The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1860-02-15
One Hundred Years Ago.

There is nothing that SO powerfully i'm.
presses the mind with the energy of the
American people, as to look at the state of
this Continent a hundred years ago, and
compare it with the present state OF things
In regard to the Territory now occupied by
these United States, one hundred years ago
was just the crisis of lie fate. Whether
this North American Continent should be
English or French, was then settled and not t
till then. True, Enghnd possessed the sea.
board, but the French had the Cansdss, the !
st. Lawrence, tbs Lakes, and the Mssissip.
pi to the Gulf Of Mexico, undisturbed, unit
1859. Then it was that Quebec was cap.
tured by the gallant Wblfe, and Ticonderoga
by the English army seni for that purpose.
But it was not till l76a that the King Of
France gave up the hope of reguning it, or
that Montreal surrendered to Gen. Amhurst.
Up to this period it seemed ae if the French
had every prospect of having the Continent
ultimately. The Indians were 10 their pay,
and our colonies were entirely surrounded.
Could any one then have predicted that in a
century population Of about thirty millions,
as large almost as that of England and
France put together, then would occupy the
territory and extend across the Continent,
the center of population being far away in
what were the forests of the red man, how
| impossible would it have seemed that France
should SO entirely have lost the formative
power Of the institutions of this Continent.
Had France held Quebec and driven back
! the assault of Wolfe, or recovered her for
tress the next year, how singularly different
had been the fate of this Continent. twas
the effort against the French that first really
united the whole American people into one
nation. But for that war, they probably
never would have united against anything.
At that time the question was not as to the
political influence of Great Britain on this
Continent, or even of Spain, but the abso.
lutte supremacy OF France. Superior strength
on the ground, decided this against France
in spite of a superior enterprise and skill in
forming Indian alliances and geographical
investigations. The taking of Louisbours
the fall OF Quebec, and the cspture Of I'll
conderoga, ended in the blind cesson of tn,
whole of Canada. Just ten years from tht
date Of that cession, similar confederation
, of the colonies was again called into exist
ence to resist Great Britain. The idea o
William Penn, 60 or 70 years before, ha
given birth to the whole of these confedera
!, ting movements. ",.>. ....
s At the end of century we see the fruit
of it all. The French dominion has utterl
# passed away from this Continent, but th
Territory for which they were contendinI
q especially the valley of Mississippi, is b'
o coming the garden Of the world and all thu
s. America ia now, oil that she ever will be
come, were bound up in two or three con
q flcts, at the time not generally regarded o
q important or decisive, hundred years age
4 What are the conflicts now raging in tn
world. and on this Continent, that will pro
+. duce such effects hundred years hence 2
F Most that now seems most momentous wi
4 have become utterly insignificant, but aom
II few things now looked at as merely tempo
, rary, will have wrought themselves out int
,. consequences of the greatest magnitude
Probably the spread of American institution
o and of American laws over the whole Cor
# tinent, including especially Mexico and Cel
tral America, will be one great and inevi.'
Bile result of the next century. The expl
"a ration and settlement of Africa will
n another great result, in all probability. |
70 healthy and fertile interior is just now beir
u explored as the Mississippi was centu
y since. Its cotton lands will some day
l.. coming into market, and the colony Of L
:, - IBERIA will become the centre of Africs
States, perhaps more populous and nearly
y. prosperous as our own States are at preser
. The Colonization Society may be thus la
ing the foundation of work as importa
b. as any in history.
l. The separation OF India from England W
b. almost certainly be the work Of the he
~, hundred years. How far the Suez Car
=. may affect this, none can guess, but in
ev probability, the Encouragement Of dist,
ho government will, of necessity, transfer t
-, real dominion of that vast Empire, TO sol
~ local Anglo Saxon government in India.
r., The English language will. in all the
n changes however, carry itself and its livi
,,t thought and power to dominion yet U
i'm thought Of.