Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1860-03-01


ldent. First, Thomas jefferson, whose pnllo-
sophiegl spirit gresps the generality Of things
and events; then Benjamin. Franklin, the
great apostle If eommsn sense, the clear EIs
dom Of real lIfe be4L1jng II his serene eye;
then the undaunted John Adams and two
others. N0w Jefferson reads the Declaration
Ct Independence, and loudly proeiains the
fundamental principle upon which Il rests
'AIl men are created free and equzlp X Is
said history tells yoa what il meant. The
sceptrs Of royalty Is fung hack acress the
ocean; the prsrogatiyss q nobility are trod
den into the dast; every nan king. every
maa a baron: il seven e the original colo
MES the sbackles u the black man struck q;
almost everywhere the gvag prepared for grad
nal emancipation No recognition OF the
right II properly ia mas SAYS Madison.
Let slavery b abolished 5y iaw. says Wash
!agt98. No: 1aly t;4s supremacy Os Old Eng
land i % b. shaken 6, but new organiza
ton II syessty j - ~ J4i., Gp en tue basis
of liberty and eeG-l5tv. That i the Declara-
ton q IadegenasBee. That Is the American
ksFy3utiyn. Al mea free and equal. Not
even tIe Or.ad desert II the Atlantic ocean
stops the tTs11 p..4gL slgU:. Behold the IA
tons Il the ID For.d are rushing y arms.
bastl.es gcre blown into dust as by the trum-
pets o.: Jericho, aE3 Ike a pillar IF FIRE by
night ard Z pillar IF cloud By day, the great
watchword Of the American Revelation shows
fyTeTer the way to struggling humanity.
Long continued applause All men are
created free and equal, Whence the super
natural poser IN those seFen words?
Torn y1ar eyes away from the sublime
spectacle # lT7G, from that glorious galaxy
Of men whose hearts were large enough for
ali mankind, and let me recall you II the 50
Der year of 1857. There is Springfield, the
capital Of Illinois, one Of those States which
owe their greatness to an ordinance originally
framed bg the same man whose hand wrote
the Declaration Of Independence. In the hall
~ the Assembly stands Mr.. Douglas, who
initiates an eager crowd into the mystery Of
popular sovcTeignty' IIe TilI telI y0u what
It meant, when the men If l776 said that all
men are created free and equal He says
N9 man can yindieate the character, the
motives aud the conduct Of the signers Of the
Declaration Of INDEPENDENCE, except upon the
'hypotlcsis that they referred 70 the white race
alone, and not to the African they de
'clared all men to be created free aud earai,
that they were speaking of British suthl cts
on this continent being equal to British born
and residing in Great Britain-that they
were entitled TO the same inalienable rights,
and among them were enumerated life, liberty
and the pursuit Of happiness. The Declare
ton Of Independence was adopted merely for
the purpose Of justifying the c0lonist5 in the
eyes Of the civilized world in Withdrawing
their allegiance from the British crown, and
'diss2lving their connection With the mother
country
What Is that all2 Is that little heap Of
quicksapd the whole substruetpEe on which a
new organization Of society was 10 be built
the whole foundation upon which the proud
and ponderous edifce Of the United States
rests? They did, then, not mean all men,
when they said I'll men. They intended, per
hgEs GreI y QisfrancAise those free blacks,
"Ho n five c. the original thirteen colunies
enjoyed the right ai vating? They meant but
the white race. On, no, by no means the whole
white race; not the Germans, not the French,
not the ScandinaYians; they meant but British
subjects British subjects on this continent
being equal to British subjects born and resi-
ding On the other side Of the great water =
Laughter and applause
There Is your Declaration Of Independence,
diplomatic dodge, adopted merely for the
purpose Of eEcusing the rebelhous colonies in
the eyes Of civilized mankind. There Is your
Declaration Of independence, no longer the
sacred code of the rights Of man, but hyp-
0critical piece Of special pleading, drawn up
by e batch Of artful pettifoggers who, when
speaking Of the rights Of man, meant but the
privileges OF set of arlst1cratic Shareholders,
but styled II : the rights of man. in order TO
throw dust into the eyes Of the world, aud to
Invelg!e nOble-hearted fools into lending them
aid and assistance. Applause. These are
your boasted revolutionary sires, no longer
heroes and sages, but accomplished humhug
nara md h,-v.. L. II /.
meant another; who passed counterfeit senti-
ments as genuine and obtained arms and
money and assistance and sympathy Oh false
prctencesl There is your great American
Revolution, no longer the great champion Of
universal! principles, hut mean Yankee trick
- bursts Gf applause and laughter "a wood
en nutmeg renewed cheers the most ina
pudent imposition ever practiced upon the
whole world lApplause.
That is the way Mr. Douglas wants YOU to
read and 10 understand the proudest pages in
American history This is the kind Of his
tory With which be finds it necessary to prop
his mongrel doctrine of Popular Sovereignty!
That !. what he calls vindicating the character
and the motives and the conduct Of the signers
Of the Declaration Of Independence! Thus
he did not blush to slander jefferson who,
when speaking Of his country, Taeant the
world, and when speaking Of his fellow. citizens,
meant mankind; and Franklin, in whose clear
head theory and practice we're the same,
aud who, having declared ali men 70 be ere
ated free and equal became the first Presi-
dent Of the first great Abolition society and
John Adams, the representative Of that State
which abolished slavery within its limits win
one great stroke Of legislation; and Washing
ton, who declared it to be his 'fondest wish 10
sec slavery abolished by law and affixed to
the Declaration Of Independence the broad
signature Of his heroic sword and Madison.
who deemed II absurd to admit the idea Of
property in man !; and Of the trainers Ct the
Constitution, who took care not to disgrace
that instrument with the word slavery and
before adopting it finally, blotted out from the
e2tradtion clause the word 'servitude,' avow-
cd kCr =