Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-07-27

those,under foreign jurisdiction as lhose which
constitute the Union, and distributes them IA ex-
change over the globe; a city whose wealth ana
credit supply or procure the capital employed IN
all the great financial movements within the Re
public and whose press, in all its departments OF
science, literature religion, philanthropy, and
politics. is a national one. Thus expansion and
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, whose natural tendency is TO
produce debility and dissolution have operated
here to create, what before was wanting, a social,
political and commercial centre.
In considering the causes of this material
growth, allowance must be made literally for
great advantages ofspace, climate, and resources
as well as for the weakness of outward resist
| ance, for the vices of foreign Governments and
for the disturbed and painful condition of society
under them--causes which have created and sus-
tanned tide of emigration towards the United
States, unparalleled, Mt least, in modern times
But when all this allowance shall have been made
we shall still find that the phenomenon is chiefly
due to the operation here Of some great ideas,
either unknown before or not before rendered so
effective. These ideas are first the equality of men
in State, that is TO say, the equality Of men con-
shutting State; secondly, the equality of States
III combination, or in other words, the equality of
States constituting nation. BY the Constitution
Of every State in the American Union, each citi-
zen is guaranteed bis natural rights of life, liber
ty, and the pursuit. of happiness and he at the
same time, is guaranteed share of the sovereign
power, equal to that which can be assumed by
any other citizen. This is the equality of men
in the State BY the Constitution of the United
States, there are no subjects Every citizen of
any one State is free and equal citizen of the
United States Again, by the Constitution of the
United States, there are provinces, no depend
ences The Union is constituted by States, and
all Of them stand upon the same level of political
rights.
The reduction of the two distractions which
I have mentioned into the concrete, in the Con-
situations Of the United States, was, like most
other inventions, mainly due to accident There
were thirteen several States, in each of which,
owing to fortunate circumstances attending their
| original colonization, each citizen was not only
free, but also practically equal in his exercise Of
political power to every other citizen of that State
The freedom and equality of the citizen, and the
inalienability of his natural rights was solemnly
rcaftirmed in the Declaration of independence
These thirteen States were severaly free and in
dependent of each other. They therefore were
| equal States. Each was sovereign. They need
| ed free and mutual commerce among themselves,
and some regulation securing to each equal facil-
tiles Of commerce with foreign countries. A
union was necessary to the attainment of these
ends. But the citizens of each State were unwill-
ing to surrender either their natural and inalien-
able rights, or The guardianship Of Them to COM
| mon Government over them all even to attain the
union which they needed so much. So a Federal
Central Government was established, which was
sovereign only in commerce, at home and abroad,
| and in the communications with other nations
that is to say, sovereign only in regard to the
mutual internal relations of the States them
selves, and in regard to foreign affairs In this
| Government, the States were practically equal
constituents, although that equality was mod
| fled by some limitations found necessary to
| secure the assent Of some of the States. The
States were not dissolved, nor disorganized, but
they remained really States just as before exist
ing independently Of each other and of the Union,
| and exercising sovereignty in all the municipal
| departments of society. The citizen of each
State also retained all his natural rights equally
| in the Union and in the State to which lie be-
longed; and the United States were constituted
4 by the whole mass of such citizens throughout
all the several States. There was an unoccuped
/ common domain, which the several States surren-
dered to the Federal authorities, to the end that
| it might be settled, colonized, and divided into
other States, to be organized and to become men,
i bers of the Union on an equal footing with the
original States. When additions to this domain
were made from foreign countries the same prin-
cples seemed to be the only ones upon which the
! Government could be extended over them and
! So with some qualifications unimportant on the
/ present occasion, they became universal in their
application.
No other nation, pursuing career of aggrand-
izement has adopted the great ideas thus deve-
| oped in the United States. The Macedonian
/ conquered Kingdoms for the mere qualification of
conquest, and they threw Off the sway he estab-
| lished over them soon the sword dropped
| from his hand. The Roman conquered, because
| the alien was a barbarian rival and enemy, and
because Rome must fill the world alone The
empire, thus extended, fell under the blows of
enemies, subjugated but not subdued, as soon as
| the central power had lost its vigor. The Otto
| man, although he conquered with the sword,
| conciliated the subjected tribes by admitting
them to the rites of new and attractive religion
! The religion, however was of this world and
1 sensual, and therefore it debased its votaries.
France attempted TO conquer Europe in retaia-
tion for wrongs committed against herself; but
| the bow broke in her hands, just as 1t was bent
to discharge the last shaft. Spain has planted
many Colonies and conquered many States but
the Castilian was proud and naughty; he en-
shaved the native and oppressed the creole. The
Gar wins his way amid kindred races, MS a
parent, extending protection in the enjoyment of
a common religion. But thu. paternal relation in
| politics is fiction Of despotism, which extin-
guishes all individual energy and all social am
bition. Great Britain has been distinguished
from all these vulgar conquerors. She is civ
1 ilizer and missionary. She has planted many
! Colonies in the West, and conquered many and
vast countries in the East, and has carried Eng
lish laws and the English language around the
world But Great Britain at home is an aristoc-
racy. Her Colonies can neither be equal to her,
nor yet independent, Her subjects in those
countries may be free, but they cannot be Brit
ons. Consequently, her dependencies arc always
/ discontinued, and insomuch they are possessed
or swayed by freemcn, they are only retained in
their connection with the British throne by the
| presence Of military and naval force. You iden-
| tiiy an American State or Colony by the absence
of the Federal power Everywhere on the con-
trary, you identify British Colony, whether in
| British America, or on the Pacific coast or on
its islands, or in Bombay or in India, or at
St Helena ut Gibraltar, on the Ionian isles,
| by the music of the imperial drum-beat and the
i Grn,vn of rnaal Laiilerncnis lrnat Rritain IL