The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1844-07-26


sciences of men, ard freedom contending for the
inalenable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. The claims of each were rigidly urged,
both claiming superiority, one upon the grounds
of prescription, the other from natural rights. The
votaries of each manifest willingness to establish
the rightfuI dominion of their sovereigns. They
whose ensigns bore the colors of oppression came
to the contest clothed in the armour Of death,
threatening immediate destruction upon all op-
posing their progress. But the menaces of their
folly only served to enkindle the aspirations of
their antagonists after what they conceived to be
their natural and inherent right As the banner
Of oppression moved to the contest, they of the
opposite ranks saw more clearly the glory and dig
nifty of their cause. The hideous deformlty Of
their oppressive foe fell more forcibly upon their
astonished sight-the injustice which had been so
inhumanly exercised assumed the form and appear
ance of reality-the visionary fancies of prescrip-
tive rights to exercise any but delegated authority
entirely vanished, in consequence of which the
advocates of equal rights inscribed upon their
banner the ustrious motto, Liberty or Death"
The contest ripens into action-soon the clangor
of arms is heard amid conflicting parties,-vollies
of musketry and peals of cannon commingled with
the solemn din of music conspre to render the
scene terrific in the extreme. Friends, Ameri-
ans,-contemplat the field of battle in which
your liberties at stake e,-contemplate the glori
Gus boon of freedom placed in the midst of belge-
rent adversaries, party of which is striving to
consign the invaluable treasure to the shades of
oblivion, the other to hand it down as imperish-
able legacy to generations yet unborn. The con-
flict is desperate. The leglons of OPPRESSION led
on to action by the hitherto victorious chleftain,
Grafton that present victory would completely
obliterate the last lingering hope of liberty, rush
to the contest with maddened fury. But the
opposingSranks stand firm as adamant, unawed by
superiority Of numbers and undaunted by the cour-
age and intrepidity Of their assailants The in
scrption of their banner is the watchword of each
valiant friend Of freedom. At length the despera-
ton of their enemies invigorates their courage.
They see the lion Of their adversares abating in
his phrensied rage, whilst the eagle of liberty bears
majestically aoft the stars and stripes of freedom.
Soon the cheering tones of victory begin to rever.
berate from ear to ear The clangor of arms ceas-
es when the discomftted ranks of tyranny break
and vanish before the patriotic band. The scene
was worthy the admiration Of angels;-the adver-
saries OF human rights fleeing before the friends
of liberty and happiness.
The struggle for freedom is over-the indepen-
dence of our nation is achieved, which glorious
achievement we are assembled this day to commem-
crate. The standards of liberty are quickly borne
throughout the length and breadth of our extensive
land. The benign influences of freedoms reign
soon begin to spread from center to circumference.
The hardy and enterprizing pioneer, enfranchised
from oppressive lords, assas the forest with the
buoyant hopes of realizing the sweets of domes-
tic happiness in the enjoyment OF equal rights.
Agriculture and commerce, the handmaids of free
dom, combining their salutary influences, enrich
the Golfers and satisfy the wants of the industrious
yeomanry The spirit Of enterprise actuates every
bosom against which the trackless wilderness pre-
sents but temporary mpediment. The forest
bows at the approach of the usbandman-villages,
towns, and cities rise in majestic splendor on the
soil where lately hourished the majestic oak, wav-
ing its branches over the novels of the untutored
savage. The pine and the poplar are converted by
the skillful mechanic into household furniture, for
the comfort and convenience Of those happy in
the enjoyment of their natural rights,
Such was the spirit which the first dawnings Of
liberty actuated such the enthusiasm inspired
when independence first obtained the ascendency
But the advantages were not exclusively civil
| The consciences of men had been constrained to
yield submission to the dictates of popes, kings and
emperors, and were not free to the enjoyment o.
the inestmabe blessing of performing those sacred
devotons, SO essential to our earthly fruition and
heavenly hopes But in the land Of independence
all constraint Instantly vanishes, and the Christian
is allowed the uninterrupted enjoyment ef not only
civil but religious liberty-as direct consequence
of which, churches were erected, seminaries found
ed, colleges instituted and schools established TO
the advancement of scientific and religious instruc
ton. And here permit me to remark that to thes
we must look for the perpetuaton and support o
our free institutions.
|
Among the multiplicity Of subjects which con
cern either nations or individuals, there are non
of importance so transcendant as that Of judciou
moral training The intellectual man may be cul
tivated until his knowledge is coextensive wit
the almost unbounded range Of physical and intel
lectual sciences With the powers Of Newton
who wreste from the arcanum Of nature, know
ledge of that mysterious principle which pervade
the entirety of matter, and equipoises suns an
systems pended in the vacuum of immensity, h
may in the imagination be able to contemplate tn
beauty, order and harmony of creation 8 vast do
mains. With the penetrative erudition Of Locke
who travelled to the very fountain Of thought, an
thence deduced, with almost definite precision, tn
abstruse principles which regulate the operatio
Of mind upon matter, he may comprehend an
define the recondite powers Of our immateri'
/ nature. With the philosophic skill Of Franklin