civilization might follow in greater glory. They came to America represen- tative men, necessary to the beginning of a great nation. They selected for themselves each a circle and a locality, which apparently at first only satisfied individual preference or opinion, but which in the end will lead to ])liysical unity embracing the whole continent. " The continent," said New Jersey to the Continental Congress, in 1776, "should defend the contnient." At early periods distinct colonies had marked their boundaries and established their gov- ernments. Each colony with an equal independence guarded its own rights, and claimed a separate control of its own aiiairs. For a period of a century and a half they multiplied in the midst of struggles and hardships, and were joined by sympathizing compan- ions from all climes. They were nursed and reared by " a wise and salutary neglect" of the mother country, until the genninal period was passed, to be succeeded by the birth of a new rei)ublic, — The Republic of the Unitku States. The centralization of jiolitical jjower was looked upon by all alike with fearful apprehension. The principle of distinctive local gov- • ProfesBor Ueed. THE AMERICAN UNION. 13 eminent, so early favored by the Saxons, was at work within the narrow channels of these kindred Puritan colonies, and no adequate motive for an independent union had yet been presented. That there was an impatient jealousy of the centralizing authority of Massachusetts may be seen in the keen remark of the Plymouth agent in London to the Governor of Plymouth, in 1691, who thus expressed himself with evident temper : " All the frame of heaven moves upon one axis, and the whole of New England in- terest seems designed to be loaden on one bottom, and "her par- ticular motion to be concentric to the Massachusetts tropic. You know who are wont to trot after the bay horse." What required centuries to begin took generations to mature. During the long period of preparation and discipline, when the varied elements of nationality, of the past and present, were in process of combination, the great principle of union was gradu- ally developed. The people stood fortli in their native dignity, and began to study the laws and conditions of the society in which God had placed them. Separately and alike each colony saw its dependence upon the crown, and together the rightful necessity of union, which was the last step preceding nationality. " Nothing will save us," said Gadsden of South Carolina, " but act- ing together; the province that endeavors to act, separately must fall with the rest, and be branded, besides, with everlasting in- famy." It is a beautiful truth, that no new assumption of power is permitted by Providence without a season of practical tiial. Such a test has the double purpose of proving and adding to the largeness of capacity. The child was required by its mother prac- tically to prove its majority, and the ])roof became the source of pride both to the parent and the offspring, gave new hopes to hu- manity, and commanded the scrutiny of an admiring world. Here arose a union of sovereignties, each more complete in itself^ as a part of a great whole, than had ever existed ; each forging a link within a link, and all making a chain which generations and centuries may test and strain, but cannot break. The gradual formation and growth of such a union, deriving its strength and power from such a diversity of inexhaustible sources, becomes at once the subject of the deepest interest and highest importance. Having occasion, fourteen years ago, to speak of it, I ventured to use the following language : " Every true fi-iend of liberty finds a subject of congratulation in The Indissoluble Nature of the Union. This indissoluble combination of sovereignties of a gradual and similar formation is one of those extraordinary events of time, in which all may recognize the ruling hand of Provi- dence. Such a union is one of inconceivable strength and perma- nency. We can see the elements of its growth, but we cannot even predict the beginning of the causes of its decay. It is enveloped in almost numberless circles of sovereignty. Its heart cannot be reached by danger. Towns, counties, states, and their uonum- 14 THE IN-DISSOLFBLE NATURE OF bered institutions, have each their own independent sphere of action, and their growing and diversified strength is a perpetual source of power to the Union. They are limbs of the great body- politic. Their various modes of action, and the manifestation of their different views, sentiments, interests, and prejudices, are but the exercise necessary to their own growth, and to the healthy condition of that great body of which they are membei's. Its duration cannot be measured by man. The combined action of enemies without, and the assaults of party spirit Avithin, can have no tendency but to develop new energies and to add new strength. It may rise in its grandeur and might for centuries to corjie ; have its periods of growth and decay, its blessings and its troubles ; but its changes can only be those of progress. Disso- lution may be discussed, threatened, and, possibly, even attempted ;' but every discussion will increase the knowledge of the indis- pensable necessity of union, every threat will add to the zeal of its friends, and every attempt to subvert it will create new safe- guards for its protection and perpetuity. The physical world in its variety, and the mental world in its unity, encircle its bounda- ries and centralize its interests. The dissolutiox of such a UXIOX IS A MORAL IMPOSSIBILITY."