Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1876-09-04
LETTER FROM A VERMONT
DEMOCRAT.

your editorial entitled 1.-The Vermont
Democracy % The present writer is not
so much partizan as a philosophical
democrat follower of the political
ideas of Thomas Jefferson, the founder
of the Democratic Party. He believes
that Jefferson's doctrines embrace the
fundamental principles of our institu-
tions, and he traces all the misfortunes
of both the party and the country to the
partial abandonment of those principles,
under the lead of selfish and unintelli-
gent politicians. AS your party is now
confessedly under cloud from the same
cause, perhaps we may find some points
of sympathy in the discussion.
believe that the great majority of
tie intelligent working people of our
state and country are, and always have
been, like Abraham Lincoln and Charles
Sumner believers in, and followers of,
the Jefersonian principles condensed
into single sentence by the former, in
his wonderful Gettysburgh oration-"a
government Of the people. By the people,
for the people" But the greater num-
Der of the rich and of the professional
classes throughout the country, have al
ways in their hearts (whatever may have
been upon their lips) desired to hold the
reins of power in their own hands. In
stinctively, rather than consciously, in
many cases, they have aimed to so frame
and administer our laws as to retain ad-
vantages on their own side, at the ex-
pense of the working people. They wish
ed in some way to establish in this ma
tion Privileged Glass, as much like the
privileged classes called nobility and
gentry in Europe, as circumstances would
allow. They have persistently followed
this idea, and the history of this nation
will show that every law, giving special
privileges in any form to the few at the
expense of the many, has uniformly been
introduced, advocated and carried by
the leaders of this section of society.
Under the lead of Jefferson and the
public men of his school, the people
were organized, in the early days, into
popular party, first called "Republi-
can," and afterwards Democratic. :"
The aristOcrats organized themselves un-
der the name of ''Federalists. In the
development of events, the former in
creased and the latter decreased, until,
under the odium of their open hatred of
the French Republic, and their treason
able sympathy with the British in the
war of 1912, that party entirely lost its
grip and was dissolved But, though
the party name was abandoned and its
organization destroyed, the ideas upon
which it was based remained; and the
poison of them become the more injuri-
Gus from its dispersion. There was lit
tie danger to be apprehended from it
when collected together in organic form
but when, deprived of its personality as
party, it sought its end by cunning
endeavor to control events by corrupting
all parties, the danger greatly increased.
Subsequent to the ''era of good feel
ing" that seemed to follow the dissolu-
tion of the Federal party (when it ap-
peared to public man of the time that
the people were "all democrats and all
federalists'') under the necessity that il
free government there should be an or
ganized opposition to the dominant pow
er, the whig party sprang into existence
This was in its beginnings sort o.
"Cave of Adullam," where 'every one
that was in distress. and every one thai
was in debt, and every one that was dis
contented, gathered themselves, '-.what
we should call 'sore-head" or "inde
pendent" party, nowadays. 1t, how
ever, gradually strengthened itself, at
, tracing to its fold and taking as it
leaders two ambitious and able young
J democrats, Henry Clay and Daniel Web
ster, and gathering in the aristocrati'
class until it claimed to embrace '.al
the decency" of the country. This, a
; least, was the condition of things north
: of the cotton states and along the sea
board. In the new states of the soutl
J and west the democracy, with Jackson
r Calhoun and Benton as their chiefs, rul
: ed In the free west there was no aris
tocracy, and in the cotton states th
/ slave owners were mostly wings thougl
more Calhoun's lead. as the Democrat
politicians became more and more cor
5 rupted by their long lease Of power, ma
ny of them attached themselves TO Tia
Jacksonians. Andrew jackson was
poor substitute for Thomas Jefferson. a
leader-as poor successor as Ulysse
Grant to Abraham lincoln. Persona
government, as distinguished from
government Of laws, characterized th
one as it has marked the other and th
shameless crew fpoliticians who swarm
ed at Washington and the state capital
did not hesitate to openly repudiate tina
: Jefersonian principle. "tEe Office shoul
b seek the man, and not the man the o.
t fee" and declare. in the language {
It their idol, that ''to the vietors belon
y the spoils."
Il Z l.. tx e..