Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-05-08
spirit, may not lack good angel to remind me
of its solace-even if he comes in the shape of o
harrington beggar.
Yankee Character.

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"As keen as Yankee" has passed into
proverb, and as the saying seemingly involves
compromise of stern integrity and high-souled
honor, upon the part of those who rejoice in the
sobriquet of " Yankee" perhaps an analysis of
their pecularities and idiosyncrasis, will enable
us to form just estimate Of the Yankee char
acter." By Yankee is understood native of
New England, supposed to have derived its name
from the Indian pronunciation Of the word En-
glish, or more properly from the French word
Angais. He is the type of "go ahead Afneri-
ca of Young America
The Yankees are race peculiar to themselves,
possessing an elasticity Of mind, and hopeful
ness of character combined with energy and in
domitable will, that heeds no defeat and stops at
no impediment. Perseueranaa omnia uincit,
is the motto of Yankeedom. Wherever they
turn their attention, they movcwith celebrity and
usually with success If theydo not succeed in
one thing, they involuntarily tlrn te something
else-wbich in its turn is thruS aside if it can
not be made to " work" TheI are progressive
in their nature, ever extending their researches
and widening the domain of possibility. Wher-
ever you see thrift, enterprise and progress,
there is the Yankee Ell ment developing ITSELF
They are and justly too, proud of their origin.
The monuments of their Labor may be seen
throughout New England, in their huge facto-
ries pondcrous machinery, and endless lines Of
railroads, braiding the land-tte cnk of ham
mers and the noise of the shuttl, may be heard
by night as well as by day Ia the mechanic
arts they own no equals. Ingenuity is q proven
bal trait in the Yankee character. They are
ever racking their brains to produce some" new
way" And whenever any new invention is
submitted to the people, no matter in what
section of the United States it Ind its origin, it
is usually the product of the fehile brain of the
calculating Yankee.
In intellect, too, where shall we see nobler
specimens than can be found 10 the New Eng
land States. The land that has produced its
Webster, its Everett, its Adamss, IIanc ok and
Mason, beside a @ host y of other names whose
fame is the worlds, and whose labors have given
an undying lustre to New England literature,
may well be proud of its representative men,"
In education and educational reforms where
shall look for higher developments &
It is a rare sight to find Yankee boy ur girl
that cannot both read and write. Every village
has its school house dotting its surface in secu-
ded hooks or upon shady hill tops. And there
is a State enactment making it binding upon
every town or village Of three or four thousand
inhabitants to erect and support " High
School," Armed thus with such law sivers-
protected by such enactments, what wonder that
the Yankees outstrip in general intelligence,
bold achievements, and superior knowledge, the
inhabitants of their sister states who possessing
richer soil and more genial climate are yet in
} many respects far behind Yankee Doodle"
Some discriminating foreigner has said that
the Yankee possessed of that spirit that knows
no rest in the march of progress &C He is at
l home on the earth, and he can turn everything
to his own account. He has, before he reaches
middle life, been schoolmaster, farmer lawyer,
I soldier author, statesman-has tried every
kind of profession, and been at home in them
all and besides this he has travelled over half,
e or over the whole of the world. Wherever he
v comes on the face of the earth, or in whatever
f circumstances, he is sustained by two.fold
= consciousness which makes him strong and tran
e quill that is to say, he is man that can RELY
d upon himself; and that he is the citizen of a
great nation, designed to be the greatest on the
d face of the earth He thus feels himself to be
v the lord of the earth, and bows himself before
Is none save % the Lord of lords 10 Him. how.
l. ever, he looks up with the faith and confidence
h Of child"
|, Such is the true picture of the New England
Q er. That there are sorry specimens among th;m
,. who have by their cunning and shrewdness i'm.
, posed upon the unsuspecting. is not to be de-
d MED. But because there are vendors of wooder
ID nutmegs and spurious medicines-mermaids ant
8. woody horses, they should no more be cited a.
,e genuine representatives than should the inmate,
o. of our hospitals be taken n standard Of tn,
a. healthfulncss of the mass of the people. S,
o. long as the inhabitants of New England shal
Or lead the van in the march of liberal ideas anc
ne wholesome nnovation-so long as her Lawrence
he and Appetons shall elevate the commercial stan
lie dard of her people, and her lawgivers egislat
,e for the education of the masses-her minister
ev stand forth as the defenders of social order, a
or well as interpreters of the Bible, and SO long
It's they shall continue people rich in ininteigence
d., enterprise, and faith in the ultimate trump
to of right endeavor, so long may they be justl
of proud of the " Yankee Character