The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1863-02-10
Labelling the People.

zen of the United States, and especially our
people of the West. Now this seems to have
been succeeded by II blind acquiescence in and
servile submission to power, to political pow
er, to money power, to any power which has
influence. In this respect very material, a
very unfortunate change, has taken place, not
merely in the habits of the people, but in their
mind They have dcgenerated from the proud
and enviable position of freemen to the debase-
ment of barbarian serfdom
attribute this sudden change in the Ameri-
can people to the corruption of morals which
has become almost universal among us"
Eg The above is from a letter from
d. A. MAHoNY to bis paper, the Duhu
que Herald This old traitor and Jesuit,
not satisfied with libeling the Admins
tration and denouncing the government
mot content with maligning all in au
thority and all who are heartily for the
country-not content with fouling the
army with abuse-has turned his vials
of denunciation upon the people, and
boldly tells them that they have "degen-
Grated from the proud and envioJle posi-
ton Of .t,eemen 10 the debasement of bar
borian sertaom."
And why When TooMBs and DAVIS
and Mason and BUTLER and KEirr and
Brooks were cracking their slave driv
er's Whips over the backs of Northern
Representatives in Congress-w Zen they
carried the bludgeon and pistol into the
Senate chamber, and struck down an
unofending and noble minded Senator
because he devoted the powers of his
great intellect to the cause Of Liberty
Humanity and Justice-when the man
constant bullying and insults of South
ern ruffians in Conoress-when the
rights Of freemen were constantly violat
ed by forced constructions Of the Consti-
tuition in the interests Of slavery-when,
in fact, the whole country was ruled in
the interests and for the extension, of
the most Infamous tyranny that the
world ever saw, then DENNIS A. MAHoNY
possessed his soul in satisfaction. But
wtrrn the friends vf STEPHEN A. DOUG
LAS went TO Charleston and in the Demo
cratic Convention refused to bow their
necks still more abjeclly to the Mooch
of slavery hen at Baltimore they le
fused to succumb to the traitors against
the liberties Of the peope-relused 10
break down the last barrier against the
dark flood Of slavery polluton-refuscd
to give up their liberty as well as their
manhood then DENNIS began TO lose
faith in the people. And when the slave
magicians, through the potent spell OF
the fire and smoke Of Sumter, called up
the bright, radiant, but terrible spirit Of
patriotism which then greeted the worlds
vision-when that spirit hurled back the
advancing scourge of slaveholding trea
son TO blacken their own fields when it
awoke the genius Of Liberty TO break the
bonds that bound the slave, then D. NNIs
went forth in sackclolh and ashes, be
moaning the sad degeneracy of the peo
pie and the terrible corruption of the
rulers.
Nor is DENNIS individual in this. He
is but the type Of a large class. who look
ed with great comp lacency upon the
progress which the cause Of Human
Bondage was making IN this professedly
free land-who saw lis dark influence
creeping over our courts. over our legis
lalive bodies, over our rulers-who saw
it warping the Constitution, and all the
powers Of the government, to lis ends
who saw it strike down Free Speech in
the Senate and Free Thought and Free
Labor on the plains of K4nsas-who
saw il concocl an Infamous black code |
for New Mexico that made the advocate
of freedom a felon worthy OF dealh-who
saw il so paralyzc the moral sense Of The I
NAHUM ttIdt bE Soulu CIV anu ilfdl tJdl
immortal old charter OF Human Rights,
the Declaration Of independence, rm-
ed a " string Of glitlering generalitles =
DENNIS, we say, is bu. the type of .
large class who could see all these eyi.
dences Of a sad disregard for the pre-
cepis Of our falhers--all these evidences
of sad iorsetfulness, on the part Of the
people. to the claims of Liberty and Jus
lice. and never think Of the Peoples de-
generacy. Not only that, but when the
people, at last awakened to a sense OF
their position, elected TO power. By
strict adherence to the forms Of the Con-
President Of their choice
they stand applaud;ng by while slavery,
by armed force, seeks 10 reverse thai
election. or break up the government
They see in all lhis--in all this abiecl
lbasement before the slave powe no
evidences Of The drgeneracy OF The PEG