New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-16
TIE EARLY AMERICAN SPIRIT



doubted thas the couasels o. his wise staesmonship
had been listened 10 by the Parliament
whose mheeiing ears they fell, and 10y
the Court which passiona:ey repulsod them, the
eeIarsiion which was ineyiiaele between Engand ana
the colonies would for tine have been postponed and
Of Vas might have beeu born. American shores
Ss S ss az 81 n cSm Sa six %s earef
In the House OF Lords had not been And just touI
T S"r"T. S az them me' could ' PROBABLY have
reached this country, on the 10Th OF April az Lexingcn
and Concord cut Of the treatenng murk OF discon-
tent shoi ha. neree fash Of armed collision between the
SSDi AND 1s SS 81 a ShrS The %Sr and the
following Independence were the Preoestlned sequel
81 Nay lrsaSdsrSea aud Crown Point were taken by the
Pruvnrials and tho very day OF their captuTe-ssh
TiSondefoca asd mako ia seizure the striking OF chime
q bclL,the Continental Congress resssemhled q
a. its head. and entered on the exercise
naresod a .psb am occasional aIfborItv mnst he bnt
made legitimate and made comprehensive by the voun-
scHted Washington appointed Commander-in Chief.
As indicative OF the tendencies OF public opinion on the
borders Of Virginia aud North Carolina by corporate action
renowned allegiance o. the British Crown and adopted
june q Rrccds Nm The ability Of tho ProVincais to
throw up cdoo9ts under the canon IRE Of heet and to
barrier 70 repeated charges Of British Veterans
seven years finally opened.
THE REVOLUTION AND TIIE FORCES BEHIND 1T.
During the year Immediately before us, these events.
and those Wlich succeeded VIII De rcctteO
coquence aud poetry the picture and bronze will again
make familiar what the bulk and the prominence of in
terYenng events had partly hidden from view. the
evacuation OF BOstOn by tho British tho bloody fight on
the nights behind Brooklyn nearly fatal TO the American
the crossing OF the Delaware the night attack on
te Hessans Trenton Princeton and Germantown with
the frghtf Winter ut Valley Forge. the battles OF Mon
mouth Saratoga, Camden Kings Mountain, aud Eutaw
Springs the dual surrender Of CORVALLIS AT yorktown
al theas will their be described their centcn
MAI Will come Dack 10 u.s.
We shall hear again the pathetic and heroic story which
touched the commonplace life Of your childhood with ro-
And with this viii be repeated the narrative less
long military struggle Of tho separate constitutions Ions
made those colonies into nation Of the marvellous state
papers, which seemed 10 Europe prepared IN the woods
by eminent Englishmen in Parliament itself OF the
articles OF corporation which prepared the way for an
soldiers from monarchy TO fight for republic, andsent
back with them republican spirit TOO strong Tor me
would hardly buy pair Of shoes OF the military stores
soIttcr} nadeqte that Dsrrels OF sahu 9au 20
after the of that venerable Constitution oil gov
ned bnt under which the nation has lived from that day
20 this. All these VIII hereafter De Iected
tortnate for himself and for those TO whose for
study he has made such largo and brilliant con-
Just published by Mr. BanerOft-whose relations TO
this Society have been o. ntnsteIano thSt uo% " Ie
peace OF 1882 be has completed ms eEiDoIa tS
and aiming narration. The enthusiasm OF youth
has served Ia him to animate and enhance the acquSl-
OF age. And those who read in their own youth his
earlier volumes, and admired alike their strength ana
polish will rejoice 5 a a n ha mat haS P Wo5b9 Re dsld @
said Milton, arc not oftcn destitute OF worthy
Great eOduence have commonly gone hand in hand
equang and honOrng each other in the same ages 1t
Of the PARTICULARS Of that remarkable and fasci
Mating history whose outlines have traced
Guent voices win open the story OthcrsIwn follow
in swif succession Till every field ond each principal TACT
haal .unH hratin Nv ia
70 theirs The subject before me is not picturesque 1t
hardly admits Of any enersinng or gaphc treatment
follow will have co assume what would exhibit There
,ossrsnt and ubiquitous temper in the people the col
Onics. which lay behind this wide and sudden revolution
ends and which buidt Republic where the only result
sought at the outset was relief from tax Burke ds
had done more than give its own tone to
debates aud State papers From that time on to the end
OF the war was always more distinctly declared brood
ing Frightening in the Obscurest air. giving Congress
its authority giving conflict ITS meaning, inspiring pm aSH
raLks 1t was the inyulnersble, inexpunge-
which was SURE from the start Of the ultimate
victory I IL this and this only which the world ever
msDeRt history Of the country viii take much account
Tue incidents ars trivial except for their relation 10 I
CHARACTERISTICS OF TEH ASTE-REvoLUTIoNARY
PERIOD.
hsro was certainly nothing of the IDEAL heroic among
the aDte-IeVOuiOuary people OF tho country They did
not live for sentiment, ON it, They were not doc
aasre though they sometimes represented, and
nothing eOu have been further from their plans than
20 make themselves champions Of what did
NO. concern them, or 70 90 crusadlng
for faneiful theories and imaginary prizes.
They were for the most part Intelligent, conscientious
COdearsng peopie-at least there such who gave
tone 10 their eOnmntie the others either accepted
tho impression achieved the imitation OF the govern
tng spirit But they were PLAIN prsctlcai people aQst
wholly of the middle class whOved Tor the most part by
their labor who were intent on practical adyant-
ages, and who reioiced IN cOnquerng the Nlldernes
sherEs OF the abundance OF the seas and seeing the
rsf OF with mud mortar and oiled paper Tor
Elsss m the window giving place OF finished
0ny bausOdes When the settlers at the mouth OF tne
piscafAouA replied reprOOf Of of their ministers
Thai their chief end in coming bther had not been to
dou0tediy repre- senied spirit which was common to
many On the American coast The Plymouth
Colony twas exceptional IN, IN ia 1 enSssg'er:
To large eItent tne later ana SSsTnen
religious considerations. and so were those OF KhOde
leland and Connecticut But those are ss g
and restless secular enterprise combining with their re-
the scundness OF their character 1t kept them
from wild, fanntical excuses it made Them
hardy sagacous. indefatgsble inhcble in their hold
ON tie 6es aud the pOssessions they had won. As
pared with our more recent pioneers VINO nave Peoped
the Golden Gale the religious element certainly
more prominent IN those VINO earliest came 10 tnls
country: But even they were far from be
enough from being willing TO live idle enthusiastic
iTs me neither Poverty riches" their constant
prayer. and an emphasis upon poverty"
4 remember the hardness which they endured, and
.9 pc nSoTby word of thoss who faced for us the for
the frost the Indian and the wOi the gut famine
and the dcsOlatng plague remember that nall TIE fy
nOuth colonsts died the first Winter and that In the
spring when the lOng-waiing MayaOwer sailed again
her. and { glory in that unninching fOrtitudo
which has given renown to the sandy SHORE.
our Nlgor n d insa S6ss9e the nnyeldina