The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-05-23
THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES


I'VE doubt if the people of this country sufficient
ly appreciate the Importance Of preserving in per-
manent form the events and deeds of our political
history. The nation organized almost cotempo-
raneously with the application of the art Of printing
What had been done previously to the commence
ent of the present century in this great branch OF
educational industry, was trifing in amount and
of limited circulation. Our career as nation through
the agency of the press though perhaps not system
atcaly published, has, nevertheless been preserved
in the annals Of printing, and may be known, even
down to the minutest details by every citizen of our
widelyextended country. We regard this fact as Of
transcendant importance not only to people,
but to the whole human family. The only republi-
nation we shall, by proper regard to the sub
ect, be able to expose to the broad light of open
day not only complete record of the laws, but Of
the acts Of public men, their speeches. and. above
ALL the State papers, which fix the policy and deter
mine the principles by which the various admins
trations have conducted the affairs of the
That such record will in after time become of in
apprecable value, it needs no prophet to fore
tell. Nor in Judgment should Congress
fail from any motive of l-advised economy to Sc
cure the publication in permanent form, of all the
leading papers connected with our political history
1t is not enough that such documents find wide
circulation at the moment of their issue, though we
are free to say, that the distribution of messages
reports, and speeches, which constitutes fea-
ture of political life in this country, is to be COM
tons in reference to the of the government
Provision should be made by which the leading pa
pers of every administration shall find permanent
Judgement in public and private libraries.
The people of the United States cannot afford to
trust their history to the imagination and caprice of
remote historians. The nation should be its own
historian We have to meet in the future far more
than in the past the hostility of antagonistic sys-
TENS and we want the government to be provided
with complete records by which its administrations
shall be fully shown to all the world.
1t is impossible to calculate what may be the influ
ence Of the federal Union upon the governments Of
mankind. We are yet in the infancy of political
life, and have ererted, far, very little positive
power over the destinies Of Others. Our growth
and strength indicate however, that ere long and if
in nothing else, by the mere force Of example, we
shall become instrumental in the great work of popu-
lar progress, far beyond what the careless observer
is likely to imagine. We regard all nations as under
going certain amount of renovation pointing to the
acknowledgements of the people, and weakening little
by little, the bonds binding them to the prevail
ing systems of monarchy which now constitute the
dominant rule Of political government. If we are
right in this and in antcipations in reference to
the influence which.he federal Union is to exert in
the future, it certainly becomes to be fully armed
the widest circulation amongst the people.