Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-08-09
From the Atlantic Monthly, August.
Where will the Rebellion
Leave us.

"The United States are bounded
North, by the British Possessions; South,
by the Gulf of Mexico; East, by the At
lantic Ocean; and West, by the Pacific. -
So the school books told us which we
studied in our childhood; and SO, in ev-
cry school throughout the land, the
children arc taught to-day. The armed
hosts whose tread resounds through the
Continent are marching Southwark to
teach tn simple lesson in geography.
They all know it by heart. This they
are ready to verify as the lawyers say.
Wherever, in any benighted region, this
elementary proposition shall be hence
forth denied or doubted, schools for
adults are TO be established, and the
needful instruction given BY rcgi-
ments, battalons, and brigades, with all
necessary apparatus, the teachers go
forth to their work. The proposition is
"a very simple one, easily expressed and
easily understood; but it tells the whole
story. 1t is the substance of all mems
speech. Mr.. Lincoln states it in his in
augural. MIR. Douglass imprcsses ii
upon the Observation-Disclosures Alr Sew
ard announces it, briefly and with en-
phasis, to the governments of Europe.
Sentimental talk about "orr country
however bounded" is-6bsolete; and how
the country is bounded is now the point
to lie settled, once and forever. This
territory, from tire Great Lakes to tha
Gulf, belongs to the people Of the United
States, us they mean to hold and keep
it. We shall neither alter our school
books nor revise our maps" So say
the American people, rising in thei.
wrath
The practical questionwith which Mr.
Lincoln S administration had to deal in
the first place was, whether popular
government is strong enough to suppress
IA military rebellion? And that may be
regarded as already settled. But the
grounds upon which that rebellion is
justified involve the vital facts Of ma
tional unity, and even of.national exist
ence. AS a people, we have always been
extremely tolerant of theories, however
absurd. There is hardly doctrine of
constitutional law so clear and we'll set
tied, that it is not, from time to time
discussed and disputed among US. But
when it comes to reducing mischievous
speculations to practice, the case is al
tered, and the practical genius Of the
people begins to manifest itself. Thus,
the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
of '9S and '99 declared the Federal Con-
stitution to be merely compact between
sovereign States, created for special
and limited purpose; and that each party
to the compact was the exclusive and
final judge for itself of the construction
of the contract, with a right to determine
for itself when it was violated, and the
measure and mode of redress. AS a
theory, this doctrine has been very ex-
!tensively accepted. Great parties have
adopted it as their platform, and cleo
tions have been carried upon it. Its
value as a support to the dignity and
self-importance of local politicians was
Freadily apprehended by them; and it was
in perfect harmony with the tone OF
bluster which pervaded our politics.
The thorough refutation which it always
encountered, whenever it was seriously
considered, never seemed to do its pop.
ularity any harm. In truth, mere va,
poring hurt nobody, and caused nc grea
alarm. But when the Hartford Con.
vention was suspected Of covering lit
tie actual heat under the smoke of tht
ia,1 CT Inf 6
bucket of cold water was thrown over it
When, in 1892, South Carolina devel
oped spark of real fire, the nation put
! its foot on it. And now when the torch
of rebellion has been circulating among
very inhammable materials, until a Sc
rious conhagration is threatened, the in
stinct of self preservation has reused the
energies of the whole people for its i'm
mediate, complete, and final extinction
| The present insurrection has been st
long meditated, the approaches to it
final consuhmaton have been so stead
| lily made, and the schemes of the prin
cipl traitors have been SO we'll planned
and carefully matured, that they have
almost succeeded in making the vocab
ulary Of treason apart of the vernacula,
of the country. We all talk Of the
States which have seeded Or are going
Ito seeede-of fratricidal war-of thN
measures which this or the other STATE
is determined or likely to adopt; and ;
great deal has been said about State SOW
ereignty, and coercion of State, ant
the invasion of the soil of one State ant
another. There has been large discus
sion in times past Of the danger of a dis
solution of the Union. Indeed, thi
danger has been so often held up as