Washington sentinel., 1855-03-17
CIVILIZATION AND KNOW
NOTHINGISM.

| The civilized world has for years found
great fault with China and japan for shutting
themselves in uninvaded seclusion and deny
ing access to all strangers. 1t was universally
agreed that by SO doing they violated the
comfy that should prevail among the brother
! hood of nations-because they inhibited those
commercial, social, religious, and national in
terchanSes, essential to civilization and the de-
velopment of the resources of the world. AS
in every enlightened nation laws in restraint Of
trade are odious, SO in the great court Of civil.
lied nations, laws in restraint of international
interchange are likewise deemed odious.
1t matters not what may have been the
cause or causes of the long isolation, the lone
some secluson and the obstinate reserve main
tanned by those two nations their policy was
an offense against the world, civilization, and
religion. 1t was universally held to be So.
Their reason, no doubt was that their rulers
and despots saw the inferiority of the two
races, and also saw that if the vigorous and
manly ideas of stronger races should be intro.
duced, their despotic power would be at an
end. Hence they laid a stringent and inexor-
able embargo on intercourse with other ma
tions.
Odd things happen in this world, and strange
condolences sometimes turn up. One such
has occurred in this country. Just as we
have, after much patience, soft persuasions, and
many efforts, succeeded in establishing inter
course and inter-communication between our
country and China and Japan, new party has
sprung up among US, which maintains the self
same proscriptioe, secret, bar6arous, erclusire
doctrines of these tico countries. This party
proposes that zoe shall exclude or distranchise
all foreigners. They pay poor compliment
to honesty. That is open. They are secret
and clandestine. They paya poorer compli-
ment to the american nation. They practically
declare that this american nation IS pedk and
imbecile, and that if Il suffers foreigners ('cho
are oppressed at home) TO come here, and after
naturalization, under oar present la,cs, TO rote,
that our intellects and our characters are so
much peaker than theirs that they ,cM yule
america. They declare, in effect, THAT WE
ARE THE WEAKER RACEl
This is the obsolete Chinese and japanese
notion. Just as it has become obsolete in
China and Japan, the selfstyled Patriots Of
America seek to introduce it here. Are we
a race of men, or are we babies? Have we
intellect, character, and strength, or are we
idiots, profigates and paralytics2 Do we, in
this, the enlightened nineteenth century, require
Chinese wall to protect us from the inroads
Of foreigners2 Is the great light Of our liberty
to be !" hid under bushen or we to be "a city
set upon an hill y
Language cannot convey the deep contempt
that we feel for the bastard organization that
teaches such humiliating doctrines.
We are Of the Anglo-Saxon race. We are
free and great people. We have founded a
great Republic. We founded that Republic
against the fixed ideas OF the whole world. We
have preserved it in spite Of resistance from
abroad and resistance at home, and now, when
it is firmly established, miserable, sneaking,
clandestine party, SP0ILS PARTY, has
sprung up in our midst which says that we
cannot maintain it because a stronger race, or
stronger races will pour into our domain and
control u.s. 1t is low farce and miserable
folly. Americans have always ruled America,
and they always will.