Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1860-12-14
Manifest Destiny.

he philosophy OF history has been stud
led to little purpose if the intelligent read
er does not see in the causes which are sha-
king the fundamental structure of our gov
eminent, the agencies that oyerthrew and
destroyed the Republics of Greece and
Rome. Xenophon and Isocrates have trans
mitted the beneficial instruction that popu-
lar government was administered with sim
gular success in Athens and Sparta, so long
as the people were held to rigid obser-
vance of the laws, and never permitted to
indulge in habitual neglect of the stern re-
quirements of mutual confidence, respect
and fraternity. So long as an elevated
sense Of obedience to government ami
mated the people, those cities marched for
ward ia all the arts of civilization, and at
tanned an eminence that eclpsed in renown
and splendor the then known world The
first symptoms of decline and decay were
manifested in departure from the teach
ipgs and examples of the founders of the cit
les. A gradual laxity in the administration
of tho laws quickly succeeded, and finally
the whims of the popular mob became the
ruling element in the administrations; license
assumed the mantle of law; the governments
of regulated liberty were swiftly converted
into warning and chaotic elements, and the
last hopes Of once happy, prosperous and
contented people blotted out in a sea of blood
and carnage.
No less impressive are the lessons drawn
from the graphic historical recitals of
Glbbon, as he traces, with the charm of ro-
! nance, the decline and fall' Of the Roman
Empire. The incipient signs Of disease in
the body polite, at first apparently triaing
and significant, and no larger than man.
hand, gradually spread, until the entire
system became corrupted, and the dark
cloud Of impending ruin broke in destruc-
tive fury upon it.
We do not ,hink it is drawing upon the
Imagination to an absurd degree to assume
that Washington himself, when penning that
rich legacy to posterity-his Farewell Ad-
dress-had wildly before his minds eye
the mournful lessons Of the history Of these
ancient governments. 1t cannot escape the
Intelligent readers attention, that his ear
nest warnings and patriotic injunctions are
directed against the very evils which proved
the bane of the political systems of Greece
and Rome, and are. therefore, not SO much
the result Of a prophetic vision as tho philo-
soI bic teachings of history. The same may
be written Of the Farewell Address Of Jack
son, who, instructed by the realization Of
many Of the evils which Washington pre-
dicted would grow out Of sectional prejudi-
ces and geographical parties, was thus, with
the lights OF actual experience, as well as
of historical record, beaming all around him,
enabled to point out with the greater accu-
racy the evils which threatened the sta
bility and existence of our government
Could those great and good men have lifted
the curtain of time itself, and been permit
ted to glance down its unveiled vista, they
could not have invested their patriotic warn
ings with more instructive truths. And Il
the seals that have thus far been broken at
test the prophetic wisdom of Washington
and Jackson, how can we clcse our eyes to
the rushing conviction that the mournful
fears which pressed upon them may be re-
allied to the very letter in our own day and
generation? Sectional parties have been
formed. Against these they warned US
Embittered feelings have been engendered.
This, they toId US, would be the natural re-
suit of sectional parties. Mutual distrrst,
antipathy and hate DO exist, which they
plainly pointed out to US. The Union is
now shaking and creaking under fratricidal
blows, and will, we fear, speedily be riven
asunder, thus realizing their most painful
fears and forebodings. If in these respects,
Washington and jackson were the faithful
chroniclers of unseen events, is it not more
than possible that the warning, petty Re-
publics and States which they pictured in
the dim future, may be our destiny, until
we fall prey to more wise aud united pow
ers?
We coufess that the actual developments
which loom up before US in the history of
our government have startled and shakeG
our faith in the destiny ofthe American Re
public. While ever skepsical, when left
alone with reason, as to the continuance Of
an united Confederacy of all the States, we
have thrown our intellectual doubts and
fears down before the trumphs Of an abb
ding faith that the reins of this free and hap
by government would be controlled by the
Ruler of the Army and Council Of the Skies,
for the purpose of spreading, by the agency
Of Democratic Republican government, the
principles of Christianity throughout the
world. Believing that the destiny Of peo-
Piles and governments are determined in the
Councils of Divinity, we still cling to the
conviction that whether united or separated,
some good end is destined TO be accom-
plished.
The historical truth that the negro slave
and the acquisition of Territory constitute
J the rock which will eventually break asun-
der the Union of the States, affords us a