The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1868-03-31
Pen0IetOn Club of W00dsfieId, O..
March 20, 1865.
TO THE

Mr.. PRESIDENT. I do not propose this
evening to enter into general discussion
Of the issues involved in the present po-
litical contest, but will con fine my re-
mar Ks to single proposition;one which We
must all more thoroughly comprehend,
and more fully realize before we are pre-
pared to enter upon the canvas, much less
upon the election. That proposition is
this 2
If the Radicals succeed at the Fall
elections without any material loss Of
their strength, it matters little who shall
succeed after that time: A system Of
government will, in that event, be. fas-
tened upon US, under which elections will
have little influence. ssf ra
The issue which underlies all the other
issues Of this campaign. is a contest be-
tween two widely different and antag
onistio systems Of government. One
of these systems, supported by the con-
servatives, is that founded by Jefferson
upon the principle that all power is
originally iuherent in the paople--thars
our governments, State and National, pos
sess no legitimate powers but such as
have been specifically granted to them, by
| the people, in written constitutions. It
may, therefore, properly be called the
constitutional System. The central idea
of this system is, that the General Gov
ernment should attempt nothing which
| the States can do as well, or better;
States should attempt nothing which
counties can do as well, or better; coun-
| ties should attempt nothing which town
ships can do as well, or better, and
townships should attempt nothing which
lsociety, or individuals, can do as well, or
better. 1t recognizes the greatest pos
sible individual liberty of the citizen. It
lis the system which prevailed in this
country from the adoption of the Consti-
tuition to the Inauguration Of President
Lincoln, and under which few feeble,
scattered colonies became, in three quar-
ters Of q century, the mightiest nation on
earth. 5 res
The other system, introduced and sup
ported by the Radicals, is precisely the
: converse of this. 1t recognizes the head
of the government as the source of all
! political power. 1t is based upon
, the theory that the States and ths
people have no rights but such as the
government has loaned to them, and
which the government may at any time
| reclaim. Such parts of this system as
are not literally copied from the mon
t archies Of Europe, are the mere exper-
RI iments of Missionaries.
!. The present political campaign is q
death struggle between these two sys.
TENS, and must result in the overthrow
. of one and the permanent establishment
. of the other. By comparing the present
condition Of the government and the peo
pie with their condition few years ago
! we may see what progress has been made
{ in breaking down the constitutional sys
!. tenn, and how little now remains to b,
a done to place the Radical system abov,
! the influence Of the ballot box.
"A few years ago, within the memor,
of the youngest voter present, politica
7 parties differed upon questions of policy
/ They sometimes even went SO far as tt
!. differ in regard to the construction
lof certain clauses of the Constitution
= But no man then was bold enough, 0,
3 vile enough, to propose a violation 0
i that instrument. If the most popula
J: man in our country had announced hi
i hostility to the Constitution he could no
have been elected trustee of any town
+ ship in Ohio. All our people and al
our parties We'd with each other in con
i forming to its teachings. All our orator
A emulated each other in magnifying it
!. virtues, and the wisdom Of its founders
All our Statesmen from Washington
!, to Douglas left it to US as guide and
a warning, thousand times repeated, tha,
e so long as we preserved the Constitu
y ton in its purity we should be the mos
prosperous people on earth; that as soor
as we should suffer it to be disregardet
9 we would open the doodgates Of ruin.
o Statesman taught to the people. ant
the people taught to their children thai
the Constitution was to be reyered secont
tonly to to the Holy Scriptures; and if the
Constitution was our political Bible, The
q co-ofdinate branches, the Legislative, ex
y ecative and judicial, were the Holy Trim
4 ity of our government. They are lik,
1.-The wheels of machine; SO long as eacl
revolves in its own sphere everything
J, works harmoniously; bat whenever ont
$ encroaches upon the domain of another
]. the whole system becomes deranged.
Under this system faithfully carried
out, our government was the wonder ant
4 envy of the civilized world. European
nations were prudently Withdrawing from
: all interference With political affairs OF
. | this continent, believing It to be the man
, ifest destiny of the United States t,
control the whole western hemisphere.
The prosperity of our people kept pace
with our progress as government. Oul
Q manufactures already equa,ed and wer,
r rapidly surprising those of the old world
Our agriculture was unparalleled. The cot
ton crop alone annually brought US from
: Europe an income sufficient to have paie
e all our National debt,ail our State debt,ant
e have left abundance to pay all the ex,
penditures of the government for years
under Democratic administration. Oul
: commerce was fast driving rivalry from
q the ocean. At every port ON the globe
Q great and small, American vessels coulG
!. be seen receiving and discharging car
) goes. We were Going half the carrying
: business of the world. In short, every
branch Of industry was thriving and
prosperous. Every citizen Of the coun