The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1866-01-17
IGOvERNOn gOx's INAUGUR-
h i1i4dl gaAL ADDRESS! js5!3igi "a

70 of8edGeH uene'Ssdt NE SENATE d7idII ilii
Hoase,of Representations. % 40 "a 40
We are entering upona now epochs ID
our history. This period ofl struggle for
national existence Is ended, and we have
celebrated our thanks living Ito Goa for
deliycrauce, The war administrations Of
both Nation and State have gone by, and
we have tegu an era Of peace ,withiis new
duties and new responsibilities. We have
prQvon that our Government is strong
enough to resist the most formidable eff.
fortstodestroyait by forces and Rsai ihra
now to show whether II has such. vitality
that it can assimilate the different Gle,
ments comprised under its rule, and har.
monize the Hantagonisms necessarily ro.
naming alter so fierce q strife. -i..
For years all our energies and our re-
sources have been devoted TO the simple
duty of subduing great rebellion: and
what was demanded of us was undaunted
courage and obstinate determination, con-
centratins olr will ahd our power upon
the single purpose before US, and refus-
ing 10 be turned aside for any other object
till that was thoroughly accomplished.
Now we have put cffi'.e harb es5, ,ofrwar,;
the grand army which saved he republic
is rdisbnnded its yeterabs, have Teen.
quietly absorbed into the eimpss of their
fellow citizens, aud all4are now iBteptly
studying stheilFoblem oflshapgiug a
Union restored by force, into one whose
permapeucc shall be guaranteed by mu
tual good will and, common interests, and
be based vpon universal freedom and gen.
uine rcpublicapsm. To do this will de-
mand qualities of head ard heart, quite
rs high as any that have been called into
exercise hitherto, and if we succeed in
finding Tho solution VIC seek we shall
prove tLat the victories Of peace are far
greater than those Of war 40n the one
hand are the dangers Of receiving into
full participation Of the Government
those who have been stalking everything
upon its oycrthrsw;o and upon the other,
the obligations we.are under the whole
world TO adhere to those doctrines of
Democratic liberty aud equality which lie
at the foundation Of our system whilst
our relations to The unfortunate AFRICAN
, race, whose slavery we have abolished
and whose freedom we are ssc-edly bound
to protect, and come in to eomplicate
10th classes Of difficulties. an; rf,.i
| Congress and the President are now a
work Dpon tho details Of complete rcstor-
alton Of civil government in the States
lately rebel'ious, and We, in common pro-
gress with the most earnest hope that
they may speedily agree upon national
policy which ahall thoroughly accord
with the highest interests of the whole
land. ] do not regard this apropcr time
TO discuss specific measures which are be,
fore onr federal legislature and authorities,
but all for our public acs in cur State r
ganizations, as well asip our National ca
pacity, must Le more or less modiftd by
circumstance$ shipped by the great war
ip which We have, been engaged, and il
seems necessary therefore, as a prepara,
tioa for every species Of public duty, that
we should lock with special care at any
daogertus tendencies the var may have
developed aud recall The gedefal 'princi.
pies which Should GUIDE our action as
servants Of The psople. , '
/ Il is in the excitement of great strug
gle a the, institutions oi country arc
IN the most danger Of cl ange, and perhaps
no nation has eyer passed through sseh Q
copvplqion as ours and then returned 10
The principles Of government aud expci
f m Of cous'iu'ion which it had before
The maxim that revolutions do not go
backward. has seemed to have even q wi.
der and deeper significance than has been
pnpular'y given to it, The same law Of
progression which has made the convul.
siOns,of n.ouarchical government tend TO.
ward the development of popular liberty,
has in republics too often led 10 despot-
ism ofclasscs or Of factions, and thence
by easy stages to anarchy aud utter dis.
ruptioa. A victorious majority, flushed
withsifs Gttiupph eflds il ousYyto forget
the rights Of minorities, aud it remains
for us to prove whether. in our day, the
old cry of"sWoeo to the conquered may
be siloncen by truly republican defer,
mibatiou to admenistcr tho goverhnien'
1for sthe real advantage ofosal--df thy
defeated rebels as well as of the loyal
V'cAtsodi oi ssr.1lo s9yia aids Of tus c
+ The war was not wagod by us, yho 70
NAMED faithful TO the Government, Ia
subvcrt my Of the principles Of human
liberty upon which that Government was
based but to confirm aud establish them
The one great doctrine which has been
settled by the war is that the National
Union canno, and shall not be destroyed
BY the notion Of any Of the States compo.
sing 1t, but its continuance, It's modi6ca-
tion or Ito dissolution shall bo determined
by, the whole people acting as one nation
under the forms Of the Federal Constitu-
tiou, The one great social change which
has been determined by the same event,
lis the'abolition ofslaSory3 c,cxisteupc
! Of which was staked upon the success ci
4 the rebellion, Of which il was the cause.
i, These things have beeh decided in tho
.Idread court ef lust resort for peoples Nand
na,iors. BY as much ns,tbc shock ool
armed hosts is more grand than the intel
llociual tilt Of lawyers ; as the God Of bat
Ties is q more awful Judge than any earth.
'lly court BY SO much the dignity Of this
lcontest and the flnality ofthis des;ciop
exceed that Of any human tribunal. = II
wc have not been riRh, in pledeing oui
Lives aud our fortunes tosaye our couatry,