True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1856-05-07
Shall Americans rule America !

any possibility cOnlute the correctness Of
The broad and comprehensive principle
involved, All honest men readily acqui-
esce in it, butwhen an atte mpt is made TO
carry it into practical operation thou
sand throatS howl out their anaIhama
marantha against it,
1t is no clap-trap phrase intended 10
catch gulls. 1t has no half obscured sig
nifcation. In the language of the plat
form it simply means that native born
citizens should, in preference 10 all 9TH
ers be selected for all Offices, State, Fed
eral and municipal, or government en-
ployment. That is the legitimate effect
of,he principle when put into operation.
II places the entire control of the country
into the hands of those to the ''manor
born" This is right. The Republic
belongs 10 the native Americans. 1t was
purchased by the blood and treasure of
their fathers, expended in one Of the ho-
liest causes in which the life blood of
man was ever shed-that Of freeing the
arms and necks of the people of the new
world from the adamantine chains which
a ruthless tyrant had forged and welded
to them-chans which had rusted into
their flesh for over century making
the I'm freemen, and like Selkirk upon his
lonely island, monarchs of all they sur
veyed. TO this privilege there is none
who can dispute their right with any
show or prelonce Of justice.
The bald-faced impulse of the unscru-
pulous politician, however, presumes 10
question its correctness. He claims for
The foreigner, naturalized but to-day, the
right to an equal participation in the man
agement of governmental affairs, and pro-
claims it boldly that by reason of his be-
coming an American citizen from choice
and not by tie accident Of birth, as in the
case of the native, he is the better and
more patriotic citizen Of the two. Any
one of common understanding must ack-
nowledge the untenableness and falsity Of
so moIstro us proposition. Foreign
ers, at least the majority of them, come
here to better their conditions in pecu.
mary point of view. OF our institutions
they know but little and care less. 1t is
true, many of them emigrate for nobler
purposes, and are really good citizens,
we'll disposed to the good order and hap
piness of the country. But by far the
larger portion are adventurers, excres-
cences, growing upon the body polite,
persons who disregard everything like
law and order, scout the institutions o
the country and openly avow an inten
, ton to abolish the free school system
! oaths of office, the Senate, the holy Sab
bath day, and everything that pariakes o
religion, and 10 use every possible en-
! deavor to engraft upon our political sys
TEN spirit Of radicalism and licentious
ness which the fathers of the republic 81
wisely guarded against in the formation
5 of our beautiful system of government.
And yet these are deemed the bette
: citizens. The patriotism that would en-
4 dorse such doctrine, or the man tha
would advocate it, should be objects o
1 suspicion. True love of country woul
spurn The utterance of such sentiment
e and the name of him who would advocat
!. it deserves to become hiss and his homo
, bye-word of scorn.
It No man more truly loved his countr
d than the immortal Jefferson. He fore
: saw the evils which would flow from al
n indiscriminate emigration of foreigner
S from the monarchies of the old world, an
r earnestly advocated the doctrine that A
o mericans should always rule themselves
: Discussing the propriety of encouragin
u emigration he says: every species
l. government has its specific principles
l. Ours perhaps are more peculiar than an
"a other in the universe. 1t is a compOs
g ton of the freest principles of the En-
y ish constitution, with others derive
from natural right and natural reason.
" To these nothing can be more oppose
)" than the maxims of absolute monarchie
- Yet from such we are to expect the grea
est number Of emigrants. They wi
. bring with them the principles Of the 60
ernment they leave, imbibed in their es
. ~ youth; or, if able to throw them o
" it will be for an unbounded licentiousne
- passing, as is usual, from one extreme
- another. Ii would be miracle were th
+. to stop at the point Of temperate liberty
:. These principles, with their languag
they will transmit 10 their children.
" proportion to their numbers they W
~ share with US legislation. They W
~ infuse into it their spirit, warp and b