Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-09-12
PURIFIcAT1oN OF THE DEMOCRAT
10 PARTY.

10 PARTY.
From wilkes Spirit ofthc Times.
Revolutions never como singly. War is
great reformer, and oil c0nimotions which |
shake society to its foundations must me-
make new associations of the ele-
menis. Following fhis principle, the great
parties Of the country are now 10 chaos, and
fresh agglomerae ons of the separated par
ticlcs are constantly going on.
At the commencement of the rebellion,
politics were divided into two great halves.
They were respectively known as the de-
mocratic and Republican parties. The
former, by the watchwords Of Freedom"
equal rights protect the arm of labor"
and by its notoriously radical tendencies,
early took possession of the imagination of
the country the latter was merely the in
heritor of the defunct whig party--a thing
which had no instincts, and which was sim
ply coldly intellectual and conservative
machine. The reputation adhered TO the
Republicans, notwithstanding they infused
new life and warmer doctrine into the veins
of the paterna or anization; while the de-
mocratic party retained its popularity,
maugre its extending patronage of slavery
and n gradual concessions of its principals.
Corrupted by an almost continuous exercise
of power, its leaders had become great lords
of place, and, like the mobiles of the Euro
pcan monarchies, held in their hands, or
dispensed according to their WILL all the
dignities and profits of the nation. These
men, though not named marlnises and
dukes, as such persons are entitled in Eu-
rope, arc IN effect the barons of this empire ;
and democrats, though they call themselves,
are practically the greatest Uristocrats in the
land. BY means of cabal, which they call
: tA faip
from year to year, possession of exclusive
! privileges and absolute control and no one
| gets within their favored circle except
through favoritism, and on the terms by
/ which every aristocracy rcplenshcs its order.
| The unsuspicious masses, who are the basis
of this power, accept the professions of these
men as the claims to their support, and not
seeing them glitterng with any signs of
rank, simply believe them to he plain demo
Gratis like themselves. 1t never strikes them
that, rs soon rs a man ascends from the
multitude to take the rank of "otiice," he
! practically ceases to be one of their order
and that he is, thencelorth, much more like
| ly to form combinations with those above
him, 20 retain position, then to relapse back
into the undistinguished flood, for the sake
of principle. They have not reflected more
over, that the Office holders of monarchies
are always the nobility and its dependents
and that, by a parity of reasoning, place
holders and party-leaders, who dispense of
flee in :his country, are the very worst
counscllors, which the democratic portion OF
the community can have.
The history of the democratic "organiza
tion"-we do not say party for that i'm,
plies the peoples a strong proof of the
truth of our position. 1t came into full
power under Thomas jefferson. 1t reflected
his excessive love of liberty, adopted all his
radicalism, and inccssantly developed pro
grcssive instincts down to the hour when
jackson left the chair. In that ilustriou>
period, had any one suggested that the day
might come when the organization repre-
serting the democratic party would be
tolerant of treason-that it could he made
to cvince an inaptituGe for war: or that il
would ever bear with patience the insulting
tory nickname of ''conservative'-ne would
have been regarded on all sidcs ms sense
less slandercr and have provoked nothing
but the deepest Indignation. Immediately
however, after the suppression of nulliiica
tion by Andrew Jackson, the southern fac
tionists commenced debauching the northern
mind with the doctrine of state rights, and
rendered new alliance to the northern de
mocratic politicians for its support, on tn,
basis of a natural division of the spoils.-
This bargain being made by incipicnt trai
tors on the one side, and by men whom
long course of vicious practice had exhaust
ed of all conscience on the other, the inter
csts of the country had no consideration il
the compact 1t was simply treaty be
tween two sets of rogues, one of whicl
rested upon a substratum of negro slaves anC
yearned for monarchy, and the other repus
ing on mass of votes, which, through blint
confidence in custom, and religious rcvcr
encc for the talisman those leaders bore
were as tractable handling as the southern
stock in trade. Both sets of bargancrs were
morally of the selfsamc stripe though II
boldness of design and dignity of purpose
the southerners loomed greatly over the dirt
eating dogs with whom they dealt. They
were tired of rcpublicanism did not like
equality with laboring neighbors, and want
ed scparare country and king. The
Others were simply without any public prin
ciple, and ready to steep their country into
any shame, provided they could continue tC
ride with the pro-slavory aristocrats on tho
top crest of power. We did not wonder
therefore, when we saw them rapidly desert
the principles of jefferson, and regardless OF
the desire of the earlier democracy to zen,
large the boundaries of freedom" and open
the southern tn the labor of the white, sink
to the inexpressible iniamy of acquies ccncc
in the maxim that "the negro has no rights
which the white man is bound to respect. :
This marked the utter suLjugation of the
northern doughface and, asking no more
the southern conspirators were ready to re.
volt. The doctrine of state rights. throwing
throwing off its thin disguise, took its true
color of session and levied war uoon the
nation. BY this act the democratic ")rgani-
zation,' which had ruled the country. was
violently rent in twain, and the upper frar-
mcnt was left stranded on the northern bank
The masses of the party, indignant at this
perfdy and do"ble treason, were unanimous
for war; but their treacherous leaders. in
different to everything but their imperlled
personal ascendency, stood aoof from the
generous fusion of the people, and waited
for the hour when they might cajole them
back from their patriotic impulse, and re-
enslaye them to the imperious reactionisis.
in this way the organization added trca-
son TO its previous heresies, and we at length
beheld the phenomenon of the democratic
sentiment perverted into opposition to n
righteous war, and meanly adopted the tory
symbol of conservative" Meantime the
democratic principle, cast off by those who
assumed TO be its guardians, sought u lotlu-
har H.. l..