* Subsequent studies have only strengthened and confirmed the opinions which were then formed, and I look upon the government of the United States of America, under the Constitution, as the STRONGEST AND MOST LIKELY TO BE PERMANENT OF ANY UPON the face OF THE EARTH. Its testing vicissitudcs open new avenues to truth, and add new means to experience. The sad and calamitous war which now threatens the ruin of the material in- terests of the people, and to embitter their future intercourse, painful and destructive as it is and must be, does not warrant desponding conclusions in the mind of the Christian patriot. When viewed with a jiatient and dispassionate judgment, and taken in connection with tlie events of the past, the wants of the future, and the renovating forces of progress, we find new and consoling evidence that our beloved country is destined to a con- tinued advancement in power and responsibility, and according to those great and eternal laws of growth wliich give sliape and vitality to all nations appointed to stand as beacons to a benighted world. It would be inconsistent with the unchangeable laws of progress, and with our accpiired knowledge 'of things, to look for special exemptions from the conditions of humanity ; or to sup- pose that our people are above the discipline so necessary to the wise use of knowledge, the control of j)assion, the rebuke of self- ishness, the avoidance of error incident to pride and apathy, to the develoi)ment of virtue and integrity, and above all, to that Christian patriotism, wlucli, though extensively professed, is la- mentably neglected, and to many even unknown. • Tho Rppuhlic of the United Statos, ic, 1818. the american union. 16 National Progress, Causes of Disunion. The progress of our country has been truly wonderful and un- exampled. The foresight and wisdom of our fathers iu the estab- lishment of a government so proper, so simple, efficient, and just ; the enterprise and industry of the people in creating for them- selves a thriving business and happy homes ; the cultivation of good will at home and abroad, and the realization of civil and religious liberty, — embracing all the privileges which tend to make existence noble, happy, and successful, — are among the countless blessings, which, like sunshine and rain, have been com- bined and dispensed so constantly and bountifully, by a God of love, to the American people, that they had almost begun impi- ously to think that Omnipotence waited upon their will alone, and had ceased to be an attribute of Jehovah ! Liberty was loved better than understood. Prosperity had blinded the people to the great sources of success, the conditions of duty ; and they had become arrogantly indifferent to the relations of dependence upon divine aid. Humility gave way to self-conceit ; and fanaticism, clothed and disguised in the habiliments of charity, sought to compete with Providence in furnishing improved means ofbuman progress. For the period of an entire generation a small por- tion of the people of New England, and of the free States, have constantly denounced the Constitution of our lathers as " a cove- nant with death and an agreement with hell," and have asked for a dissolution of the Union ; they have stigmatized their southern brethren with dishonoring epithets, and, directly or indirectly, stolen their servants ; they have encouraged nullification of laws when not in conformity to their views, and the enactment of un- constitutional laws when and where they could control ; they have instigated rebellion and armed invasion, and they have honored the head of treason with the crown of martyrdom ; they have made the churches the arena of vulgar doubt and political strife, and they Ijave encouraged their religious teachers to prostitute their calling by raising the standard of party above that of the cross ; they have resorted to fiction and misrepresentation, to inordinate zeal and mistaken philanthropy, and thus have scattered the seeds of disloy- alty, sedition, and insurrection, and although claiming for themselves the prerogatives of conscience, they have denied them to others ; they have endeavored to degrade the government by ignominious terms when faithful to the Constitution, and they have taught their children, and influenced their dependants and neighbors, to regard the observance of the Sabbath day of freedom as a sin, so long as their unconstitutional requisitions were rejected as impractica- ble ; and, instead of scrutinizing themselves and inculcating a Christian charity, they have sought to control the oi)inions and business of others with an arrogant claim to infallibility, denying to men and to States equal rights and constitutional freedom. It is well known that the class holding to these ultra views is not 16 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATUEE OF numerous, and,were it not that they have been aided and encouraged by others, of whose motives God alone can judge, would have been powerless. In giving these brief details I have endeavored faith- fully to cite from the record. It is my pui"pose, in this connection, only to enumerate the many abuses and neglects, by citizens of all classes and of all parties, of the great privileges Avhich they have so long enjoyed under the protecting power of the Union. State governments have long been guilty of ignorance and gi'oss neglect in not giving their time and attention to the importance of military organizations. The military has often been denom- inated as an obsolete institution, even barbarous and useless, un- suited to the character of the age, or to the wants of humanity. Its officers have been slighted and ridiculed as vain idlers, without high motives ; its friends have been jeered and characterized as mere lovers of parade, and its trappings condemned as unmeaning gewgaws to trick distinction and outward show. Citizens of all classes, conditions, and degrees of respectability have deemed it meritorious and fashionable to decline office, to evade a citizen's responsibility, to depreciate officials, to sneer at government and political parties, to decline discussion of subjects concerning the public good, and to neglect the ballot box ; to regard their own business as parajnount to that of the nation, and to disparage the rejoicings