Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-01-20
A DDRESS.

Dssuered before Fidelity Circle b..
Oh. F. G. a., at Freedom, Portus
County, Ohio, January lst, 1851, )
q. L. DRAKE, d. S. w, -
Brothers, Ladies and Gentlemen: as
The last half Of the nineteenth centur
is spon us!- Eighteen hundred and Fifty
One!-Time, with its ceaseless revolution.
has rolled on, and, withstanding th
prophecies Of living men and the prediction
of many who have passed away, our Glob
still holds on the even tenor Of its wav Al
coolly as if no prophetic warning had been
uttered for us to prepare for a general de
struction before this day appeared. Yes
though there have been hundreds waiting
anxiously, hopefully waiting for the Migbty
Laberer that set the universe in motion, te
act the part Of an incendiary and destroy
this earth--altbough they have been anx.
iously looking for the earth to be dissolved
by feryent heat, and for the heavens to be
rolled together as scroll, this generation
Of men have this day opened their eyes to
behold the morning that ushers in another
year Of the nineteenth century. Now is the
dawn Of an era. In the beginning of this
circle Of time, let us open our eyes and en-.
quire- hat have we been doing? What
has the last half century accomplished
Where are we now, and upon what kind Of
| times are we thrown? Have we advanced
or retrograded? Do we keep our eyes upon
that great motto, EXCELSIOR, and accumu-
late wisdom from the grave Of the past to
enable US to press forward with more accel.
Grated pace to grasp and realize the hope Of
the future? 1t we cast our minds eye back
to period just before the ushering in Of the
nineteenth century, we find the vast region
which now composes our Republic, COM
parative wilderness, uneccupied save by the
rude aborigones who had from time imme-
mortal possessed the land as a free inherit.
ance from the Great Spirit, TO whom only
they looked for title We find the En-
glish Government extending her watchful
care over the then infa mt colonies, gro wing
more earnest in her attentions as they grow
toward manhood, even as some lord of la.
Dor watches with aRxious eye the growing
up Of his human chattcls or his tenants
son, in the hope that he will one day add
another to the list OF those who already Con-
tribute to fill bis Golfers by their daily toll
The colonies increased in age and influence
They had learned the great truth that g U n.
ion is strength" They had combined their
powers in defending themselves from, and
making aggressions upon the natural own
ers Of the soil, who had become alarmed
at the hostile display Of weapons in the
r., L.. of oe IL
gion had first driven to their shores. The
wealth and influence Of these colonies in.
creased to the dignity Of States, but they
were crippled by the affectionate guardian.
ship OF their tender mother. They grew
uneasy under their restraint, and while 9th.
ers tamely submitted to taxation without
representation and other enormous wrongs,
these colonies, made up Of hardy workers,
became discontented and rebellious-And
wherefore? A new age had arrived-the
age of patriotism, of free thought and free
action. The spirit of Liberty, love of coun-
try and Of human rights was abroad in the
land. The slum bering ember!s of future
revolution reposed in the breasts of the de-
csndants Of the Pilgrims like the smothersd
fires of a volcano. -4y afe z.,....-
The spirit of the nineteenth century was
born before its date on the records of time.
The spirit Of the Revolution was born long
before the eruptions Of Concord and Lex.
ington, the destruction Of the Tea in Boston
harbor, or the Stamp act. In due time
this spirit was called into action. 1t in
spired Henry to speak forth in words of
FIRE, @Give me Liberty or give me death. !"
1t formed the separate States into one con-
federate baad of Brothers. The minds Of
the Colonists. was made up-the spirit was
invincible, and when the hour of trial came,
one universal determined mind was waiting
for that trial, with determination more
impregnable than strongest breastwork and
more terrible to the foes Of Liberty than an
army with banners. The same spirit nsrved
the hearts and arms Of the Patriot army on
the heights Of Bunker Hill, and sustained
them when their bloody foot prints were
left on the SHOWS Of Valley Forge. 1t in-
spired Washington when be paid his devo-
ton to the God OF freedom in the deep fvr-
ests Of his native land, and when he stood
astonished, but unappalled, calm, but deci-
ded, when the deep treachery Of a brave
soldier had cast gloom dark as midnight
over all the brothers in arms for their liber-
ty and freedom. It neryed the brain and an
imated the heart of the patriotic thinkers
and workers, who assembled TO put forth
the great declaration which embodied the
whole spirit Of the age in one sentence
sAH men are created equal and endowed
by their Greater with certain inalienable
rights, among which are life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness: 1t was thus the
spirit of the nineteenth century was born.
The first great achievement was the sstab-
lishment Of a nation wherein Freedom and
Equality should grow and spread, until its
spirit covered the earth as the waters cover
the great deep, and until liberty should be
proclaimed throughout the world unto the
inhabitants thereof. At the dawning ofths
nineteenth century this nation stood forth
in the strength of a precocious youth. and
the world Of tylants and slaves Of kings.
and subjects Of landlords and tenants, land
holders and vassals, looked on and wonder
ed what that youthful but free country
,.,L.r l.Ct 20 ifs ovyn suill and uuI.