The daily gazette., 1876-06-27
SECOND EDITION,
Published by request.
From the Jersey Ciy Evening News.
The Difference Between a Union
and Nation

ouu iNduOU.
The Cincinnati Republican platform
has the following: The United
States of America is nation, not a
league"
Whereupon the New York World
responds: ave always did admire
that sentiment. and the older it grows
the better it gets"
Then. good Mr.. World that shows
that you are no Democrat. That, in
deed, you know nothing of the doc
trines and history of the Democratic
party. The principle. which the De-
mocratic party for half a century al
ways repu,liated is the idea that this
government was nation as distin-
guished from Federal compact or
league. The platform of every United
States Democratic convention from
1900 to 1860, without a single excep-
tion affirmed the doctrine of the SOW
ereignty and independence of the
States in Federal compact, or a
league of CO equal States. Indeed,
this question was settled in the Com
vention that framed the Constitution
In the assembling of that body reso-
luton was introduced by Gov. Ran
dolph of Virginia, that: "a National
Government ought to be formed. "But
the proposition did not receive even
one vote in the Convention. 1t was
not a national Government that those
representatives of thirteen different
sovereignties had assembled to form,
but Union of States; that is a com
Ipact or league between the several
states. The word "several states" is
the language of the Constitution itself
We wonder that while the late mania
for amending" that instrument, was
on the public mind, tina. they did not
stiike for an amendment to wipe out
the phrase "several states" from the
Constitution, for an insuperablc ob
lection to the idea that it is the instru
ment of q nation as contradistinguish'
ed from compact of Sovereign States
The difference between "nation"and
"union" is as wide as possible
France is "nation." But it is not a
union" The United States is a
"union" but it is not "nation," IN
any sense that France Is one. The two
politics are very different. To mistake
the nature of one for the other, is to
misunderstood both. And, for man
to call himself Democrat" who
does not comprehend the difference
between a Union, and Nation, is an
evidence of self applauding ignorance
which would be laughable, if the mis-
take were not so mischievous. For the
great body of the people to be ignor'
ant of the nature of the Government
under which they are living is an in.
conceivable calamity. All, hereabouts
is the great misfortune and misery OF
the Democratic party, that its press al
the present time knows quite as little
of the philosophical principles of de
mocracy. as horse does of the Or phic
Fragments or the EluSiniaB Mysteries
It is a shame for the New York
World, to say that it admlres the doc,
trine that this is nation as distin-
guished from compact, while pro
Tossing to be Democratic paper. l
could have heard such nonsense from
no Democratic Statesman, who ha
lived at any period of our country
history. In an unbroken line of decis
ions, from the foundation of tn,
Union, the Supreme Court has pronoun
ced this Government a compact, bu
never once referred to it as nation, il
, in the sense meant by the Cincinnati
Convention. Not ohce. Our father
refused to form a national govern
ment," as system less favorable t.
the liberties OF the people than Fed
eral union of sovereign States. Grea
confusion has arisen in the publi
mind from an ignorance of terms
Switzerland is not nation, strictl,
speaking-it is a Confederation. TIL,
title of our Government is not, .'Th
American Nation," but the United
, States. That Is our name. And tn
Democrat who mistakes it for nation
is no Democrat at all. Hamilton an,
his faction in the Federal Convention
tried to have it Nation, but tn
Democratic element in the Convention
t was in an overwhelming majority, ant
they formed Federal Government
instead of National one,