Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-03-13
muddy philosophy.

ANDREW JOHNSON, in his recent speech as
sailing Mr.. BELL, said he understood "the ba-
sis on which the institution of slavery rests"
and proceeded to philosophize as follows:
ssJust SO long as men are organized as they
are, physically and mentally. one having more
brains and more intellectual power than an
other, there will be different classes in society
Take the physical man alone. without refer
enee to the intellectual, and force him in con-
tact with the principles Of production, and
you will see that under certain circumstanc-
es, one is enabled to produce more than an
other. This results from our organic struc-
ture.
"Let me Illustrate my meaning by an exam
pie Here are two men one OF whom has dou-
Bile the physical strength of the other. Let
US talk about things plainly and homely. /
know this may be considered in bad taste by
some but sometimes the simplest SMILES best
explain subject. Take these two men, the
one having twice the physical strength of the
other, and put them to making rails. l know
that is not a Senatorial term, but it is COM
mon thing in this country. The man of dOu-
BILE physical strength will make twice as ma
ny rails in the course of day as the other.
Is not that a difference between men. The
man of double the physical strength will in
crease in wealth, in anything to which you
apply his labor, twice as rapidly as the other
man. So ii is with the exercise of his brain.
This grows out of the organic structure of
m ,nkind.
"When you form a community out of indi-
viduals, they commence the work OF produc-
ton, intellectual and physical; and, as socie-
ty moves on through time, we find some oc-
cupying the lower places and some occupy
ing the higher places. / do not care whether
you call it slavery OF seryitude; the man 'chO
has nenidl offices 10 perform the SLAVE or the ser
rant care not lchether he is ,Chue or black. Ser
vitude or slavery grows out OF the organic
structure of man.
This is maddy philosophy, TO make the best
of it; but it is not merely muddy, it is unsound
wherever lucid enough to be comprehended.
The idea that all men who perform menial ser
vices are slaves, is abhorrent 1t is worse
gross libel upon hundreds and thousands OF
industrious. Woodworking men, in all sections
of the country: in the South rs well as in the
North-in Tennessee as we'll as in Ohio. Mr.
JOHNSON has worked his way up gradually from
what he affects now to consider a servile con-
dition in others, TO an eminent position, by
pandering to the passions and prejudices OF
the class whom he denominates Slaves" BY
the votes of these "slaves" he has been placed
in high Office, and it i'll becomes him now to
stigmatize them. The day laborer on the
farm, though he may own no land, though he
may not be able even to rent, and is compelled
to perform mental labor for pay, is not the
slave of his employer, or any one else. Hell
the peer if he be honest and virtuous, of any
man in the State-aye, Of the prOudest arts
tocrat that sneers at his title to manhood-ol
of ANDREW JOHNSON, the Philosopher and Sen
ator! So also are those humble men and
women, who fill other positions, in which me
NAL services are performed. They have mel
Their wealth, nor any great degree of power
but they have control over their own actions
have the same rights and are as essentially
free, as the Senator who dsgraces his robes
who debases his infeiiec92 to N tg a.
slavery of party. Elevation beyond his de
serts has been unfortunate for ANDY If this
is the way he is to attempt to make charac
ter in the Senate, he will cover his best friends
with shame and humiliation.