The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-04-20
The Battle Of the Giants-Our Political
RevOIutiOn.

The Battle Of tho Giants-Our Political
RevOlution.
Stocks attract their usual share Of attention,
and run up or down, to the amazement or
despair Of intensely interested thousands In
every Northern city. Secretary Chase's green
backed promises to pay are discussed in turn
as If there were no other subject for possible
discussion, and our whole population runs
wild over its chosen charity Of sanitary fairs;
and, while the people are thus amused and
interested with their various trivialities the
earnest consideration of the war seems to have
passed out Of the popular thought, though the
war was never so imminently near as ii is at
the present time to crisis that should over
shadow In the mind of every citizen every
other topic, great or small. We stand at
great turning point not only In our own his
tory, but In the history of the human race
Our own institutions, the integrity of the
great republic" whose requiem has been
already chanted in monarcbical Europe, and
even the question of the ability of an intelli-
gent people to govern themselves, are at stake
on the great battle that is soon to be fought in
Virginia. And that battle will be worthy Of
these great issues. 1t will be true Titanic
struggle-the greatest battle Of any civil war =
and comparable to the greatest struggles that
have been waged between rival nations. In
the numbers engaged it will be parallel to
Leipsic, and in its desperately decisive charac-
ter i will in all probability equal Waterloo.
Our growth in this war has been rapid. Be-
fore it the great battles of our history were the
battles Of very small armies, and at its COM
mencement seventy-fve thousand men were re-
garded as large number to enforce the laws
forces Of the government had been driven. But
now military preparations on the most stupend-
GUS scale are regarded with apathy-exc;te no
surprise. We have grown, and that growth
has greatly changed US. In addition to the
great social revolution that the war has made.
it has made such changes in the minds Of the
people, and has so changed the practical work
ing Of the government, as to have substantially
revolutionized both government and people.
We are greater, larger-thOughted and utterly
different people now from what We were when
this war began; and the changes that have
taken place in the people must necessarily be
impressed upon that utterauce of the peo-
pie, the government. The government that
suited US in the past will not suit US in
the future. All the practical changes in the
administration Of the government that took
place between the Presidency Of Washington
and the present President-and they were
many-will be dwarfed by the changes that
are to take place in the immediate future.
Constitutions are impressible, and assume
almost any shape, and within the limits of the
constitution great changes may take place in
The people and in the government; and we are
10 change to the extent of that limit
Without any noisy overthrow of q dynasty,
without ostensible change in the forms of our
political life, we have gone and are going
naturally through changes as great and distinct
as Great Britain went through in the ''great re.
bellion" of l640 or as France went through in
1898. Under the influence of these changes our
government will in the future be greater and
stronger than ever, and our people, if possible,
more secure in their persons and their rights.
If the great battle SO soon to be fought shall
be decided in our favor, we shall 20 on grow
ing stronger every year in our wonderful pro.
gress; but il it be decided against us It will
interrupt this great development, and may
prove to be the greatest disaster in modern
history.