and festivities designed to mark and celebrate great events as incentives to principle and patriotism. Some, who have been overtaken by the calamitous results of their own selfishness and apathy, have impatiently wished to see a chief magistrate appointed for life, or during good behavior; while others, forgetting their fathers, and urged by ungrateful impulses, and blinded by a heartless pride, have even invoked the presence of deposed royalty ! The number of such men is small ; but the fact that there are any such has an instructive significance in a general survey of causes which tend to anarchy and disunion. It is, indeed, humiliating to be obliged to confess the prevalence of a grumbling and ungrateful spirit, the national sins of ignorance and indifference, and an obvious disposition on the part of many to claim all and control all with too little regard to the rights of the people, and to the equal rights of the States. All profess to be proud of what the country has been and done ; and yet how many are ungratefully insensible to those to whose foresight, wisdom, and labors they are indebted for its achievements and prosperity. Our brethren, too, of The Southern States are called uj)oii to review their record, and to correct their errors. Placed in a different locality and climate, and burdened with an inferior race to provide for, they have succeeded admirably in systematizing an industry adapted to their capacity, and which has proved to be of the utmost importance both to the nation and THE AMERICAN" UNION. 17 to the world. The demands of barbarism became linked with the wants of civilization, and the rude sons of Africa were placed in Christian society. If the. African race is to be saved and elevated, the great fact will be demonstrated in the Southern States of America. The fathers of New England, more than a century and a half ago, dismissed the problem of their capacity for freedom when they enacted laws in Connecticut and Massachusetts that their emancipation could not be permitted without bonds of secu- rity from their masters, in the sum of fifty pounds, that they should not become the source of expense to the towns where they were held. A race wanting in capacity rises only as it is helped. To be placed in competition with a superior is its death. Feeble- minded indigent white men and women are provided for by law during life. This is deemed a Christian necessity in all civilized nations. Slavery, as such, is favored by no one, nor is it created and established by legislation. It is an inequality of condition, or evil, found by civilization, and all nations are required by the commands of' Christianity to regulate it with motives to paternal guardianship. A people capable of freedom cannot be enslaved, and an incapable people cannot be made free. Slavery was nom- inally abolished, long ago, in Mexico ; but the smallest debt legally holds the spiritless Mexican in permanent servitude. Hundreds of millions of human beings are yet to be reached by Christianity, and rescued from ignorance, heathenism, cannibalism, barbarism ; and this great duty can be accomplished only by slow degrees, and according to the measure of means of civilized nations. Servitude is a condition incident to humanity. No people have been exempted from its momentous requisitions, no age has been spared from the heavy burdens which it ever imposes upon society where it prevails. South CaroUna was the first colony to protest against it to the king, but royalty then permitted no colonial discre- tion. In August, 1 774, North Carolina passed a resolution, " That we will not import any slave or slaves, or purchase any slave or slaves imported or brought into this province by others, from any part of the world, after the first day of November next." The slavery of Africa overshadows freedom, and slavery there is a perpetual condition, Avithout the hope of improvement from internal means ; Avhile slavery in the United States (or rather a system of servitude) is, or should be, a condition of progress, a state of pupilage in the school of Christianity. The hero who is to carry the blessings of Christianity to Africa has already his pioneers in Liberia, and, when the proper time arrives, will find his capable followers in the Southern States of America. With respect to the subject of extending slavery, it is to be ob- served that the great truths of democracy are not of a territorial nature, but moral. Practical views upon this subject were ex- pressed by Jeiferson, in a letter to Lafayette, in 1820. Speaking of the Missouri Conijiromise question, he says, " It is not a moral question, but one merely of power. Its object is to raise a geo- 18 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF graphical principle for the choice of a president; and the noise will be kept up till that is efiected. All know that ]»ermitting the slaves of the South to spread into the West will not add one being to that unfortunate condition ; that it will increase the happiness of those existing, and, by spreading them over a larger surface, will dilute the evil every where, and facilitate the means of getting finally rid of it — an event more anxiously wished by those on whom it presses than by the noisy pretenders to ex- clusive humanity." The magnitude of this subject cannot be over-estimated ; and when considered in its diversified relations, it will be found to be a cause above and beyond the appointment of man entirely to control, or to adjust with misguided hopes of finality. But, while this form of servitude may be considered as fi'iendly to the African, and benevolently suited to develop his naturally lymphatic constitution, and to relieve his condition of ignorance, it must not be regarded an element of nationality. It is inciden- tal only to the great sources of national growth and completeness. Properly speaking, it is neither sectional nor national. It is a conditional attribute of