National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-11-20

essential to the development of the Individual des
thy and It's life !: part Of the life Of every citizen
The law ofall civil society, and under every form
| OF government, has classed
| TREASON AND REBELLION
| with capital crimes, worthy of death too often
when the sovereignty defed was embodied In the
| person OF monarch, perverting the presumptions
of guilt and magnlfylng the unrealized imagina.
IONS and intentions Of the accused Into overt acts
of crime. Our own Constitution jealous OF liberty
and yet mindful OF the obligations Of loyal citi'
| zcuship to form OF government founded on p0pu
lar assent and essential to thg preservation OF public
and private rights limited the ofenso to overt act'
OF war against It's existence or authority, or adhor
| comfort
The Mythology of the Ancients represented the
euormity and hidcousros of rebellion under the
| figure OF the monster, Typhon. Lord Bacon inter
| preting the fable, says:
And now the diiaficcted. uniting their force, at
| length break out into open rebellion Which. pro
| ducing Infinite mischiee, Is represented by
| tle horrid and multiplied doformiiy of Iyphon
with his hundred heads, donotng the divided
| powers ,his flaming mouths, denotIg fire aud dew
nstation his grdles Of snakes, dCuotlng ScgeS and
destruction his Iron hands, slaughter and cruelty
| ms eagles tnlons raplne and plunder; his pluincd
body, perpetual rumors, contradictory accounts"
&c, aud able for time TO strip from the nIlcsty oil
| the state the sinews OF its power.
| AS patriotism is then both a beauty and delight
| and treason and rebellion condemned as equally
| snful and shameful by every system Of religion
| aud every system Of law by the reason aud III
stincts of mankind, whence are civil wars, AMI
whence especially came ours?
Onenor IN governments where tho sovereignty Is
SUGGESTIONS divide the allegiance Of tho people and
arc settled by the arbirament of arms. III dCsput.
isns oppressed aud burdened populations revolt
against yrannies too severe and painfulf or longer
endurance; aud revolution becomes the last resort
aud remedy for men who love liberty better than
| life.
hut the rebellion Of the Confederate States IN
| 1861 was of u different class. IL not Il war OF
| factions, supporting rival claimants To an Official
| succession. both acknowledging the legitimacy OF
| the institutions Of governments; nor was II an At.
tempted revolution III bchnlf OF right against
| power. IL was. on the contrary, q determined aud
desperate struggle, not merely to overthrow gov.
| by IT,
| Tho conspiracy which found In Il its culmina.
tion was M old one and at irst unconscious OF its
true nature and direction. Its germ appeared In the
opposition developed to The original adoption OF Ma
| uonal institutions as fo mulated in the Federal
| Constitution. IL appeared soon after in the Nir-
ginih aud Kentucky resolutions Of '9s, imputed 10
Jefferson. but which were hardly consistent will,
that theory of National sovereignty upon which ne
must have relied fora conviction Of treason against
Aaron Burr; \ was revived IN the doctrine OF IiIl.
| lihcaton, Is defended by Calhoun aud his school
| leading logically 10
SECESSION AND CIVIL WAR.
| It was founded on complete aud fundamental
lnisconception OF the character OF the political in.
siiuios OF the country aud Of the relation Of the
| Governments OF the States to that OF the United
states and failure TO realize the truth that behind
and below both these instrumentalites of politi.
| cal action there was constituency thai was
| their originating and supporting cause, the
unity OF which made one nation of all the people.
ceptions was styled the doctrine OF state rights:
but erroneously. for there had been no denial thai
| the States had understandable rights. The only con
troversy had been TO define what they were aud
| who were the judges of their limits. The real
meaning and mischief Of the lnl>e dogma was
state Supremacy, for IL taught that to tie States
and not TO the United States was committed the
| right TO decide the boundary of their respective
Jurisdictions. Each In respect TO the powers dele
gated or reserved was, of course. independent of
the other and In that sense sovereign: but inasmuch
MS the Constitution and laws Of tile United states
made i'll pursuance thereof, and all treaties made
| under their authority, II is declared shall be the
| supreme law OF the land. and the judges in every
State shdll be bound thereby anything in the Con
stltuuOn or laws OF any state to the contrary not.
