The true Democrat., 1856-06-10
FOf the True Dem
Our Liberties.

SuA AAOC1 Tics.
PARTIES AND PARTY NAMEs-THE TORY ANT
THE WHIG-THE REPUBLICAN AND THE FL.
DERALIST-THE DEMOCRAT AND wHIG-rFy
DEMOCRAT AND KNOW NOTHING
No Ill.
At the period before referred to, when poG.
teal parties were first organized for the contest,
between the friends and foes of popular rights,
III the Anglo-saxon family-llnder the names Of
whig and tory the underlined ncroachments that
already had been made upon the monarchcal
principles of government, aud the fruits of the
reformation, threw society into a number Of
iactional conditions and interests When reH.
gious opinions did not interfere, a large majority
of the people aoere right upon all the points Of
popular liberty then in issue; but the great ma
Jonty of those that composed the various secs
into which christians were divided mere inhaler.
ont-they all had "hanke1ng' forpersecution.
There were, however, some glorious exceptions
OF men who first set in motion among us the
entire platform of democratic principles; among
whom William Penn, Lord Baltimore and
Harry Vane are distinguished examples, who
took large share in the great democratic work,
both here and in the mother country. Bait.
more was driven from home by persecution,
Penn was several times in prison, and Vano
suffered death upon the scaffold. But the con.
hctlng state of things above indicated made i.
extremely impracticabe for these leading whi3
to lay down, for general political action with
any prospect of success, very extensive plat.
form OF free principles. They went in for Oh.
tanning as much as possible under the peculiar
and unpropltous circumstances, as their naoiar
opponents are notc doing here for the advancement
OF the opposite principles believing in the old
adase that half a loaf is better than no bread
This intolerant spirit gave the tory party
great neutrality-suspicious. ready to avail them.
selves of any opportunity for reducing the 60.
vernlng power of the country within the small.
lest popular compass--they would sometimes
Continue to use the Catholics against the dis.
s"ntlng ProteStants, at other times the dssen.
tiers against the Catholcs--as the fuctuatins
condition of the contest required; but as a large
majority of the people We're Protestants, and
considerable proportion of that majority dis
senters-an accommodation, to certain liberal
extent, with respect to religious liberty was, in
lew years. made between the high tory party
(who adhered to the Episcopal church of Eng.
land) and the dissenters, so that nearly the
whole force of the intolerant spirit of Anglo.
saxon fiotestantism was turned upon the Ca
'ho''cs. 1he great question of religious liberty
oeins thus, pretty much, confined to an issue
between Protestants generally and Catholics
the tory ranks in this issue were powerfully
swelled by recruits from the dissenters. In
almost every political issue, involving popular
rights, that did not propose admitting Catholics
to equal privileges with Protestants. the whg,
were largely in the majority, and the Catholc
sympathles were always on their side; but in the
great issue of Catholic religious freedom tho
tory party was for century and quarter after
this period the strongest
In the now United States-then English
American colonies, and portion of the English
people, the same party names, with, in less
vigorous degree, the same political objects pre-.
vailed, as in the mother country; the whg
were much more largely in the majority here
than there, the bulk of the population being
made up of English wings and other liberal,
who had crossed the ocean for the sake of free
dom, but there was formidable tory party who
went in for strong government, independently
of the Catholic question; but this question, as
IN England, made them much more formidable
with the exception of Pennsylvania, the
influence of William Penn and his followers,
ana Maryland, under the same kind ofinhuencs
Oh Lori Baltimore, Cathohc-complete rel'
elous freedom was no where tolerated. Every
Protestant sect, more or less, prescribed and
prosecuted in various ways the rest whenever
it had the power, and all united to persecuts
the Catholic. The Independents of New Ens.
land, as they were in old England, were thu
yfreest of the faint, (the Catholics and Quaker'
in Maryland and Pennsylvania above excepted
but even they were not entirely clear of it. THIS
religuos intolerance here, as well as in England
against the Catholics, was, for many years re-
served by the great majority to crafty the &C.
neral ignorance, prejudice and bigotry Of m
times, and gradually became the great leading
principle or measure of the tory party. bu'
the spirit of democracy was at work, there
were high wings as we'll as high tories, and
every year brought more Penm, and ealtl'