The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1868-08-13
The Record of Democracy.

A short time ago we spoke of book to be
published by the Appletons giving history of
the Democracy. We find the following notice Of
this book in the New York Independent:
Mr.. Longman once laid it down as
an axiom Of the trade that it was the
title and not the contents of book that
sold it. This fat appears to have
weighty influence with the authors of
our times. Titles have ceased 10 be
chameleons, which showed the color of
their ground work. and have changed
into sphinxes and conundrums, instead.
(Which - the Right or the Left 2"
"Pique," "Why NOt?" are among the
least obscure of recent titles But,
once year or more, title appears of
such admirable suggestiveness that the
skill of the author overvaults itself;
and the reader, more than satisfied with
the name desires no further acquain-
tance with the book itself. He is like
Mr.. Emerson, who was so pleased with
the ironically appropriate motto of the
Congressional GIObe-"The world is gov
erned too much"-that he could seldom
be induced to read any further. Among
happy-titled books there is none that
we admire more than a recent publics-
ton in the interest of our reactionists,
entitled Democracy in the United
States. What it has done, what it is
doing, and what it will do"
What vista ofinfamy, what chron-
icle of shame, what black prophesy of
disgrace, this title suggests!
"Whdt it has done p 1t declared war
against Mexico, for the purpose of ex-
tending the vilest system of oppression
that modern times have known. 1t
first palliated, then defended, then eu-
logized, then tried to perpetuate for
ever, the slavery of an unofending
race. 1t made laws to force every
Northern citizen to hunt the fugitive
from cruel taskmasters and remorseless
libertines 1t threw open the national
treasury to pay commissioners to re-
turn the slaves and sought to bribe
them to do the infamous deed by offer
ing them higher pay than they would
receive if the victim were set free. 1t
silenced the free pulpit, manacled the
free press, crushed out liberty ofspeech,
and debaucbed the public conscience of
fifteen states. 1t sought to ostracise
every man and every woman, who, in
the Free States, had the courage to de-
clare that oppression was sin against
God and the neighbor, and a fragrant
violation of our avowed national creed
1t fret made the Missouri Compromise,
to gain a position from which to i'm
peril freedom and then remorselessly
repealed it, when its object had been
gained, in order to advance to other un-
holy triumphs. 1t waged war of as
sassiDs against the peaceful settlers of
Kansas, and strewed the virgin prairies
with the corpses of Northern men,
whose only crime was that they pre-
ferred freedom to bondage. 1t threw
printing presses into the river; itdese-
Grated the ballot-box; it recognized a
legislature elected by a lawless horde
of invaders it committed outrages on
defenseless women; it sacked thriving
villages and gave hundreds of humble
homes to the torch of the marauder.
1t massacred Northern men by the
hundred in the Southern States, be-
cause they were suspected of being true
to the principles of the Declaration of
independence. 1t rendered the resi-
dence of Northern men with Northern
principles in more than half of the ter
ritory impossible. 1t established a
reign of terror wherever it had the
power 1t threatened to reopen the Af-
rican slave trade Baf1ed in its last
effort to elect Ia president, Democracy"
few to arms and defied the majesty of
the nation. First dispatching our navy
to distant stations and scattering our