humanity, necessary, it may be, to unfold and to establish, by comparison and a])preciation, tlie progressive means of freedom. The American Union can be perpetuated only on the ground of equality, and any deviation ti'om tins standard is an inevitable tendency to disunion. Entire equaUty — nominal, moral, political, and industrial equality — is an indis- pensable condition of perpetual imion. Tliis condition of equality has been too much neglected by all of the States. Although the industry of the North and South is largely and reciprocally ad- vantageous, yet the South has employed too much the o))era- tives of the North to be true to itself It has relied too much upon the shops and the mills, upon the schools and institutions of New England. These, in a greater degree, the Southern States want in- their own midst, — so that all the elements of character may be found where their influence is most needed. Means of progress cannot be borrowed by the people of a commonwealth ; they cannot be purchased, — they must make a part of it. Each State has its own heart, and it must grow its own blood, and have its own veins and arteries. South Carolina can best take care of herself when her sister States are true to tiiemselves. What is true of one is true of all. State sovereignty conqnvhends all du- ties to the Union, and all duties to itself as a distim-t ])art of tlie Union. Without State sovereignty )>ennanent union would be irnj)Ossibk', from the want of an adequate basis. Without union State rights would be imjiossible, from the want of elements of national growth and defence. I'lie Union constitutes a part of every State, and every State a part of the Union, and tlie means of ])reserving each are to be Ibund in unreserved duty to each State in accordance with reserved rights, and to the l^nion aceoid- ing to the C*)nstitution. The laws of the Southern States wdiich THE AMERICAN UNION. 19 pi'oliibit the education of the slaves, -which imprison colored sea- men visiting their ports, or "which are merely retaliatory on abolitionists, not only tend to disunion, but to weaken the means of i^rotecting the rights of the States. By such measures they have done injustice to themselves, and have added to the frenzied zeal of the abolitionist. Abolitionists have lived in all ages, and their varied missions will not be exhausted while the work of progress remains unfinished. If understood, they are not to be feared. When noticed most, they succeed best. They are jnoneers, not settlers. They take but little jiart in tlie practical business of society. Like the Daniel Boones, if reached by society to-day, they will be found to-morrow beyond its limits , still exploring the wil- derness. The presence of the African upon this continent leads to the discussion of freedom to an extent, and in a manner, that would have been impossible if he had remained with his fathers. All nations, particularly republics, require exercise, as much as men and animals, to secure the highest conditions of health and vigor; and without the presence of an inferior race, having no nation, no home, but that of barbarism, we should have no special occa- sion either to look at the necessity of servitude, or to study the conditions of freedom. This grand exercise, thus providentially imposed upon us by a God who has commanded duties to the heathen, will result in knowledge of the gTeat ])rinciples of liberty, and add strength to the American Union. Thus far it has been the mission of the abolitionist, in America, — I say it with no motive to disparagement, — to elicit discussion, and to ])revcnt the too sudden freedom of the slave. To prove this it is only necessary to look at the history of the emancipation move- ments in Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. If the abolitionist succeeds, his success will be the removal or the end of the African race. Successful emancipation is a domestic result, — and it cannot be accomplished by measures of external force. Besides, it would be, as a remedy for existing evils, in violation of the Constitution, It would divide the north, justify the south, paralyze the govern- ment, and prove destructive-to the great industrial interests of the nation. But it is not our ]iurjiose so much to speak of remedies as to discover principles. By asking too much the abolitionist has accomplished nothing according 1o his own wislies ; and for others he has instigated a practical inquiry, aided by the horrors of rev- olution, that will eml in additional strength both to the Southern States and to our gloinous Union. Not by force alone, but by se- curing that practical unity, "which results," to use the language of Guizot, "not from the id of secession was ])ro- mulgated by jtrominent men of New England, and the right to make a separate peace with Englaixl, and to establish a New Eng- land confederacy, was openly dcclan'tl nnd ildended. A few of the surviving royalists of the revolution, still clinging to theories THE AMERICAN UXIOX. 23 favorable to the return of a monarchical government, did not hesitate to encourage secession as a disorganizing process neces- sary to the realization of their wishes. Flags of five strijies were displayed as representing what was derisively called the "King- dom of New England." States were influenced by executive authority to oppose the measures of the Federal government, and conventions were called to meet in secret conclave, not to coop- erate with the President in prosecuting the war, but to denounce and oppose it with bitterness and misrepresentation. " Let no considerations whatever, my brethren," said an eminent divine of Boston, " deter you at all times, and in all places, from execrating the present war. As Mr. Madison has declared wax-, let Mr. Mad- ison carry it on. The Union has been long since virtually dissolved, and it isVuU time that this part of the Disunited States should take care of itself" Other clergymen were