National Republican., 1879-03-01
SECTIONAL HoMoGENIry.

nlNanCP.
SECTIONAL HOMOGESIrY.
Time was when, in many sections of the
North, children were taught by their pa
rents that TO resent a personal injury or
physical insult-to give blow for blow,
in short--wNs wrong. The idea of turning
the unsmitten cheek to the hand of the
smiter was then taught as the highest les
son Of Christian meekness, and humility
was accounted virtue of the most COM
mendable degree. While this demure sub
missiveness did not prevail all over the
North, it had its effect indirectly in the cre-
alton of public sentiment to the reproba-
tion Of brawls, and the man, however inno-
cent Of provoking it or justifablc in resent
ing an unprovoked assault upon himself,
who became involved in physical contest
of any kind, was generally held up to con-
demnatpn on q parity with his rowdy as
sailant, The result was spiritless abase-
ment on the part of Northern men which
oftentimes lowered their manhood, espe-
cially when they came into contact with
the lordly chivalry of the South. SO true
was this that the late CALEB CUSHING found
it necessary to comment upon the un-
favorable character Of Northern sentiment
evolved whenever Northern representative
in Congress had the temerity to resist the
aggressions of the nte-bellum Southern
bull-dozers in that body. Not only this,
but when Representative POTTER, of Wis
consin, offered to fight bowie-knife duel
with ROGER A. PRYOR, the latter having
challenged him, the entire North was agog
with excitement and wonder And when
sturdy old BEN WADE talked back" at his
Southern prosecutors, his Northern friends
| especially some of his fellow Abolitionists
of New England, were stricken with II fear
that he had become bully, like unto those
| fiends incarnate, the slave-drivers them
selves. But Mr.. CUSHING, Mr. POTTER,
and Mr.. WADE all survived, as others have
who were subjected to similar experiences
to witness a change in this rabbit-like sem
| timent. The war came on the influences
of frontier life in the West had an effect
through the return of pioneers to
their Eastern homes, and, above all,
the braggadocia demonstrations of
physical and mental superiority by
the Southern chivalry were punctured.
Hard knocks were given and taken during
the great civil strife, and the sluggish blood
of the North, when aroused in the heat of
conflict proved TO be the equal Of the reck-
less dash of the South. The rabbits became
lions, and for the first time in generations,
or since the revolutionary war; became con-
scious of the fact that law-abding citizen
ship does not necessarily entail relegation
of every violent act to the purview Of the
courts. A revolution has occurred all over
the country, North as we'll as South, and n
mutual admiration exists between the Sec
tions, each for the pluck of the other. But
the greatest advantage in this radical
change has been gained by the North, an
advantage that receives constant illustra-
tion in the conduct of public affairs. The
| Southern leaders, having had taste of the
latent metal of their Northern brethren, no
longer attempt to "crack the slave-drivers
whip" as the phrase goes, over the backs
of the latter, and outside of their immedi-
ate or personal election precincts their bull
doing habits and yauntng chiyalry counts
for nothing In short, the North has learned
TO respect, admire, and encourage exhibit
tons of manly spirit when confined within
the bounds of proper resentment Of per-
sOnal or political aiironts. A wholesome
and vigorous independence of personality
has been asserted in all the walks of life
and the cramped and mistaken lessons o.
the past have been replaced by teachings
which stimulate a free and swinging range
of demeauor, in which there is plenty ol
elbow-room for the vindication of individual
rights and privileges In proof of this it is
only necessary to cite the fact that the
use of the dnte-bellUm epithet, "mud-sll, p has
now become of limited application. Not only
this but the very existence Of the mud-sil,
the sycophantc tult-hunter whose worship
of Southern ga-entlemen, sab, /" made him
q prominent type of Northern rabbitism,
has passed into history. In short, homo
gently of characteristic individuality now
obtains throughout the nation and an
American is, in respect of the maintenance
of his personal dignity, about the same
kind of man in one section of the country
as he is in another At the same time the
"code has lost many Of its hitherto sup
porers, and the impulses which yielded tc
il Il cruel and mistaken admiration have
been tempered down measureably, And
these results are all traceable, as we have
said, to the war, whereby instruction as tC
the moral rs well rs physical courage o
the entire people was iniiltrated through
out the sections, The average citizen has
been improved Herewith, the upholders ol