wstMldinE and dinasInueh rs II is further declared
that tie judicial pOwerof the United States shall ex.
tend to all cases In law and equity arising under
the Constitution, the laws of the United states and
| the treaties made under their authority, il Is ap.
parent that by the very frame of the fundamental
and organic structure of the National authority the
supreme sovereignty in all its relations 10 iudivid-
uas, TO domestic States and foreign nations belongs
| To- that constituency which Is rightly designated as
the people Of tile United States, and is exercised bv
that Government which represents and efIcctuat,is
their collective and National will. II is this sl-
premacy of jurisdiction and authority That coIl.ti.
tutes our Nationality and is essential to it, In this
| view the unit ofpower and dignity is the Nation :
the States arc significant merely It's parts aud
| fractions. The National Government IL tie centre
aud circumference that incloscs and uniles within
cal Institutions and integrates them into one HAY.
| monions, cooperating whole
| Abroad, II establishes our place as one in the
| worlds family of independent, equal aud sOyer-
eign Nations. At home, within The sphere of its
prescribed powers, and determining their limits
aud applications, without responsibility to any Hu.
pGrior, 1t acts upon the individual people whose
| Allegiance u commands with the Irresistible
| energy and linitleS resources of the supreme and
| sovereign VIII OF an indivsible people. II Is the
| result and cxponcnt-the consequence rather than
| the cause-oi those common features and chgTac-
terisics which belong 10 us as one Deopo living in
one land. which in the aggregate, constitute Ma.
| tional character, the development OF which, in
social and political action, represents in history
OUR EATlOHAL LIFE AND SPIRIT.
II is the ideal of all patriotic aspiration
the inspiration aud object of our public
hopes the shield OF our security; the
guardian of our persons aud rights the defender
earthly need rhe swa Of its law 18th is lie bonn bond OF OF
our peace aud the pledge of our prosperity; the
cause of order harmony. and cooperation among
all the possible conflicts and jealoisies of :ubordi.
nate poitica! agencies its flag.-"the banner OF
beauty and glory"--the symbol Of our power and
PRIDE the emblem OF our unity, the imperial stand
ard oiour loyal aud revercnt devotion,
II not inconsistent with this spirit to value aud
cherish the local attachments which connect US
with the States of our nativity and abode, but only
III an Inferior and subordinate degree Our hst
which alone constitutes our country. For the prin
cpnl value of our citizenship OF tile State is hat II
coniers upon us the dignity and privilege OF our
| nationality.
In contempt of this view of our Constitutional
| organization hs II Nation, the opposing theory was
taught Of The supremacy of The States the subordl-
| nation of the Union. According to this ductrinc
the only sources and supports Of political authority
| known in our system Were the States, while the
| Federal Government, under Its Constitution was
| merely mode Of their agency OF course upou
| such a construction of Ouc political relations the
only patriotism OF which, as citizens we were cRpa-
BILE consisted in allegiance 10 the State or our
domicilc; for Loyalty IS The expression OF ieay TO
! person, either natural or poltCal; IL CuunoL be
| exacled Oh yielded to all inanimalc parchment or
| compact SO That the obligations of the Federal
| Constitution ceased 20 bind individuals who were
Released from the duty of obedience by tho soycr.
eign authority oftheir states; ana The States fhrn
selves could not be made responsible for thev had
no political superoys. Hence II was thought at lie
time by some public acn that there was lIO Consti-
! tutonal warrant TO attempt the coercion of thp
StStes, aud writer's In that interest, donOmluate t
rebellion against the National Government as a war
between States.
And founding upon this false Interpretation OF
the Constitutional facts OF our history The National
life was aSsailed in
| ORGANIZED AND BLOODY WAR
II is not 10 be supposed, however that the nspir.
ing purpose and main motive Of the rebellion was
TO establish The abstract theory Of the supremacy
| Of the states. That theory was used as the legal
excuse and justification Of the asserted right IN ne,
| nounce the authority of the Federal Constitution;
but The right was not exercised merely to assert its
existence. There were ulicriOr objects and pur.
pcses which enlisted the sympathics aud duultci Inc
efforts not merely Of states but of section aud
that without regard 70 STATE lines and even In disc.
bedienoe Of stale authority. such was nOtnbly thp
nm az NElHu tTafFuN NHN