equally violent. The con- trol of the troops was denied to the Federal authority, prisons were closed against the executive of the Union, loans were re- fused by capitalists and banks under dishonoring threats, and petty embarrassments were multiplied in every possible way to discourage and weaken the government by partisans who had not sufficient foresight to appreciate its policy, or patriotism to sub- rait to sacrifices necessary to sustain the dignity of the nation. It is an interesting truth to be noted, that while some of the most gifted sons of New England, with high and patriotic mo- tives, entertained impracticable opinions, the mass of the people were true to their country according to the measure of their in- formation. When fully informed, the people not oidy correct their own errors, but rebuke their mistaken leaders. What was then true of the North will be found true of the South. When the people of the Southern States are made fully aware of the terrible dangers of secession, they will act as one man, and turn from them with permanent aversion. In 1820, the, admission of Missouri became an im]>ortant ques- tion as connected with the Union. "This momentous question," said Jefferson', " like a tire-bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. It is hushed, indeed, for the moment. But tliis is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. A geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, .once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated ; and every new irrftation will mark it deeper and deeper." Washington saw tlie dangers of such a conflict, and uttered his prophetic warning; but fana'ticism disdains to regard either the counsels of wisdom or of ex] erience. When Texas was annexed, and war was made against Mexico; when the "compromise measures" of 1850 were passed, partisans and States saw destruction in progress, and safety in dis- union. Indeed, disunion has always been the cry of desperate men and parties, when not successful, in ierrorem ;• and this enduring fact affords conclusive evidence that no greater evil is deemed possible to the nation. 24 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF As the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency was in strict conformity to the requisitions of the Constitution, and as the seceding States have not prcierred charges of violated faith against the Federal government itself, it follows that secession is claimed either as a constitutional right, and as consistent with State sovereignty, or as a necessary remedy against great evils too intolerable to be borne, and therefore justifying revolution. First, let us consider Secession as a Constitutional Right. To judge accurately of a constitutional right, we should look not only to the plain provisions of the Constitution itself, but to the meaning of the events which preceded its formation — the germinating elements of its origin. Without adverting to the teachings of the various unions illustrative of the progress of the republic, we will only refer to the Declaration of Independence, and to subsequent event* immediately j^receding the period when the Constitution was adopted. In the Declaration of Independence the fundamental principles of freedom and constitutional rights were asserted, and upon this broad basis legitimate claims for justice were made, against long and permanent abuses and grievances, which were formally enu- merated and plainly set forth as sufficiently justifying, before the world, a revolutionary appeal to arms. In this document two great facts are recorded, important to be noted and remembered. 1st, A recognition of national sovereignty in the British Crown anterior to the time of the convention which made the Declara- tion ; and, 2d, The transfer of that sovereignty to the joint authority of the colonies, in convention assembled by the voice of the people, as States, which, when united under a Constitution, represented the same prerogatives of which the Crown had been divested. By this statement it will be seen that to the colonial system, the revolution added anew element to be defined and systematized, and that was national sovereignty. The j)rerogatives of royalty were taken from the prince, and placed in the keeping of the people. It then became the study of the fathers of the new republic so to control this additional element tliat each State should preserve its own political identity, and that all should stand in relation to it as equals. As the States widely varied in population, industry, and interests, it became a difficult problem so to concentrate this newly-acquired sovereignty as to establish a Union based uj^on conditions of practical equality. Tlie Union became the execu- tive of the ])eople, and it Avas authorized to exercise tliis newly- acquired power, and to control such other agencies, as the jjeople, by convention, should deem exjicdient or important. The com- plex nature of a sovereignty authorized and sliared by indejiendent States is not readily deliued, particularly by representatives of THE AMERICAN ITN^IOX. 25 States, who constantly fear reserving too little, or conceding too much. That these representatives were careful and conservative, may be seen in all the Discussions upon the Constitution. From ISTovember 1777 to July 1778 the first plan of the Confed- eration was formed, and eight States had assented to it, although with many and conflicting objections. Discussions were con- tinued upon it till March, 1781,. when all the States but Rhode Island had substantially ratified it, though with reserved and re- luctant modifications. The grave and formal objections set forth by the assembly of Rhode Island were duly answered, and with much ability, by a committee of Congress, consisting of Messrs. Madison, Hamilton, and Fitzsinimons. But, while this committee labored to show that Rhode Island was wrong, in part, it was j)ractically found by the