New-York tribune., 1875-03-09
N.rUpe OF THE AMERICAN UNION

LECTURE by GEORGE TIcKNoR CURTIS bhfoNh
THE HEw-YoRK ASSOCIATION Fun ~
Ml.ST OF SCIENCE AND ART. -,
George Ticknor Curtis lectureu oeloio Wv
Novyo,~ Association for the Advancement o noi"o0
, A., t hc south Reformed Church. al I"entiO'''''
t i, rhavc last event z, on the Nature Oh 'he Aoi
,cap Union as the Principal controversy !" ' =,
War-a lecture very attentiyeY hslenou 'V' . ~ -,
onrreciatcd as 70 call cut at its close com'''''oC
drl. So, from tho Hon. wards P'errrpon', inc nv
Dr Harvard Crosby. DAVID Dudley tein anu o'"o,' % III
,a sincere vote of thank.. Mr.. Curtis was INTRO
duccd by the Rev. Dr. Prime. HIS suJct was 'rea'eu
for tho most part in a historical manner, runulns
smootly In narrative FORM ana While the speaker oe-
led +, touch upon questions tnat entered directly
in,o tho polcs Of the time. he considered s0pc re-
,atinc to the OF American Government and to
the great controversy which lally ended in civil war,
without trenchng upon unsuitable ground
Upon the 1rst promulgaton, he began OF the Con-
s'iutIon of the Uni.ed States, and before us final
ratification, great deal OF Jealousy was felt every
where at the idea Of creating central government with
direct and sovereign powers a1d even alter certain
provisions had been inserted which had the eject o.
placing the powers Of tie General Government under
restrictions sin there remained the great question OF
tie Union, the question Oi what the Sttcs h'l pouhi
themselves to by It's adoption the extent anu cc'er
OF the sovereignty OF the United States wheh coh'sted
with the residuuIn Of sovereignty remaining Win tho
States There be question that the statesmen o.
all sections who made the CoDltLuuJn understood that
| political sovereignty government Is capaoIe OF
divscn that while the people oi each st4te alter the
| Revolution lad perfect nud absolute isht OF IN
dependent sclf-govcrnment, 1T WAS poth tHeoretcAly
| and uracticaHy possible TO transfer to
a given depository certain OF their political
powers for specific purposes, whi!o they
reserved all other powers 10 h'm>elVcs'
Tas idea Of diyibty. Of sovereignty lies at the basis
Of our political syscm aud has been what has always
made that system difficult 70 NC understood by Intel
icent foreigners, who cannot perceive that central
government can a complete sovereignty Ill respect
to certain powers aud at tho same time tAat Tie local
governments can have complete Sovereignty in respect
TO oil other 20 wcrs aud, cUa5d what las been thc
history Of this great question and is peculiar character
il Is not very wonderful that Ensishmcn shoId for
time have given their syi1pa,hlvs TO our Southern
brethren Tie diversity o. opinion first arose resarilh
the precise character Of the central government IN l
,vbru q ress u tss,d tho Alien and d..On Laws,
| o, which empowered the President to deal with the
| porsOns OF alien enemies who might Aappcl 10 De
| in tho country in case OF war; ami tho other
was law which made it crime TO vr.te, pfnt, or u-
ter any false. scandalOus or malicious writing against
the Government or either House OF Congress, or the
President with intent 20 defdlo them, Jcng tlcn
| INTO contempt and disrcpltc. The9 excited great
revolution and lei TO the famous kentucky and Vr-
cna resolutions OF 1893 and 79owLch denounced thom
What was exactly meant by these rcs0ulo- u D. no;
who wrote the Virginia resolutions explained thai they
gave no countcnauco to nuihcation but though this
was probably true their language, which has gone into
history has made it plausible that they meant some
thing like what the nUllineIs aitorwaid caimed While
would NOT iuputo to hr Madison or 3I. j. Il rson,
VITO had some hand In framing tie Kentucky rcs0iu-
tions any intention 10 set up sucA doc.nuo o.
