New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-04-19
RADICAL PROGRESS.

has never been done, we shall undertake
to disproye what that acute Democratic
organize New York World-has recently
said of "Radical progress in this coun'
try. It has undertaken, by comparison
10 show that this country has been gong
backward ever since the Republican party
| supplanted the Democratic party in all.
thority; and asserts this is very we'll shown
by comparison of the incidents Of the SO
called progress" upon which the Radical
party vaunts itself. with the course OF
events abroad.
And what, may be asked, have been the
incidents of the so-called progress? The
Intelligent World knows, but has withheld
them i'll order TO make it appear that
American Radcalism has concentrated
power for no other purpose than to rob
the people of the privilege of local SELF
government.
The leading incidents of the progress
are the election of Mr.. Lincoln in 1860,
upon a political platform denying that
slavery was national, and declaring that
it should in the future be confined to the
States where it then existed. The Demo-
cratic party-the Worlds party of pro-
gress-declared that slavery was national,
and that it must 60 into the Territories.
This was the issue upon which Mr.. Lin
coin was elected. Immediately after his
election, the Democratic party in the
States that were then known as the slave
States determined to rebel against his
election. They did so by forcing, first,
secession in the slave States against the
wishes of a majority of the people of each
State, and then, forming confederation,
made war upon the government of the
United States by seizng upon its forts and
arsenals wherever they could. They
formed a constitution, with slavery as its
corner stone, and elected so-called Presi-
dent and Vice-President of the so-called
Confederate States, and formed,
as fully as they knew how, gov
eminent with all the appendages
belonging to regular governments, and,
with full determination to fight it out
on that line, they made war upon freedom
and in behalf of slavery; they made war
upon the government of the United States,
and against the Republicans thereof.
They did this before Mr.. Lincoln had
assumed the reins of government, and
even attempted plots to assassinate him
on his way to the capital of the nation.
He reached there, however, and took the
solemn and sacred oath required Of him
by the constitution. Then the war com.
menced in earnest. Fort Sumter was fred
upon by the rebels. and the garrison forced
to surrender. The general government,
seeing no alternative but to resist force
with force, determined to call upon the
people to rally under their flag in defense
of their government. MI. Lincoln issued
his proclamation for seventy-fve thousand
men, and the people nobly responded to
his call in behalf of freedom. A cruel
war was thus forced upon the people and
government that refused to acknowledge
slavery as national; that refused it further
strength by permitting its growth in the
Territories. The Republicans, as the war
advanced, saw that they would have to go
to the root of the evil in order to suppress
the rebellion; that their cure would have
10 be radical in order to be effectunl; that
they would have TO abolish slavery. This
was done by Mr.. Lincoln's emancipation
and the successful termina-
ton of the war for the Union.
After this the Republicans were known
as Radicals, and it is proper to ask the
World whether it regards the adjustment
Of slavery as a work of progress? and if
50, how it can regard Radical progress as
really of retrogressive nature? But
or Radicalism; the World
may say, has not stopped here. In order
to maintain the authority of the supreme
Government, which is chosen by the peo-
ple,. it became necessary to disavow
dangerous dogma that had been contended
for By the leaders of the State-rights or
slave party in this country. They con-
tended for the hight of the slave States to
from the Union whenever it be-
came the slave interest that they should do
20. The fate of this pernicious dogma
was as much at stake in the result of the
war as was slavery; and for the World to
say that this country is retrogressing, be-
cause fraction of its people are not
permitted to determine questions ad-
to the interest of the majority is
simply to aver that the majority shall not
.ule. The question of State rights under
our republican form of government was
Is fully determined by the war as was the
question of slavery. 1t was decided that
States had no rights in their local govern
nents that were Independent of and SUI
oerior to the general government; that
hey could not simply by the vote of a
State withdraw from the Union. And
when it is considered that this decision
was had in the interest of self-government
{ will be acknowledged that it is progress
,ive-that it is radical progress, if that
,uits the opponents of true Republicanism
better.
Where the people of country are
blessed, as are the people of the United
States, with q constitutional government