people and Congress, that the plan, as a whole, was inadequate to meet the em'ergencies of the crisis. The country was without revenue or credit, and its foreign trade without control. The wants of the army were neglected, and permitted to accumulate with neAV aggravations, and creditors be- came clamorous for the payment of their claims. Government was distracted by counsels emanating alike from extreme motives of selfishness and of patriotism, and the people were in a despond- ing mood, all asking protective action, and but few manifesting a practical spirit of compromise. From 1781 to 1787, Congress, again and again, proposed modified plans of union, and States as often reported upon them difterently and with no common agree- ment. Some approved in part, some oflered substitutes, some despaired of agreement, or neglected to act, while others acted partially or conditionally. Some lavored temporary experiments, some proposed perpetual arrangements, and others a subdivided authority, or an undivided sovereignty. This long period of discus- sion was also a period of trial. Measures were practically tested before they were fully or finally adopted. Doubts were removed by actual tests, and ascertained weaknesses remedied by additional provisions of efficiency. Step by step the wants of the peo])le, and of the nation, were noted, measures Avere gradually adjusted to meet them, and by degrees the States found by actual experi- ment the necessity of investing the Union M'ith all those elements of power which constitute nationality. In these discussions it will be seen that from the smallest to the greatest concessions of power, the States were eminently conservative, yielding nothing to the federal government tliat could be consistently withheld. They began with weakness, and only consented to additioiuU power as it became an imperntive necessity. There seemed to be but one motive and one wish, and that was, to render the Union per- fect and efficient, and with no jjarticle of excess of power, thus combining a careful judgment with an actual experience. In 2G THE INDISSOLUBLE NATUKE OF these discussions, from first to last, great principles were recog- nized, which favored the efficiency and perpdtuity of the Union, and excluded the possibility of weakness or secession. The con- dition of things, at this period, may be inferred from the language of Washington, in a letter to rf member of Congress dated 1780. " I see," said he, "one head gradually changing into thiileen. I see one army branching into thirteen, which, instead of looking up to Congress as the supreme controlling power of the United States, are considering themselves as dependent on their respec- tive States. I am fearful of the consequences." "Before this Constitution was adopted," says Mr. Webster, " the United States had already been in a union, more or less close for fifteen years." He might have said with truth, more or less close for nearly a century and a half In speaking of the aversion of many to the Constitution, Patrick Henry said, "A government without the affections of the people can be neither durable nor. happy. But. Sir, I mean not to breathe the spirit nor utter the language of secession." As no provision is made for secession in the body of the Con- stitution itselti — an indispensable provision if secession had been intended — it should seem to be almost an act of supererogation to refute a doctrine not any where stated in terms. I am led to be- lieve that it is neither warranted by the Constitution, nor by any collateral evidence to be found in the events or circumstances of its adoption. Besides, it would be inconsistent with those known laws of growtli which lead to legitimate progress and unity. Even Calhoun did not countenance secession except as a remedial measure against an " act of the federal government unautliorized by the Constitution." There is much force in tlie remarks of the Duke of Argyle, in a recent speech upon American affairs, and he furnishes a "most apt illustratfon of the peculiar process of seces- sion. He said, " I do not care whether we look at it from the Northern or from the Southern point of view. Take the mere question of what is called the right of secession. I know of no government in the world which could possibly have admitted the right of secession from its own allegiance. There is a curious animal in Lochfyne, which I have sometimes dredged up from tlie bottom of the sea, and which pertbrms the most extraordinary and unaccountable acts of suicide and self-art. ', If secession is not warranted ]»y tlie Constitution, it remains to be seen if it can be defended upon the grounds of revo- lution. THE AMERICAN trNION. 27 Revolution. Revolution is defensible only as it protects the people in their legitimate rights against a tyranny. To rebel against the gov- ernment merely with a view to colitrol its measures, is like ampu- tating a limb that it may be cured of an injury. To resort to revolution to remedy trifling evils, is as wise at it would be to destroy the body to eradicate incipient disease. That the Southern States had no occasion to resort to desperate remedies may be seen from the conser\^ative vote of the people for President. The con- servative vote was 2,804,570, and for the Republican candidate only 1,857,610, showing a diiference of nearly a million voters against the party now in authority. Diiferences of opinion furnish no occasion for I'evolution ; for by freedom of discussion a people be- come informed and a government improved. All citizens owe dutiful allegiance to their own government : if it be in danger, to defend it ; if it be weak, to strengthen it ; if it be inadequate, to enlarge it; if it be An-ong, to right it. Any course of a party not in harmony Avith these motives is adverse both to private interests and the public good. True patriotism is patient to know its own and to defend it, until nothing remains to be defended. It