! uunGcatIon, and, while l think tho nUA1cr5 were
wrong In their Interpretation, think also thlt when "a
statesmen they came TO Apply 'Iclt ufii%ht iec'r5 10
f1eg IA ttl 81
means Of misleading thcit followers. F1r example
thc fouud that the Cons,tgticn is a compact to which
| tie States are parts which formula Is iruc or not
nccur.iug 10 tire way You look AZ u, ! it utLc.upI
ia The Constitution wa, that cs,h state rs an in
dependent sovereign mad made compact with all the
other States that certain powers should be exercised
| by the Central Government until the coupict was
broken, and tnat each sta'c TO Judge it=et when
Ia "a Ssonth G,0na became very re,y, unior tho
on ration OF that part OF the U,ve9ue laws commonly
caeI tic Tdrlh, snd passed re-ouoas delouhe!ug Il
have mide serious trouble but for tne piouP, action Of
President Jackson. SJuth Carolina regarded ihc IauH
institution Slavery ard II was 40 tLi' period Idt the
celeuated speeches. OF Webster au1 ans Ucro niaic.
Yc lecturer heo traced rapidly the history OF opinion
on mOmentOus subject giving the divergent views
CALHOUN and describing .be relation This 90 tUHo
nmint:aon the right Of STATE secession from tac
ioasy'' Rs,lming, lie saih: Ia weighing, There
fore, the ,nor~l Accountability o. Cur Soa'A.
tnc late CIVIL War LET tno De forgotten at more than
A. years ago Hr Iidison pointed ouI hat "As honest
though mistaken opinion tia; possibly destined
under natural hIenccs and the eX'.;emehis Of fco
ing, brig the UnlOn into the t,i.ipe necessity OF
eucouneriug 1 am in no way concerned 10
hastily any rebellion | describing thO growth Of
opinion the great and c,mpIc'ted su1rct OF human
Guy. How far morally bound 10 forecast the
seQaCucts OF our OlOus IS suiJ 10 ya't 20 be en-
tered upon here. When Won come 10 Huai'zc TIE oyelt
which the adoption Of the CONSTITUTIONS IL comes
down u question .! intent or purpose Is II trdo tnas
the people OF tne s. ltern States In establishing
COnet tuon "a independent sOYcrrgns act when they
enter into mutual CJnpac o., Ou the Uucr ntud Is
true that in uniting Ia mutual cessJ1 o. C'raiu pow
crs Of government tey ulade luIi henl lay which
became enacted as law by rHsOn OF ther az ultuS IN
making 1t tue supreme law OF the land Tho iateer
what tAey had the clear night ana uuqreSonIJlc power
| to do, lust as they had to DO The fOrntT
Substantially the Webster doctrine OF the central
government Delng the supreme law of the ani became
| the law OF The whOle north, but IN the South our
great not tue denisois and exempt rs OF the
Young there. Their champion was the great C.l-
!. houn, man Of snEuaiy pure personal character,
VINO, II he ambitious had, as Mr. webster salu Of
him after his death, nothing III his ambition tA4t
grOyeling low meaulY selfish ana whosr
patriotism and honesty one cOuld DOUBT. The South
youth could not help yled their minds 10
. | any than young men could help
! nUibing the Ideas OF Webster. When Mr. Calhoun =
death was announced in tie Senate Mr. Webster Ut
tered a prophetic sentence which was not perhaps
.vc Given great s,.niacance TO- Ii was thl Tno III
he ay have differed from others OF his political
opnOns his political principles those prucple and
those opinions will now descend To posteiity under
OF great name" There was something
than compliment here. 1t was the forecasfing
influence which Mr. Cahouns utterances were l9cly
TO have with the generation through the sanction
Of his irreproschable character and great ability.
OF course do not mean 10 say that there were not in
the South various PASSIONS personal ambitions. aud
erroneous concerning the value Of the Union
ing produce the disruption which we aIterward saw,
but do TO say that pervadug inc whole seethng
mass OF public opinion and feeling that swept those
States OF the Union there was CONSCIENTIOUS
that in hIhing for the right OF secession they
lighting for cause that was dcdncle nnd that was
to deduced from the nature Of the Consultation.
the world scarcely affords parallel instance OF
conflict OF opinion so clearly inarked ana 80 distinctly