then becomes the mission of revolution to regain what has been lost. Conceding as true all that the Southern States have charged against the Rejiublican party, and the apologists of John Brown, a resort to revolutionary measures affords not only no remedy againvSt the evils of which they complain, but it inevitably multi- plies and aggravates them. That secession was not intended as an. ordinary remedy for ordinary abuses, may be inferred from the fact that no such process was authorized, and the amending j/oAver was pbiinly provided in the Constitution as a rule for the adjust- ment of diiferences. The amending power, says Calhoun, "is, when properly understood, the vis 77iedicatrix of the sys,tem', its great repairing, healing, and conservative power; intended to remedy its disorders, in whatever cause or causes originating; whether in the original errors or defects of the Constitution itseltj or in the operation of time and change of circumstances, or in. conflicts between its parts, including those between the coordinate governments." The States are not only entitled to the benefit of their own constitutional means to remedy existing evils, but they have a constitutional claim upon the Federal government for active cooperation in promptly ado]iting whatever measures may be necessary for the general welfare and peace of the country. Having for their standard the Constitution of the United States, it is their high prerogative to command the full benefit of the authority of the Union. Indeed, there is no power adequate to aflford relief except that to be found in the Union ; and that will always be found reliable if time be given for the formation -O THE' INDISSOLUBLE NATUEE OF of public opinion and for its corrective application. Separate confederacies established on secession foundations -would have within them the sure elements of their own dissolution, and do- mestic evils would be converted into external and hopeless em- barrassments. What is now regulated by a Constitution, with a great diversity of views, all promotive of a common interest, a common good, would have to be controlled and regulated by treaties, Avhere the relations of interest and of a general welfare would have their extent narrowed and limited to their respective nationalties. The philanthropist would recognize no geographical boundary to humanity, and would extend his active benevolence to all lands where men were found in bondage, or where souls were to be saved. That fanatics would follow them hardly need be stated. Whether we have one or four nations, the continent remains, as before, marked by its mountains, rivers, and highways, and the people inhabiting it are still together as neighbors, and linked with great interests, which stand upon the same localities, and would have to be operated by means engendered in common, and Avorked by men of the same society. Fugitives from labor would have no greater distance to run, to be freed from their mas- ters, and the same opportunities for aid would remain to be ex- tended by their zealous sympathizers. What is now protected by constitutional law" would then become free from conventional control, and the busy abolitionists would have no special occa- sion to seek for an a])ology to work for a principle where citizen- ship imposed upon them no restraints. Present evils, which are special, would be magnified by new relations of importance, and aggravated by litigious complications. The Southern States would lessen their resources, increase their burdens, and cripple their. means of national advancement. The Northern Avould be- come more impracticable by concentrating within narroAver limits the deluding results of a fanatical frenzy, and lose much both in interest and character by lessening their intercourse Avith intelli- gent communities, whose people Avould strive to direct their influ- ence to a new centre. The Avhole country Avould be dejirived of important elements Avhich tend to a continental unity, and the subdivisions of territory, connected with inefticient and varying schemes of government, Avould lead to results too insignificant to protect the citizen at home, and too inadequate to command re- spect abroad. Separation Avould only illustrate a sad condition of weakness and anarchy, and demonstrate the imperative neces- sity of a 8))eedy return to union. In a recent s])eecli of Sir EdAvard Buhver Lytton, he said, "That separation between Northern and Southern States, in Americii, Avliicli is now being brought about by civil Avar, I have long fori'seen, and I'oretold to be inevital)le ; and I venture to pre- dict that the youngei- men liere Avill live to see not two, but at least four, and i)rubalily more than four, separate ;ind sovereign coiniuoiiuealths arising out of those po])ulatious Avhich a year ago THE AMERICAN UNION". 29 united the legislature under one president, and carried their mer- chandise under a single flag. And so far from thinking that these separations will be injurious to the future destinies of America, or inflict a blow on that grand principle of self-government in which the substance of liberty consists, I believe that such separations will be attended with happy results to the safety of Euro})e and the development of American civilization." That Sir Edward speaks with sincerity and with no unfriendly motive, I have no reason to doubt. He is a gentleman of great learning and much philosophy ; and it is a gratifying privilege to place his testimony upon record in favor of self-government. If, however, he has been correctly reported, he has done himself in- justice by venturing to utter opinions unaccompanied by informa- tion siifticient for their basis. He certainly cannot be ignorant of the important political events which led President Monroe, in 1823, "to declare that we should consider any attempt on the part of the allied powers to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety." The course of France and of other continental powers, by interfering with the aftairs of Spain, according to the doctrines proclaimed at Laybach, by the allied monarchs, in 1822, "that they had a right to interfere in the concerns of another state, and to reform its government, in order to pi'event the efiects of its bad example," was amply sufficient to warrant the declaration of the United States government that its future policy would be not only non- intervention, but uncompromisingly continental. Any other course would endanger the peace of the continent. If war, under any circumstances, be deemed necessary, either for the cause of justice or for the advancement of freedom, it must be adjusted to the high standard of the Union. Nothing less. To divide the Union into several commonwealths would inevitably lead to troublesome complications abi'oad and perpetual wars at home. It is better to light for one flag for years, than to fight for different flags for centuries. " The strength and happiness of America must be continental, and not provincial ; and whatever appears to be for the good of the whole, must be submitted to by every part : this holds true, and ought to be a governing maxim in all societies." This was the spirit of N"ew Jersey in 1776, and it is the spirit of the people now. It was the remark of Jefferson that "we have seldom seen neighborhood produce affection among nations. The reverse is almost the universal truth." This gi-eat truth was seen by Cowper: — " Lands intersorted by a narrow frith Abhor each other. ".Alountnins intcrpospd Jlake cnt-inic's of nations who hart else, Like kindred dropB, been nun<;lcd into one." " Neighboring nations," says an able writer, quoted by Ham- ilton, "are naturally enemies of each other, unless their conmion weakness forces them to league in .a confederate REI'^^M(^ and 30 THE INDISSOLUBLE NATUHIC OF their constitution prevents the differences whicli neighborhood occasions, extinguishing that secret jealousy which disposes all states to aggrandize therasehes at the expense of their neighbors." Besides, frontier evils would be multiplied by subdivisions of ter- ritory, and should the views spoken of by the ])hilosopher of Stagira pi'evail, disfranchisement would hardly prove to be one of the least. " Some states," says Aristotle, " have enacted that land- holders living on the frontier should not be allowed to vote in questions concerning war an the just means of ])eace. It may be a war of aml)ition <>r of duty, but not of destruction ; a war of injustice or of conscience, but not of lasting hate. Washington regarded tlie right of coercion an element of im- THE AMERICAN UXION. 33 perative necessity to the United States government ; but he was at a loss to decide " what kind of coercion " would be best. Jef- ferson did not deem it necessary to give 'Congress the enforcing power, because they were entitled to it by the laws of nature. " When any one State in the American Union," he says, "refuses obedience to the confederation by wliich they have bound them- selves, the rest have a natural right to compel them to obedience. Congress would probably exercise long patience before they would recur to force ; but if the case ultimately required it, they would use that recurrence. Should this case ever arise, they will prob- ably coerce by a istaval force, as being more easy, less danger- ous to liberty, and less likely to produce much bloodshed." If war be inevitable, let patriotism characterize the battle, and magnanimity the councils of the nation. The cause of the Union is one of solemn grandeur, and no discordant levity or passionate bitterness should be permitted to deface its beauty. Every patri- otic citizen should give to the government that prompt coopera- tion which shall render it before the world equal to its high duties, and acceptable even to its bitterest enemies. These enemies will soon be friends. Their months of failure will demonstrate centuries of success. The errors of a people may illustrate great truths, and even their sins may stand, by God's assistance, as beacons to warn posterity against like dangers. Patriotism is limited to no people, party, or section. It will be found in every State, and acknowl- edged by the people without the aid of chart or compass. The following stanzas taken from a beautiful ode which was sung at Charleston, S. C, July 4, 1832, will, we doubt not, ere long be repeated in that city, and with renewed devotion to the Union. " Who would sever Freedom's shrine.' * Who would draw the invidious line? Thou^ by birth one spot be mine, Dear is all the rest : Dear to me the South's fair land, Dear the central mountain-band, Dear New England's rocky strand, Dear the prairied West. " By our altars, pure and free, By our Law's deep-rooted tree. By the past's dread memory. By our Wasliinf^on, • By our common parent tong-ue, By our hopes, brig-ht, buoyant, young. By the tie of country 8tronrocced from the North or the South. The glory of my country, its safety and its prosi)erity, alike depend on Union, and he who Avould contemplate its destruction, even for a ntoment, and form plans to accomplish it, deserves the deep- est anathemas of the lunnan race." Thus we might quote volumes from the published views of in- fluential men of all the States, from tlie perioil of the revolution to the present time; and while they express great ilitferences of . opinion as to the best mode of ))reserving the republic, all unite upon the great fact, embodied in the sentiment, that liberty upon the American continent can be preserved and defended only by The American Union. I have tlie lionor to remain, With great respect and true regard, Your servant and friend, X.VIIUM CAPEX. Hon. Pktku CoopKit, New York. { LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS Vn- > LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 012 028 653 5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS III 012 028 653 5